Sumida-Gawa river cruise

Travelling by suijo-bus (water bus) down the Sumida River not only gets you a faceful of fresh air, but brings you closer to Tokyo’s riverborne heritage, showing off a more home-grown perspective of the city than a subway spin will. When you’re hemmed in by concrete and glass, it’s easy to forget that Tokyo’s vibrant river systems are the arteries through which its commerce has traditionally flowed, from the Edo period to the present day.

Down at water level, you see the huge timber- and landfill-hauling barges, the occasional lone fisherman and the yakata-bune – floating restaurants where, traditionally, customers seated on tatami (woven-floor matting) eat ayu (sweet fish) washed down with sake. Redevelopment schemes are slowly changing the face of the riverfront, but as you pass beneath the dozen colourful bridges on your journey, you’ll continue to spy the hanging laundry drying on the apartment blocks of regular Tokyo folk, as well as some prime riverfront encampments of Tokyo’s more down-at-heel inhabitants. The best way to work in a river cruise is to travel between Asakusa and Hama-rikyū-teien, the lovely waterfront garden near Ginza. Consider taking in a walking tour of Asakusa sights, then catching the suijo-bus for a stroll through Hama-rikyū-teien. Alternatively, you could cruise across Tokyo Bay to travel from old-fashioned Asakusa out to the modern amusements of the man-made island of Odaiba.