Ritsurin Garden Boat Ride Guide 2026: Booking, Hours & Tips

Traveling the World, One Match at a Time

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:: Spots ::

✈️ Takamatsu Ritsurin Garden: The Rowboat Experience ✈️

📑 Table of Contents
01	Is a Reservation Essential for the Ritsurin Garden Rowboat?
02	Where to Board Your Ritsurin Garden Rowboat
03	My Ritsurin Garden Rowboat Adventure

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When you visit Takamatsu Ritsurin Garden, a leisurely stroll is definitely lovely, but don't miss out on the incredible rowboat experience! I highly recommend giving it a try.

After a long walk, your legs might appreciate a break! Plus, it's not every day you get to glide along in a charming little boat like this. It's a fantastic experience, even more so if you're traveling with kids!

During my own trip to Takamatsu, when I visited Ritsurin Garden, I had the incredible chance to ride a traditional Japanese wooden boat, known as a Wasen.

I'll guide you through everything you need to know about the Ritsurin Garden Wasen: how to ride it, the cost, its location, why it's a must-do, and more!

Ritsurin Garden Rowboat Info at a Glance🤓
Location	Inside Ritsurin Garden
Operating Hours	Weekdays 9:00 AM ~ 4:00 PM / Weekends & Holidays 9:00 AM ~ 4:15 PM
Duration	30 minutes
Price	Adults 850 yen / Children 420 yen

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01 Is a Reservation Absolutely Necessary for the Ritsurin Garden Rowboat?

For the Ritsurin Garden rowboat, you have two options: either purchase your tickets on-site when you arrive or secure them with a prior reservation.

However, the reservation process is entirely in Japanese, and even with a reservation, you still need to arrive 30 minutes before your scheduled boarding time to complete the payment on-site. Since there are no special discounts for booking ahead, I honestly wondered if it was worth the extra hassle.

We ended up purchasing our tickets directly on-site, too.

Unless it's a truly peak season like cherry blossom or autumn foliage, I think buying your tickets directly there will be perfectly sufficient❗

Ritsurin Garden Peak Season (Estimated)
🌸 Cherry Blossom Season	Late March ~ Early April
🍁 Autumn Foliage Season	Mid-November ~ Late November

You can make reservations on the Kagawa Prefecture website

(⏱ As of 10/25, currently undergoing temporary maintenance)

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02 Where to Board Your Ritsurin Garden Rowboat

Still, are you worried the rowboat might be super popular and you won't get a spot?💬

My tip is this: as soon as you enter Ritsurin Garden, head straight to the rowboat boarding area and check the available times!

The boarding spot for the Ritsurin Garden rowboat isn't far from the park entrance, so you'll find it with ease.

When it comes to boarding times for the rowboat, you essentially have two main options:

✔ hop on right after you enter

✔ explore for a while and then enjoy a relaxed ride later

We, however, opted to explore Ritsurin Garden a bit first, deciding to hop on once our legs started feeling tired (a brilliant strategy, if you ask me!). So we picked a more leisurely boarding time 😀.

🟩 Recommended Route

Ritsurin Garden Stroll → Wasen

→ Kikugetsu-tei (Teahouse)

To truly explore every enchanting corner of Takamatsu Ritsurin Garden, you'll do a fair bit of walking and likely check your map quite often.

That's why I highly recommend getting an eSIM in advance, so you can use data worry-free wherever you are.

I've found an eSIM that's currently on sale at a 50% discount until the end of this month only, and the best part is you can set your activation date anytime! Let me tell you about it.

👉 Grab an eSIM at Half Price Now and Activate Whenever You're Ready!

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03 My Ritsurin Garden Rowboat Adventure

The Takamatsu Ritsurin Garden rowboat can accommodate six passengers, guided by a friendly local boatman.

If you arrive about 10 minutes before your departure time, they'll check your ticket and hand out these fun straw hats (lol) for your ride.

Did I *really* need to write about this? Well, it turned out to be pretty great... haha

Our guide took us around the Ritsurin Garden lake,

explaining things here and there.

Unfortunately, since it was all in Japanese,

I couldn't understand everything! ^_ㅠ

Instead, I looked at the Korean explanation sheet they handed out with us,

and exploring different spots was

surprisingly fun! haha

I also got to learn more about the places I had already seen,

and even discovered new spots that made me think, 'Oh, I definitely need to check that out!'

I did think the boat was a little slow, but they managed to show us

everything so thoroughly in 30 minutes!

It was a healing moment, giving my tired legs a much-needed break 🍃

With so many photo opportunities,

I made sure to charge my phone battery whenever I got a chance to rest🔋

👇 Recommendation for a small and compact 10000mAh power bank

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Some of you might wonder if it's really necessary to pay to enter a park,

but Ritsurin Garden, which I visited on the first day of my Takamatsu trip,

truly remains one of the most memorable places for me :)

While you can certainly just walk around the park,

exploring it from a traditional boat

offers a completely different vibe.

So, if you're looking for places to visit in Takamatsu,

I highly recommend going to Ritsurin Garden and taking a boat ride!

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below!

🏨 I also recommend a Takamatsu hotel that was quiet and clean, which I liked

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Q. Ritsurin Garden Boat Ride:

Do I need to book in advance?

If you're visiting on a peak season weekend,

a reservation might be necessary,

but typically, it's not that busy.

If you're concerned, the reservation page opens one month in advance,

so you can check then.

Q. Ritsurin Garden Boat Ride:

Can children ride alone?

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Children cannot ride by themselves.

Up to two elementary school students can ride

per guardian.

Please note that children under 3 years old

are not permitted to board, even if accompanied by a guardian.

3. Can you ride the boat on a rainy day?

The decision to operate the boat is made on-site,

depending on the intensity of the rain.

Naturally, refunds are available in the event of natural disasters.