Yanagawa Canal Cruise and Grilled steamed Eel Lunch Private Tour
Description
Highlight: Enjoy the serene Japanese winter scenery from a warm, cozy boat guided by a professional boatman. Dining: Meals are served at the hotel restaurant (not on the boat) before or after the cruise. Yanagawa is known as the “City of Waterways” because there are many beautiful canals, or moats, running throughout the city. One of the best ways to experience Yanagawa is by taking a river cruise, also called a “moat tour.” That's why this city has another name "Venice in Japan" Leave it to the road of water of the moat, please enjoy a boat trip with the Funauta ( boatman song ) sung by a boatman, seeing a beautiful scenery of each season. Note: Winter Season, Yanagawa Canal Boat Ride with a "Kotatsu" Heater. Period: December – February. Note: The castle moat will be drained from Monday, February 16th to Wednesday, February 25th, 2026, so the canal cruise course may be subject to some changes.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Take Nishitetsu train to Yanagawa On the way, your personal guide will give you a briefing about Fukuoka, Kyushu and Yanagawa.
Enjoy "Donkobune"boat cruising, and have lunch of grilled eel that is famous in this area Yanagawa. During the cruise, you will ride in a small boat and travel along the peaceful canals. This unique tour lets you see Yanagawa from a lower viewpoint, close to the water, which is different from walking around the city. The Yanagawa River Cruise operates as scheduled even on rainy days. However, please note that the itinerary may be modified or changed in the event of torrential rain.
After returning to Yanagawa Station by hotel shuttle, take the train back to the center of Fukuoka. The tour will end upon arrival at the station.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Child under 3 years old can join the tour for free, but admission tickets and meals are not included
- The Yanagawa River Cruise operates as scheduled even on rainy days. However, please note that the itinerary may be modified or changed in the event of torrential rain.
Reviews(17)
Our guide, Teddy really made this tour special. We learned so much about Yanagawa and Japan. Must admit that it was more touristy than we expected and lots of tourists groups go on the boat ride continuously.
Dear Kim, Thank you so much for joining our Yanagawa day trip! We are thrilled that you chose HIS for your adventure in Fukuoka. As you experienced, Yanagawa is a beautiful and famous destination that is becoming more popular with travelers every year. We are especially happy to hear that our guide, Teddy, helped make your trip so enjoyable and memorable.
We went to Yanagawa to see the Venice of Japan, because of time restrictions we didn’t do the canal boat cruise.( 70 minutes ) We walked along the canal watching the boats go by , the boatman sings & when a bridge comes up the passage duck down and he climbs up over the bridge & then jumps down onto the boat again. The village is picturesque & wonderfully to walk around. I would recommend you buy lunch before going as on the day we visited not many shops were open.
Experience the local life in Liu Xiao, experience the boatrying. The boatman sings very well, the ground is very professional, the distillation of fish is very good, the next time there is a chance to bring family together.
非常感謝您的好評！ 很高興聽到您喜歡柳川的划船體驗、船夫的歌聲，以及我們專業地陪的服務。 非常期待下次能有機會為您和您的家人服務，祝您旅途愉快！
The entire trip was very convenient. The trip from tenjin to yanagawa and back was hassle-free. Our guide provided us with what we needed for the entire trip including a touch of history along the way. Highly recommend the trip to others.
Hi Yvette, Thank you so much for choosing our guided tour among all the wonderful options in Yanagawa! It truly made our day to read your kind feedback. We always want our guests to just sit back, relax, and leave the guiding and details to us. It’s fantastic to hear you enjoyed the our guide's stories about the local sights from the train window! We are absolutely thrilled that you would recommend our tour to others—it really means the world to us.
Civitatis provided an excellent guide. We communicated in a mixture of English, Spanish and Japanese. Yoshi-san gave very thorough explanations and was very pleasant to talk with. (The boat trip on the canal (the old moat) was fun. The weather was excellent as were the explanations. We went afterwards for a wonderful Unagi lunch. I Highly recommend this excursion!
Tour guide was on time waiting at the meeting point. Transportation was by train and car but they were done smoothly. Boat trip was interesting, lasted around 30 minutes. Lunch was done at a hotel and it was a complete traditional set, tasted good. After lunch we walked around some local stores and took pictures. Guide was patient and took us to good and calm stores. There was not a lot of walking so very recommended for all groups (with kids or elderly).
Tsunoda-san is very experienced and knowledgeable, and knows Japanese history very well. We enjoyed listening to his stories and had a great time. The river cruise was excellent with our boatman and he was an excellent singer! We enjoyed our ride very much. The unagi lunch was also very delicious. Overall, it was a very enjoyable experience with a professional guide. Highly recommends!
Interesting and a lovely way to spend the day. The lunch was delicious. Our guide Shuji was quite knowledgeable. We learned a lot about Japanese history and customs.
The private tour was a great experience. We had individualized attention to our interests and it was a relaxing and entertaining canal ride. The boat man entertained with his opera vocals. Yanagawa town is charmingly quaint.
It was wonderful and our guide Mr Seri was very good and knowledgeable. The food was good and they were able to accommodate beef and chicken instead of eel.
Thank you for choosing our tour and for your kind review. We would be happy if this Tour turned out to be a wonderful memory for you. We hope to journey with you again if we have the opportunity!
