Guide · Daytime

Yakatabune lunch cruise and tea ceremony cruises by day

A yakatabune lunch cruise trades the night skyline for daylight on the water. Here is what actually runs by day in Tokyo, from a tea ceremony with sweets to daytime shared boats, and who each one suits.

Check availabilityfrom $102 · free cancellation possible

Editorial team, yakatabunedinnercruise.comUpdated October 22, 20266-minute read15 sources

This guide's tour Tokyo Cruise：Yakatabune Tea Ceremony,Sweets & Shamisen 4.6 (107 reviews) 1.5 hours from$63per person Check availabilityFree cancellation up to 24 hrs before

In brief

01Tea on the water: A 1.5-hour tea ceremony cruise with sweets and shamisen.
02From: $63, free cancellation until 24 hours before.
03Day options: Two sukiyaki cruises also sell a daytime tea option.
04Lunch boats: Amitatsu runs daytime shared boats too.¹
05Restaurant ships: Big ships sail lunch cruises from Hinode.²

Why go on the water by day

Most yakatabune sell the evening, but the boats work by day too, and a daytime trip is a different experience. You see the colours of the river and the bay, the bridges in daylight and the city's waterfront in detail, and you are back on land in time for an afternoon of sightseeing. A daytime cruise is also easier to fit into a short stay, because it does not use up one of your few evenings in the city.

Operators confirm that daytime sailings exist. Amitatsu, which runs the dinner cruise this site sells, takes bookings for a daytime shared boat until 15:00 the day before, and its charter boats can also sail during the day.¹ ³ Its sample banquet course lists small dishes, a sashimi platter, tempura, rice and soup.⁴

On GetYourGuide, though, the daytime yakatabune you can book directly is built around tea rather than lunch. The tea ceremony cruise this page recommends runs 1.5 hours from Etchujima with a tea ceremony, Japanese sweets, unlimited soft drinks and a live shamisen performance.

The tea cruise

A daytime cruise from Etchujima

15 min before

Meet at Etchujima

At 1-3-23 Etchujima, then the boarding point.
On board

Shoes off, seats

First come, first served standard seats.
Bay sailing

Rainbow Bridge

Past the bridge and Odaiba's statue.
During the cruise

Tea ceremony

With sweets, guidance and shamisen.
After 1.5 hrs

Back at the pier

The cruise returns to Etchujima.

The tea ceremony cruise from Etchujima

This cruise leaves from Etchujima pier, passes Rainbow Bridge, the Statue of Liberty replica in Odaiba and Tokyo Tower, and returns to the same pier. On board you take part in a tea ceremony with guidance on its history and meaning, eat Japanese sweets and drink as many soft drinks as you like.

The details are simple but strict. You meet at 1-3-23 Etchujima in Koto City, the taxi drop-off point, and board at 1-3-3 Etchujima; arrive 15 minutes early, because late arrivals are not accommodated. Seats are standard and first come, first served, tables may be shared, and in line with Japanese custom you remove your shoes.

The listing has a live guide in English, 107 reviews and a 4.59 rating, with guide and transportation each rated 4.8. It starts from $63, booking needs no payment up front, and a refund is yours if you cancel a day or more ahead.

By day on the water

Daytime cruises and what they serve

Option	Length	Food	From
Tea ceremony cruise	1.5 hrs	Tea, Japanese sweets	$63
Odaiba route, day option	1.5 hrs	Tea ceremony	$63
Cherry blossom cruise	100 min	Sukiyaki or sweets	$63
Day tour with bay cruise	9 to 9.5 hrs	Buffet lunch ashore	$77

Lengths and starting prices as listed on GetYourGuide; from prices can be higher for your date.

Daytime picks

Tea, blossom or the Odaiba route

Our daytime pick

Tea ceremony cruise

Etchujima, 1.5 hours

Serves: Tea and sweets
Guide: English
Price: from $63

See this cruise

Tokyo Bay Day/Night Cruise: Sukiyaki, Show & Odaiba Route

Most reviewed

Odaiba route cruise

Day or night

By day: Tea ceremony
Reviews: 1,244
Price: from $63

See this cruise

Spring

Cherry blossom cruise

Etchujima, 100 minutes

Serves: Sukiyaki or sweets
Deck: Open-air
Price: from $63

See this cruise

Decision helper

Which daytime trip suits you?

Pick by food, group size and season

I want a tea ceremony on the water I want blossom in spring I want a sit-down lunch We are a group of 25 I want the full yakatabune meal

The tea ceremony cruise

Tea with guidance, sweets and shamisen in 1.5 hours.

The cherry blossom cruise

Sukiyaki or sweets, a tea ceremony and an open-air deck.

A restaurant ship

They sail lunch cruises from Hinode pier.²

A daytime charter

Charters start at 20 or 25 adults depending on the day.⁵

The evening dinner cruise

About 14 dishes and free-flow drinks for 2.5 hours.

is in many ways a microcosm of the Japanese traditional sense of omotenashi, which translates as to look after guests wholeheartedly.

