Fukuoka 2018 Part 4 | Yanagawa River

We started the next day with a trip to Yanagawa for their famous river cruise! The plan for the morning was the river cruise, to be followed by a trip to Dazaifu afterwards. I took so many photos that they deserved their own respective posts! Haha!

We headed to the Nishitetsu Station in Tenjin which functions to bring you to different parts of Japan. Similar to that of the bullet train system but as I understand it, they're a different company from JR.

There's a ticket package that takes you from Tenjin to Dazaifu, Tenjin to Yanagawa, as well as Yanagawa to Dazaifu. Basically you can approach this package depending on your preference! Yanagawa is farther so we decided to head there first then Dazaifu afterwards since it's a stop on the way back.

The whole ride takes about an hour and a half to two hours. Not bad especially considering the distance and the train is insanely comfortable.

The river cruise ports are just a few minutes of walking from the station, and the Nishitetsu package also includes a voucher for the cruise!

So the river cruise starts with more urban scenery. You are assigned a boat captain that talks about the different sights that you see. Unfortunately though, they speak in Nihongo, but you can enjoy the scenery all the same. :D

We rode the boat with foreigners from all over Asia as well as some locals on vacation!

You will occasionally pass by tunnels such as this one, and everyone will have to crouch down. It's a very fun quirk to the cruise. Small obstacle courses. With the echos of the tunnels, our boat captain would sing folk songs about the river and the spring. Too lovely for words!

Here's our amazing boat captain! He was an adorable elderly man with a beautiful voice! :)

The cruise itself is about an hour and a half. So at some point, it did feel like it dragged. But honestly, it's such a great time to relax and admire how beautiful this country is.

We also bumped into a couple doing their photo shoot! And they were more than happy to smile for our cameras. :)

Towards the end of the ride, you'll be brought to a "Drive Thru" where you can order snacks and ice cream! We ordered Hokkaido Milk and Fukuoka Strawberry Ice Cream! Both delicious and perfect for the weather!

After a few tunnels, you'll eventually reach the end. I didn't take a photo but there's a nice souvenir shop at the end point where you can buy lots of interesting food like Unagi Ramen and Yuzu Hot Sauce (Yuzusco). I highly recommend the Yuzusco!!! I am obsessed!

We had our lunch at this restaurant that specialized in Unagi Rice. A discount coupon to this place is also included in the Nishitetsu Package!

We ordered the small set meal, because the larger ones were so insanely expensive! But let me tell you that the small set is more than enough even for someone who eats a LOT like me. Haha!

The soup above is Eel Liver Soup! Clean and clear but tasty, especially when you eat the strongly flavorful eel liver.

You also get a side of pickled radish with green tea!

Build-up of anticipation is REAL.

The box is quite deep despite the size so you get a lot of rice! Though the eel is only little in quantity, you would easily get full from the fried rice and honestly the sweet smokey flavor can take its toll so I believe this is just the right ratio for Unagi to Fried Rice. I definitely left satisfied!

Nearby is actually a great supermarket with really good prices for snacks and drinks. Honestly the cheapest price for my entire trip. Definitely worth checking out!

Stay tuned for more Dazaifu! :)