Tokyo River Bus

The river buses are more for tourists than for commuters. We took one from Asakusa to Odaiba, first downstream on Sumida River and then into Tokyo Bay. A trip by train taking 12 stops with one transfer would cost Y500 and 30 minutes. A river bus covering the same destination took more than 1 hr and cost Y1400.

Clearly missing along the route are skyscrapers and historic landmarks. I think being in an earthquake zone renders Tokyo building plain and comparatively low, and much like Sensoji Temple in Asakusa, many historic landmarks might have been destroyed by WWII bombings.

Being peak tourist season, there were queues everywhere. While waiting for our river bus to arrive, we were somewhat cooled down by upright fans blowing water mist injected behind the fans. Photo showing Kristine posing next to one of theose cooling fans, with two attendants filling water into the light blue container.

River buses come in several sizes and shapes. Ours was a triple deck no-nonsense river boat with a boat change at Hinode, but the photo shows a river bus that serves Asakusa to Odaiba direct. That was fully booked for the day.

Iur bus crossed under 20 bridges linking the banks of Sumida River.