Tokyo Cruise from Asakusa — water bus routes, boats and fares
From Asakusa Pier, beside Azuma Bridge, you can cruise across Tokyo by boat. It is ¥2,000 to Odaiba Seaside Park, a modern sightseeing area, or ¥1,180 to Hamarikyu, a famous traditional Japanese garden (garden entry included). Check the board and screen at the pier for the day's boats.
Quick facts
- Fare from Asakusa
- ¥1,180 to Hamarikyu (garden entry included), ¥2,000 to Odaiba Seaside Park
- Journey time
- 35–70 min depending on boat and destination
- From Asakusa Stn
- About 1–3 min on foot
- Wheelchairs and strollers
- Wheelchairs board as they are, except on some very low spring tides when the ramp gets too steep; strollers can stay unfolded unless it's crowded
Which boat goes where?
Asakusa Pier is right by Azuma Bridge, about a minute on foot from Asakusa Station (Ginza Line and Tobu) and about three minutes from the Toei Asakusa Line station. Four kinds of boat leave from here, and the timetable board at the pier lists each one with its own colour. Fares are one way, adults, as shown on the board at the pier on 2 October 2026.
Asakusa Pier building. Photographed 4 May 2026.
Rooftop deck: it is not open on every ride.
- HOTALUNA: the open upper deck is used only between Hinode Pier and Odaiba, and it is closed in rain. On Asakusa → Hinode, and on Odaiba → Asakusa, you ride inside. So on the Asakusa → Odaiba trip the deck is open only for the last stretch (about 20 minutes) after Hinode Pier.
- EMERALDAS: has an open-air top deck, weather permitting.
- If the deck matters to you, ask at the ticket counter before you buy.
| Boat | Destination | Time | Fare |
|---|---|---|---|
| RYOMA (Sumida River boat) | Hamarikyu | about 35 min | ¥1,180 |
| RYOMA (Sumida River boat) | Hinode Pier | about 40 min | ¥1,000 |
| HOTALUNA | Hinode Pier | about 40 min | ¥1,400 |
| HOTALUNA | Odaiba Seaside Park (via Hinode) | about 70 min | ¥2,000 |
| RYOMA (Sumida River boat) | Odaiba Seaside Park (change at Hinode Pier) | about 40 min + about 15 min | ¥1,600 |
| EMERALDAS | Odaiba Seaside Park | about 55 min | ¥2,000 |
| HIMIKO | Odaiba Seaside Park | about 50 min | ¥2,000 |
The board at the pier: match the boat’s photo and name to its fare and the day’s departures. Photographed 2 October 2026.
Children 6–11 pay half or less. The Hamarikyu fare includes admission to Hamarikyu Gardens.
What about Toyosu?
Toyosu appears on the cruising map and on the operator’s fare page, where it is listed as a HIMIKO service at ¥2,600 and about 90 minutes. On the pier board, though, the HIMIKO column shows only Odaiba. Treat Toyosu as irregular: don’t plan around it, and ask at the ticket counter if you want to go.
Who designed the boats?
Three of the four boats were designed by Leiji Matsumoto, the manga and anime artist behind Space Battleship Yamato and Galaxy Express 999: HIMIKO, HOTALUNA and EMERALDAS. RYOMA, the plain Sumida River boat, is not one of them.
- HIMIKO has a teardrop shape and carries about 80 passengers. The operator says it was built so that children would want to climb aboard, and it plays announcements with characters from Galaxy Express 999.
- HOTALUNA is the silver, spaceship-like boat with gull-wing doors, for about 120 passengers. The name joins hotaru (firefly) and Luna: a firefly dancing over the Sumida River on a moonlit night. For its rooftop deck, see the box above.
- EMERALDAS is the third in the series, for about 100 passengers, named after a character in Matsumoto’s stories. Its open-air top deck is covered in the box above.
Matsumoto and Daft Punk
Matsumoto’s work is famous outside Japan too. Daft Punk, the French electronic duo (not American, though they are hugely popular in the US), were fans of his work and asked him to make the animated film Interstella 5555 for their album Discovery (2001). The Japanese release of Discovery used a Matsumoto illustration on its CD jacket. If you know the “One More Time” video, those blue-skinned space musicians are his characters, and the same sci-fi look is what you see on these boats.
How do you buy tickets?
Inside the pier building, follow the signs: same-day tickets one way, passengers with an online reservation the other way. Reserved passengers board first. The counter is cashless only (credit card, electronic money or QR payment). Popular boats sell out: on the day of the photos, two of the three EMERALDAS departures were marked “SOLD OUT”, with online tickets still available for the third.
Signs in the ticket hall. Photographed 2 October 2026.
Check the board and the screen
Departures change by season, weather and day, and some days a boat does not run at all. Before you buy, check two things at the pier: the timetable board by the entrance, where each boat’s departures for the day are written in, and the departures screen on the wall, which shows the day’s operating status. Before you leave your hotel, you can also check Today’s Operating Status. Cruises may be cancelled in bad weather, and HOTALUNA has regular maintenance days.
The ticket hall: the timetable board is by the entrance, and the departures screen is on the wall. Photographed 2 October 2026.
