Osaka: Work to Revive Historical Boat Route from Osaka Expo Site to Kyoto Nears Completion

The Yomiuri Shimbun

12:00 JST, August 24, 2024

OSAKA — Work to revive a boat route on the Yodo River in Osaka is progressing to coincide with the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo. When the historical route is revived, it will take about six to seven hours to travel between Yumeshima, an artificial island in Osaka Bay where the Expo is being held, and Fushimi Ward, Kyoto.

Long ago, passengers and cargo traveled along the Yodo River by boat. In the Edo period (1603-1867), more than 300 boats traveled on the river each day between Osaka and Fushimi.

However, the use of such boats decreased drastically in the 20th century. In 1983, a large weir called the Yodogawa Ozeki was built about 10 kilometers upstream of the river’s mouth to secure a water supply and prevent flooding, making the route impossible to navigate.

The land ministry’s Kinki regional bureau is constructing a new, approximately 20-meter-wide lock at the weir to allow boats to pass through. The lock will allow four ships with 100 passengers each to pass through at the same time, the bureau said. In addition, a 10th boat quay is under construction in Osaka’s Juso district. Both facilities will be completed by the end of this fiscal year.

Going forward, the bureau will dredge where needed to secure the river route.