A Waterborne Tour to Your Private Tokyo

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Updated: September 30, 2022

The Tokyo Water Taxi will take you to places that other visitors never see, with fresh air and no concerns about traffic congestion

Away from the busy city streets is another Tokyo that can be enjoyed from the water. Tokyo Water Taxi, with its fleet of yellow taxis that can each carry up to eight passengers, offers an unusual way for friends or family to explore the city from the water.

Tokyo Water Taxi has various courses from the Basic Ride, a set route you can reserve online, to the Custom Ride, where passengers may make requests for an extravagant expedition around the capital city. You can experience the great outdoors, enjoy sea breezes, and interact with locals while exploring the city’s waterways. At the Port of Tokyo, a major world port, get up close to massive container ships and marvel at the sight of powerful gantry cranes at work. After dark, admire a 360-degree view of the city.

With this model course, explore the canals of Tokyo with a custom tour created by Tokyo Water Taxi.

Tips

Use Tokyo Water Taxi as a convenient means of transportation to waterfront attractions. The direct routes avoid the hassle of transfers and crowds, and are a good choice for families and groups.
Drop by waterfront restaurants by boat and order takeout of local specialties. The maguro-don (tuna rice bowl) restaurant at the pier is a popular choice.
From October to May, see flocks of adorable yurikamome, or black-headed gulls, during their yearly migration from Russia.

Map Legend

Walking
Taxi
Bus
Train
Water Bus

Time to cruise the downtown waterways of central Tokyo

Tamachi Station

Tamachi Station is a stop on the JR Yamanote Line and JR Keihin-Tohoku Line.

3 mins

All aboard the water taxi

Tamachi Water Taxi stop

The trip begins in Tamachi. Board your boat at the Tamachi Water Taxi stop, a three-minute walk from the east exit of JR Tamachi Station.

5 mins

Serene canals

Shibaura Canals

Soon after the taxi leaves its moorings, you will find yourself in a part of Tokyo that relatively few foreign visitors have seen: the serene canals of Shibaura. After cruising these waterways, you pass through an impressive floodgate and enter the Port of Tokyo.

5 mins

An ocean gateway to Tokyo

Rainbow Bridge

You can truly appreciate the full scale and visual impact of Rainbow Bridge from the water.
When this massive structure was completed in 1993, it created an entirely new way to see Tokyo: as a city on the water. Since then, as various buildings have been completed, the view has become more impressive with each passing year.
Ahead is the futuristic skyline of Odaiba, with its shopping malls, hotels, and entertainment centers. To your right are the giant cranes and other waterfront facilities that support the trade underpinning Japan's economy. To your left, the high-rise modern cityscape of central Tokyo, with TOKYO SKYTREE towering in the distance. The water taxi moves on in that direction, toward Tokyo Tower, the historic site of Odaiba, Toyosu Wholesale Fish Market, and the former Olympic and Paralympic Village.

5 mins

A historic garden with an iconic view

Hama-rikyu Gardens

Leaving the panoramic vistas and seagulls of Tokyo Bay behind, you enter the broad Sumida River, one of the city's great waterways. On the left bank are Hama-rikyu Gardens, the former site of a villa owned by the Tokugawa family, the military rulers of Japan in centuries past. Beyond the greenery of this public park rises Tokyo Tower. Your water taxi offers a great chance to take a photo of this iconic structure from an unusual angle.
This model course takes 60 minutes, but the journey does not need to end here. Add another 30 minutes to head back south, under Rainbow Bridge and past the docks. The next and final destination is Tennozu Pier.

7 mins

A waterfront neighborhood overflowing with art

Tennozu Pier (Tennozu Isle)

After coming ashore at Tennozu Pier, you can explore Tennozu Isle, an artificial island that was once mainly an industrial district. Many of its warehouses have now been repurposed into shops and galleries. Stroll around the area to explore its quaint shops and to see some colorful street art.

1 min

A great meal, “ocean style”

RIDE

Finally, call it a day at RIDE, a gastropub and "ocean-style" restaurant. It has a spacious, open-plan layout, with a waterside terrace overlooking the canal. Water taxis can be boarded directly from the terrace via the pier.
Alternatively, choose a cruise with a lunch or dinner set. You can also bring takeout aboard to enjoy while cruising the waterways.