Sanjukkokubune and Jukkokubune Boats
One of the highlights of a visit to Fushimi is a tour along the port town’s waterways aboard the flat-bottomed boats known as jukkokubune and sanjukkokubune (alternatively jikkokubune and sanjikkokubune). The jukkokubune are smaller, modern versions of the sanjukkokubune which are traditional watercraft that ferried people and goods between Osaka and Kyoto until the early twentieth century.
The quaint boats, with names such as Hideyoshi, Senhime, and Mizuki, tour the waterways for around 50 minutes, including a stop at the Misu Kōmon Museum. The charge for either tour is 1,200 yen.
Jukkokubune cruises depart every 20 minutes between 10:00 a.m. and 4:20 p.m. every day except Monday from late March until the first Sunday in December. The boarding location is below Bentenbashi Bridge, across the river from Chōkenji Temple, and a few minutes’ walk from the Gekkeikan Ōkura Sake Museum.
Sanjukkokubune tours operate on specific days in April and May and in early October and early November, coinciding with the cherry-blossom and maple-viewing seasons. The boarding location is alongside Kyōbashi Bridge, in front of the statues of Sakamoto Ryōma (1836–1867) and his wife Ryō (also called Oryō; 1841–1906), just a few minutes’ stroll from the Teradaya Inn.