Hozugawa River Cruises (保津川下り, Hozugawa Kudari) are sightseeing boat rides down the Hozugawa River from Kameoka to Arashiyama. The cruises utilize traditional style, flat bottomed boats piloted by boatmen who guide the craft with oars and bamboo poles. The boats take about two hours to leisurely make their way down the river and are a relaxing way to see the natural scenery of the largely undeveloped ravine. The river cruises are often combined with a ride on the Sagano Scenic Railway.
The river originates in the central part of Tanba Mountain range, then, it flows around through the mountains from Sonobe to Kameoka City. Then, it runs into the Hozu-kyo Ravine and reaches world famous Arashiyama. It then merges to Kamo-gawa River, and to Yodo-gawa River. The river from Kameoka to Saga-Arashiyama, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto City, is called the Hozu-gawa River, famous for its beautiful ravine and boat ride.
4,100 yen (adults) and 2,700 yen (kids 4-12). Once again, my son doesn't have to pay anything. It is economical and fun to bring a 3 years old kid along with you in the travel. At this age, they already understand instruction and willing to cooperate with your demand. Every actions of theirs are really cute and adorable.
Time Estimate: Approximately 120 minutes, depending on water levels.
Capacity: Approximately 24 people (16 people for a winter boat), but it is subject to change without notice.
In case of rain: Even if it rains we operate our service as regularly with a tent on the boats. However, this does not apply to severe rainstorms or rise of the water level.
During winter: A red mat is spread out on the floor of the boat and there is a heater on top of the mat. Passengers sit directly on the floor of the boat. There are no chairs in the boat. You can see the scenery from glass windows of the boat covered with a transparent vinyl. It is warm inside.
The starting point is at Shin-Hozu Ohashi Bridge. To get to here, you need to walk to a bus stop which is located behind of the Kameoka Station. It is just a 2-3 mins walk. After that, you may need to wait for the bus. The bus frequency is every 30 minutes. It takes about 15 minutes ride to reach to this bridge. Once, you are there to purchase the ticket, you will need to wait for your number to be called. During peak season, the waiting time is going to be very long. It may takes more than an hour. I waited for 30 minutes.
The expression “Kawakudari,” a boat ride down the river, was started to be used when the history of using the Hozu-gawa River for transport began. It is a water transport whose history started when the capital was in Nagaokakyo City, even before there was a capital in Kyoto City. To help build the new capital lots of logs from Tanba, bound together into rafts, were transported down the Hozu-gawa River to Kyoto. Later the Tanba logs were in great demand and sent down the river by for the construction of Tenryu-ji Temple, Rinsen-ji Temple, Osaka Castle, and Fushimi Castle, Not only logs, but also rice, wheat, firewood, and charcoal were transported after Ryoi Suminokura, a wealthy merchant called the “River Lord” in Kyoto, opened the ravine up for boat transports in 1606. Transporting abundant and high quality of timber, grain, and firewood and charcoal was a thriving business but this vital role the river played was overtaken by rail transport with the opening of the current JR Sanin line in 1895, and later by road transport, such as trucks. From around 1945 rafting logs downriver stopped.
Not only is the scenery beautiful year-round, but the Hozugawa Ravine holds many unique points of interest, including; colossal boulders, glimpses of the surrounding mountains, mysterious deep pools, wildlife, charming flowers and trees, and intriguing geologic formations. The Ravine is and was so popular with tourist that in 1895 the sightseeing riverboat ride was introduced. Nowadays since the river no longer carries rafts or cargo the Hozu-gawa River is exclusively used for sightseeing.
The Hozugawa River Boat Ride is a world famous sightseeing experience whose travel distance is 16 kilometers-long, traveling from Kameoka to Arashiyama. About 300,000 tourists visiting us throughout year enjoy the beauty of nature in each season and thrill of the river ride.
You may argue that this experience is too expensive. However, please realize that this is a 3-manned Hozugawa-kudari which is done 100% manually. You can checkout the video below to understand how hard is it. They are really using their blood and sweat for the tourists to enjoy the journey. You will felt every Yen that you have spent is well worth it.
Near the end of the route, you will be greeted by a boat that selling food and drinks.
They have all kinds of skewers to amaze you. I am really surprised with the idea that they used to do business and make more money. The price is obviously more expensive than what you would be enjoying on the land but...
Look at this! Don't you think it is an amazing experience to eat while travelling slowly along the beautiful and clean Hozugawa river? It is all worth it.
Finally, we are at the final destination where this is the landing site. I am really curious about how do they get the boat back to the starting point. I can't ask them because their English is not very good. This is the only thing I dislike about this tour. The whole tour is in Japanese language. I cannot understand what are they trying to explain to us along the way.
