This cruise is about 20 minutes along the Dotombori river. We got it free due to our Amazing Pass. Those without the Pass must pay 900 yen or so. If it is free, it is worth it. If you must pay 900 yen, think again.
Not that it is bad. It is interesting and relaxing but you can get the same sightseeing from walking even though of course it will be a bit different.
The value is in looking at those stores, restaurants, clubs etc from a distance. Good for camera
Tombori River Cruise is a mini cruise along Dotombori that lasts 20 minutes. It has a regular fee of 900 yen, but it is free with the Osaka Amazing Pass. It is quite difficult to enjoy the view since railing is quite high and there are a lot of passengers (there are quite a lot of seats available and they tend to be fully packed). The emcee I had was bubbly but mostly spoke in Japanese and her commentary mainly involved waving to all the passers-by. Overall I neither enjoyed the view nor gleaned information of Dotombori. Assuming you have the Osaka Amazing Pass, you might want to take this ride if you are in the area, have spare time, and want to rest your feet, but it is definitely not a must do, and in fact is not really something I would be willing to pay for without the Osaka Amazing Pass.. Do consider the Pirates of Osaka ride for a more enjoyable experience, which is similarly a mini cruise along Dotombori that lasts 20 minutes and is free with the Osaka Amazing Pass, but has fewer passengers, lower railings, and multilingual staff.
We took the cruise as its covered by the Osaka Amazing pass and we have some time before dinner. Only a 20 mins ride up and down the Dotombori River. Only highlight is you pass the Glico man sign. The cruise would be more interesting at night especially with all the neon lights. For this you could book in advance at the counter at the pier close to the Don Quijote store. Do note that the cruise closed at 9 pm.
Ride the cruise because of Osaka Amazing Pass, not worth if you bought the ticket. 20 minutes ride with an very poor Japanese explanation crew keep asking you to wave hand and count the bridge again and again.
Tickets are free with the Amazing Osaka pass. I recommend doing the night-time cruise as it's spectacular seeing the lights of Dotonbori from the water. However make sure you get tickets quickly as tickets are only sold on the day of each cruise and they sell out. On the day we went the cruise tickets were all sold out by about 7pm.
Boats leave approximately every 20 minutes and each ride last for about 20 minutes. When our boat came we made our way on board and took our seats. Our guide was a big jolly Japanese man in a safari hat. He pointed out sights as we travelled up and down the river. It was nice seeing everything lit up. Dotonburi is really pretty at night. It was a bit chilly on the water, but we had our warm jackets. At the end of the cruise we were led through a little chant, which was pretty cute.
