Kameoka · Hozu GorgeNo.1197★★Open in map →

Hozugawa River Boat Ride

natureOff the trail — and worth it

A wooden boat ride down the Hozu gorge, boarding near Kameoka Station and landing at Arashiyama. Boatmen pole and steer the hull by hand through a stretch of mountain no road follows, and the trip doubles as the way into western Kyoto.

FromKyoto Station
~30 minJR train, several an hour
Get off atKameoka Station (JR Sagano Line)
On foot
Hozugawa River Boat Ride

Directions ↗

The sweet spot

This is a long-established excursion, not a hidden one. What is less obvious is that it replaces a train journey — you arrive in Arashiyama instead of doubling back — and that the slow stretches between the rapids are the part most visitors forget to look at.

Where it is

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What to look for — in walking order

The Kameoka landingthe ticket office and boarding jetty on the left bank, a short walk from the station
The named rocksshapes the boatmen point out along the way, among them Shomotsu-iwa and the frog rock
Pole and rope marksworn scars in the rock left by poling, and by hauling empty boats back upstream
Kotogase Chayaa floating snack boat that ties up alongside partway down the run
The Arashiyama landingthe arrival jetty where the gorge opens out into the sightseeing district

How to actually get there

Kyoto Station → Kameoka Station (JR Sagano / San-in Line, rapid service, about 20 minutes).
Kameoka Station north exit → the Hozugawa boat landing (about 8 minutes on foot, signposted).
Buy or collect a ticket at the landing and board for the run downstream.
Land at Arashiyama and walk on into the Sagano district.

JR Sagano Line from Kyoto Station: Kyoto Station →(JR Sagano / San-in Line, rapid service, about 20 minutes)→ Kameoka Station, then about 8 minutes on foot from the north exit to the riverside landing. Rapid and local services both run, several an hour through the day, so there is no timetable to plan around.
Return from Arashiyama, not Kameoka: The boat ends at Arashiyama, so the way home starts there: Saga-Arashiyama Station on the JR Sagano Line back to Kyoto Station, or the Hankyu Arashiyama Line toward Osaka. Trains are frequent into the evening, but check the last departure if you take a late sailing.

Directions from my location (Google Maps) ↗

About the place

The Hozu River leaves the Kameoka basin and turns into a narrow, twisting corridor through the mountains before it reaches Arashiyama. Wooden boats run that whole line, about 16 kilometres of it, from a jetty on the left bank down to the edge of the sightseeing district. The hull is worked by hand: a pole at the bow, an oar amidships, a rudder at the stern. Between the rapids the water slows into deep green pools and the rock walls close in on both sides. At the end of the run the boats are trucked back upstream, so the current only ever goes one way.

How to enjoy it

The run takes about two hours, so plan it as the way into Arashiyama rather than a detour — you step off within walking distance of the bamboo district. Spring blossom and autumn colour work both walls of the gorge, and sailings are scheduled through the winter as well. Reserve ahead or check the day's departures, because the water level decides whether the boats go.

Background & history

Timber from the Tanba highlands had long been floated down this river, but the gorge was too rough for loaded boats. In 1606 the Kyoto merchant Suminokura Ryoi won permission to open a channel through it, and crews dragged out boulders, broke submerged rock and filled the shallows until flat-bottomed takasebune could pass. For close to three centuries the river carried rice, charcoal and firewood to the capital. Freight ended after the San-in railway reached Kameoka in 1899, and the sightseeing boats that had already started running took the route over.

Before you go

Cash: Tickets are sold at the Kameoka landing and can also be reserved online in advance; fares are set by the operator and listed on its site. Kameoka Station takes IC cards such as ICOCA and Suica as well as cash.
Good to know: Sailings are suspended when the river is high or the weather turns, and the operator posts the day's running status before departures. The boat is open to wind and spray, so dress for the water rather than for the walk.
Another way: From the Sagano sightseeing railway, ride to its Kameoka terminus and take the Keihan Kyoto Kotsu connecting bus to the boat landing. From Osaka, the Hankyu line to Katsura and a Keihan Kyoto Kotsu bus to Kameoka Station is the other way in, roughly 40 minutes by bus.
After you get off: From Kameoka Station, leave by the north exit and walk toward the river, passing the side of Sanga Stadium. Boards mark the way the whole distance, and the ticket office and jetty stand together on the embankment.