This is the Togetsukyo bridge. The moment you are here, you will definitely fall in love with this place. Arashiyama is the best place in Kyoto.
Overall, the experience is great! My son enjoyed the ride and he always asking me to take him here again. The whole journey just took about 2 hours and it is just nice because my butt started to get uncomfortable already. The only cons is the language. If you feel this is really matters to you, then you can skip this tour.
Total Damage: 4,100 yen Service: 4/5 Price: 2/5 Recommended?: Yes Hozugawa-kudari 2 Shimo-Nakajima Hozu-cho Kameoka, Kyoto 6210005, Japan Tel:0771-22-5846 (Domestic) 81-771-22-5846 (International) Open Hours: 9.00am - 5.00pm (daily) (No service from Dec. 29 to Jan. 4)
Pulau Tenggol has been promoted quite aggressively by our Malaysian Tourism since 4 years ago. The result is quite successful to attract our local citizen to make their visit on this beautiful island. Pulau Tenggol is located off Dungun Jetty. The nearest airport is Kerteh Airport which at this moment only Malindo Air will fly to this airport. From Kerteh to Dungun is only need less than 30 minutes. As for other local aviation companies will only land at Sultan Mahmud Airport, Kuala Terengganu which needs at least an hour to reach Dungun. You may need to take a 45 minutes boat ride to Pulau Tenggol. You are advice to book in advance with the resort that you are going to stay on this island first before you visit. The reason is there is no public boat or ferry to take you to this island. All the boats at the jetty are resorts' respective private boats. There are 3 resorts on this island only and only able to find two resorts in the website and another one I am wondering ...
My buffet marathon in my latest visit to KL has gone from crazy to absolutely madness! If you follow my blog closely, I have been to 2 Japanese Buffet, 1 Chinese Dim Sum Buffet and now a so called Korean style buffet. This place is called Korean Stone BBQ Steamboat which located along Jalan Ampang. This road is very jam during dinner hours. If you came from far, this is not a place you wish to dine. You will be torturing yourself when seeing yourself stuck in the long traffic jam. Everyday voucher brought me here with thier link as follow: 50% off BBQ Buffet for dinner on weekdays only. Let's begin by picking up our raw food. More raw foods Noodles! Drinks are not included in their buffet package. Charge separately @RM1.00 per pax but it is bottomless. Kinda stupid to me because I do not understand why don't they just add inside the buffer package cost. Oh ya...btw, their buffet is cost RM27.80 per pax. Some cooked rice, noodles, porridge and shark fins...
At the same area with Restoran Siu Siu at Brickfields, there is another seafood restaurant which is known as Restoran Robson Heights Fresh Seafood. Steamed Catfish @RM156.00 Outlook: 4/5 Creativity: 3/5 Taste: 3/5 Price: 2/5 Overall: 3/5 - The taste is fresh and good but the problem is they chose the fish which has a lot of fats in it. So there is barely meat left for 12 of us. It is a very unthoughtful choice by the chef. Lala in Superior Soup @RM45.00 Outlook: 2/5 Creativity: 3/5 Taste:2/5 Price: 2/5 Overall: 2/5 - Nothing wrong with their delicious superior soup but it is just the lala which is not fresh at all. I cannot believe they still highly recommended us to take. I feel they are trying to sell of their not fresh lala away quickly. Paku Pakis @RM30.00 - This ridiculous plate of vegetable which is not really delicious but cost RM30.00. Chacoal Tofu @RM28.00 Outlook: 4/5 Creativity: 4/5 Taste: 3/5 Price: 3/5 Overall: 4/5 - It i...
Driving in Singapore is really a pain especially the traffic congestion, parking hunting and speed cameras alert which is seems like everywhere. As for parking, weekdays parking is like vampire sucking all your money out from your wallet when the clock keeps ticking. Not just parking but their ERP toll is sucking the money out of your Autopass card too. However, I have realized that the best days to travel to Singapore is on weekends and especially on Sunday. ERP toll is free on Sundays. Parking rate are cheaper on Sundays and there are places are free parking too. Not much cars and peoples on the street on Sundays. Sunday is just perfect day at Singapore! Of course, if you plan to eat their buffets, Sunday will be not a suitable day as it will be super expensive. Anyway, today I just want to share one of the tourist attraction in Singapore which is the Merlion Park. I parked at Fullerton Hotel which has ample of parking spaces and it is only S$5.00/entry. The Fullerton Hotel is j...
