A Sketch of Riding SKY DUCK!!

Let me introduce the Tokyo Splash Tour by SKY DUCK. 

It’s a sightseeing tour in Sumida & Koto-Ku of Tokyo by amphibious bus. It means a bus cruises on a river as well as runs on road. 

I took the Tokyo Splash Tour on one summer day.

【Departure】

The tour starts from Tokyo Sky Tree and ends at the same place.  It’s a 100min. tour.  Before the departure every guest receives a Sky Duck fan. Isn’t it a nice present?

【Tour Route】

Sky Tree ⇒　Kameido-Tenjin Shrine ⇒ Kameido station ⇒　Old Nakagawa River  ⇒  (Cruise in the river and 15min. break) 　⇒　Nishi Ojima 　⇒　Kameido 　⇒　Tokyo Sky Tree

【During the tour】

A tour guide is on board and gives us some Information about the amphibious bus and Sumida & Koto-ku while touring, and entertain us by giving quizzes.

During the tour, guests just enjoy the scenery on board. We didn’t get off the bus for visiting sightseeing spots.

【River cruise】

After about 30min. driving, we reached Old-Nakagawa

River and our bus went into the river with a big splash!!

Wow!! This is the main attraction of the tour.

The SKY DUCK cruised about 30min. on the river. We found some black birds, great cormorants on riverside.

The speed of SKY DUCK is about 7 knots at most (12~13km/h) which is as fast as bicycle.

【Canoeing】

It’s so nice to see some people canoeing on the river. I know some junior & senior high schools in Edogawa & Koto-Ku have a canoe club. They are skilled enough to compete in national level sports meetings. School kids come to this river for training.  There are canoe clubs for citizens in Koto-ku which provide classes to learn canoeing.

【About Ms.Monica SERYU】     

An athlete of canoeing for the Rio de Janeiro Paralympics representing Japan, Ms.Monika SERYU sometimes practices canoeing on this river. She is a citizen of Koto-ku and has been drawing people’s attention because she is a good athlete to strive for a medal.

Let us keep watching her and cheer her up in Paralympics.

【About Old Nakagawa River】

This river is diverted from ARAKAWA River and enters

again the same river after 6.68km of flow. The river flow is controlled by the watergates

at both edns of the river, so that it’s ideal place for canoeing as there is no moving stream of water.      

We took 15 min. break at the service area on riverside after

landing again on the ground.

【Onagigawa River】

Onagigawa River starts from this point and runs toward the west. The river is flanked on either side by housing complexes.

 【On the way back】

I got some trivia on this area from the tour guide.

Have you heard of these?

1.  Nishi-Ojima is a competitive area for Japanese fried chicken (KARAAGE).  It is true that I found some fried chicken shops on both sides of the street.  It’s exciting to find different flavors of KARAAGE such as Curry Cheese, Tartar sauce, Spicy sauce beside regular soy sauce taste.

2. Kameido Pedestrian Bridge over the big intersection  of  KEIYO Highway.

The bridge was designed after the hexagonal pattern of tortoise’s shell, because tortoise is the symbol of the town Kameido. You wouldn’t be able to see this tortoise shape when you cross the bridge. You have to see it from the air or below the bridge, but actually it is shaped octagonal because the bridge had to form a corridor connecting 4 corners of intersection with stairways to climb up for people.   

3. Pavement of Kameido is composed of hexagonal blocks linked together which is also the shape of tortoise shell.

【Amphibious Vehicle】

The tour ended at the same point where we departed from near Tokyo Sky Tree.  I took a photo of the propeller and rudder under the bus body.  The bus is equipped with a big propeller, rudder and huge tires.

【Conclusion】

It was very enjoyable tour, particularly on hot summer day. However guiding is given only in Japanese. 

by HY