Canal cruising in Yanagawa-city

There are beautiful canals in Yanagawa, which were ordered by Yoshimasa Tanaka in 16th century.

Yanagawa is popular with Japanese tourists because of its 470 km of wide canals. Yanagawa riverboats, called "donkobune", are used to take tourists around the city. In 1987 a video documentary was created by Studio Ghibli about these canals and their restoration. The Story of Yanagawa's Canals (柳川掘割物語) is widely available and includes English subtitles.