Japan National Tourism OrganizationSource 6

What a tea ceremony is

The Japan National Tourism Organization names the tea ceremony chanoyu or sado in Japanese, and calls the way of tea a microcosm of omotenashi, looking after guests wholeheartedly.⁷ ⁶ The preparing and presenting of matcha, the powdered green tea, is called otemae.⁷

There are degrees of formality. JNTO explains that chakai are informal gatherings to enjoy the ritual serving of tea, while a chaji is the more formal occasion.⁸ A tea ceremony on a cruise is the relaxed end of that scale: a short demonstration, a bowl of matcha and something sweet, with the river outside.

You do not need to know the etiquette in advance. Watch the host, receive the bowl with both hands and take your time. The cruise listing promises guidance on the history and meaning of the ceremony, so the explanation comes with the tea. If you would like to try the ceremony again on land, Tokyo has tea houses and classes, and the cruise is a gentle first taste.

Checklist

Before a daytime cruise

Book

Check whether your option serves food
Arrive 15 minutes early at Etchujima
Expect shared tables

Bring

Sunglasses for the deck
Socks, since shoes come off
Water if you dislike soft drinks

Cost calculator

Price a daytime cruise for your group

Enter how many are going to compare daytime options.

Tea ceremony cruise1.5 hoursfrom $63 Odaiba route1.5 hoursfrom $63 Cherry blossom100 minutesfrom $63

People 2

Total from$125

per head from $63

Check availabilityfree cancellation

Every total takes the cheapest GetYourGuide price of that cruise times the number of guests, converted at the ECB's daily rate; the booking page holds the final figure.

Video

The Art of Japanese Tea Ceremony in Tokyo with Takeda Rie

Nothing is loaded from YouTube until you press play on the video.

Daytime options on the sukiyaki cruises

Two other Etchujima listings sell a daytime version. One offers a 90-minute day cruise with a tea ceremony, Japanese sweets and shamisen alongside its night sukiyaki cruise. The Odaiba-route cruise, the most reviewed on this site with 1,244 reviews, lets you choose a daytime tea ceremony or a night sukiyaki meal.

In spring there is a seasonal version too. The cherry blossom cruise runs 100 minutes from Etchujima with sukiyaki or Japanese sweets, a tea ceremony, a shamisen performance and an open-air deck. It starts from $63 and has 100 reviews.

All of these share the same practical rules: shoes off, tables that may be shared and a boat that sails on time. If you want hot food by day, ask whether your chosen option serves sukiyaki or only sweets. Book early in cherry blossom season, when blossom cruises run for only a few weeks.⁹

A Tokyo Bay lunch cruise on a restaurant ship

If you want a sit-down lunch on the water, the big restaurant ships are the other choice. Sealine Tokyo's Symphony ships run lunch, afternoon, sunset and dinner cruises from Hinode pier, on a route under Rainbow Bridge and the Tokyo Gate Bridge.² Their kitchens cook French, Italian and buffet menus from seasonal ingredients.¹⁰

A Tokyo Bay lunch cruise on such a ship is a different style from a yakatabune: a French, Italian or buffet menu in a ship's restaurant rather than a course at a low table in a tatami cabin.¹⁰ Hinode pier is a minute's walk from Hinode station on the Yurikamome, and boarding closes 30 minutes before sailing.¹¹

A full-day bus tour sold on GetYourGuide combines the two worlds lightly: a matcha tea experience in Asakusa, a buffet lunch at a bay hotel and a 50-minute bay cruise on a Symphony ship, followed by Tokyo Tower. It starts from $77, has 221 reviews and a 4.89 rating.

Daytime yakatabune charters

For groups, a daytime charter is the true yakatabune lunch. Tokyo Updates notes that larger groups can charter a whole boat, and that a charter can include karaoke and entertainers such as geisha.¹² ¹³ Amitatsu says its charters usually leave in the evening but that daytime sailings are also possible.³

Charters have minimum sizes. Amitatsu needs at least 20 adults on weekdays and 25 on Friday to Sunday and holidays, and Harumiya charters to groups of more than 20, or more than 25 at weekends.⁵ ¹⁴ A cruise lasts about 2 hours 30 minutes to 3 hours.³

If your group is smaller, a daytime shared boat is the way in; Amitatsu takes bookings for one until 15:00 the day before.¹ Otherwise, the tea ceremony cruise gives you a yakatabune cabin by day with no minimum group size. A charter also keeps the whole cabin for your own group.

Day or evening: which to choose

By day you see more of the water and the city; by night you see the lights. Rainbow Bridge is lit from about 30 minutes after sunset until midnight, so a daytime cruise sees it as a white steel span rather than a ribbon of light.¹⁵ Tokyo Tower and Skytree read as landmarks by day and as glowing shapes at night.

Daytime suits families and travellers who want an early evening. A 1.5-hour tea cruise fits between lunch and an afternoon in Odaiba or Ginza, and children may find it easier than a long dinner. Note that Japanese law forbids selling alcohol to anyone under 20, which the listing repeats. On a sunny day, the open water is bright, so bring sunglasses and a hat for the deck.

If you want the full yakatabune meal, though, the evening is where it is sold: the dinner cruise this site sells runs 2.5 hours from Asakusa with about 14 dishes and free-flow drinks. Nothing stops you doing one of each, a tea cruise by day and dinner on another night.

Your night on the river