Yakatabune

Yakatabune 屋形船 (やかたぶね, Yakatabune) are a kind of privately owned Japanese boat. Private boats of the Shogun from the Heian Era through the Edo Era were very lavishly decorated. Yakatabune have tatami mats inside and Japanese low tables that resemble an upper class Japanese home, in fact it means Home style Boat, and are basically for entertaining guests in the old days. Today they plow the waterways of the rivers and bays of Tokyo among the skyscrapers and temples for sighteseeing and retain a traditional feel.

External links

• CNN Go Yakatabune: Party boats ply the bay