Arashiyama Boat Cruise and Romantic Train - Info please

I gather from my searching of TA that you can do a 2 hour boat cruise at Arashiyama and a return Romantic Train ride, is this correct?

Is the 2 hour boat cruise worth the time, as in, is the scenery and experience worth it?

Also want to walk through the Bamboo Forest but not interested in the monkeys.

Which shrine or temple is a must see there?

Thanks

Pam

Arashiyama Boat Cruise and Romantic Train - Info please

Those wanting to join the river cruise need to take a ';Romantic Train'; and bus it to the dock on the river first and then cruize down. Granted, this is no whitewater rafting and thus the 2-hour boat ride will be a downer to the adventurous for that matter since obviously lacking in the thrill they%26#39;d want; yet, for those wanting to undergo the first-hand seasonal change of Kyoto, it%26#39;ll be fun doing it, I suppose.

If you land on the promenade from the dock downstream and then walk a bit to the left, you%26#39;ll locate on your right-hand side long stairs that lead into Arashiyama Park. Names are signposted in English around here, so you%26#39;ll have no trouble heading for places of great interest nearby: Ohkochi Sanso Villa, Tenryuji Temple and other venues as well in the Sagano area, via Bamboo Lane.

Arashiyama Boat Cruise and Romantic Train - Info please

Thanks Shot.

Have you done this river cruise, is it worth the 2 hours?

My family really enjoyed the train / boat trip. The train is old with wooden seats. At the second station a man dressed up with a wig and mask got on on and worked his way through the train entertaining everyone. He sang ';Yesterday'; to us as we told him we were from Liverpool. The bus at the end of the train ride was pretty packed but everyone was able to get on. I think we waited 20-30 minutes for our boat. There was an indoor area adjacent where you could buy souvenirs and refreshments. The boat trip was good but definately not white water rafting...we saw all sorts of birds (including something which looked like a eagle). You go through a gorge and are able to see the train going along much higher up. You are dropped off not far from the long bridge, you can get a rickshaw to / through the Bamboo forest from there. It was an easy walk though. We thought it was worth the time...

Pamies,

Wish I coud say yes. Most of the time I chance to see the cruise boats coming down the gorge from a lookout point high above in the park or from the river bank trail or from the truck train window. From what I gather, though, the views from the cruise boat is nicest at either spring time or fall.