The best attraction in Guangzhou is the Chimelong Changlong. It is a very big place like Resort World Sentosa (RWS) at Singapore. Same like RWS with a hotel called Chimelong Hotel and an amusement park called Chimelong Paradise. The difference are they have more than the two similarity which are they have a circus called The Chimelong International Circus, The Chimelong Water Park and the one I am going to introduce to you today, Xiang Jiang Safari Park or which is more known as Chimelong Safari Park. Same like Guangzhou Zoo , they have a north and south gate. You are advised to go to their South Gate. One thing is different is they do not have a long queue like the Guangzhou Zoo because they allowed online booking and payment. To reach here, you take their Metro Underground Train using Line 3 to Hanxi Changlong. They are just located at the exit. I have my cute cousin sister (left) and her friend (right) who are from China. She is so kind enough to take me around and also...
At Johor Bahru, there is a majestic blue lake which is known as Tasik Biru Kangkar Pulai. It is a hidden gem within Masai, Johor Bahru. The reason it is blue is because of the iron ore quarry nearby. The blue color is from the mineral called copper sulphate but I am not sure if that's the real reason for it because whenever there is a blue lake like this, there will be a iron ore quarry beside of it. Another good example is Tasik Biru Bukit Ibam Muadzam Shah, Pahang. I believe there are other more which you can share with me the location of the blue lake with an iron ore quarry beside it on the comments below. Thanks. A panoramic view of the blue lake. Click to enlarge the picture. To get to here, simple key in "Tasek Biru Kangkar Pulai" into your Waze app. It will leads you directly to this place. There are no designated parking place, so you just have to park beside the main road. It is not difficult to hike because I saw kids have no problem cli...
My busy friend have to juggle between her business, family and me during my visit to Singapore. Under special circumstances, I am invited to her mom's birthday dinner. It is really such an awkward situation for me. Well, maybe my face thick enough and here I am at Sakura International Buffet Restaurant at Shaw Plaza. LOL. You can see their buffet pricing by the side. It is consider very cheap to have a buffet dinner @S$25++ only!!! The line of sushi and sashimi. Their maguro (tuna) is not really fresh but others are good. More sushi! Noodles in oriental style. Some local foods such as fried rice, singapore meehoon, rendang and etc. Chinese Dim Sum 12 different flavors of ice cream available. Fruits and yogurts. Cakes and desserts. Their California Roll is quite unique compare to all Japanese Buffet I had so far. The uniqueness is the seaweed wrap is wrapped in a plastic separate from the rice. This is to ensure the rice does not make the ...
Marble 8 is the sister company of the famous Marini's on 57 which is located at level 57 of the Petronas Twin Tower while Marble 8 is staying low on the ground with a great view of the grand twin tower. You are required to wear smart casual to dine here and the parking here pretty limited. If you leave your car to the jockey, RM20 will be charged. Yes, it is not a part of their service. Pretty disappointing for a high class restaurant like this. A complimentary starter for us. Nothing amazing about the starter. What is amazed me about is the waiter knows that I do not eat beef just because I ordered their fish. So they prepared the starter without beef in it while my friend has the beef in it. Very observant. Their bread is not as impressive as I expected to be. Well, after all this is a steakhouse. So what they are expert on is steak. You can see they have a lot of choices for their steak in the menu with two types of categories which are dry-aged beef and wet-aged...
There are two best bak kut teh in Kota Kinabalu that I have known so far. One is known as Yu Kee Bak Kut Teh and the other one is known as Sin Kee Bak Kut Teh. There are just located one street away from each other. However, both of them got the same jam packed customers as you can see from the picture above. You just cannot detect any available seat around. This is how good they are. The one and only chef in action to prepare the whole bak kut teh to all the patrons. The surprising part is the serving speed was extremely fast. Usually when you see so many people, you might think you will need to wait for quite some time but he can make sure you will get your food at the fastest speed. These are the prices after GST is imposed. They do have other dishes to serve too apart of their famous Bak Kut Teh. However, my advice is just stick with their Bak Kut Teh no matter how much the waiter/waitress to push you to order more. The moment you sit down, they will st...
Have you ever stay in a Durian Farm before? No? At Bao Sheng Durian Farm, you can do it! This 6.7 acres durian farm has been established in Balik Pulau since 1959. It really took them full 60 years to get the fruit of their hard work. Their villa is well equipped with air-con, hot shower and LCD TV with hundreds of Blu-Ray quality movies in it! They have existing queen size or king size bed and extra bed can be requested. To get close and personal with the King of Fruit...the accommodation charges will be Deluxe Villa is charged at RM280/night and standard villa will cost you RM180/night. They only have 1 Deluxe Villa and 2 Standard Villa only. So it is very easy to be fully booked during the durian season. Advance booking is greatly recommended for at least 3 months ahead so that you will be able to choose the right schedule for the durian you wish to taste. Why stay in a durian farm? This is what you see when you open the window with all the durian trees around you. The fre...
Comments
Post a Comment