Snow-viewing Geibikei River Boat Ride

Due to heavy snowstorms, our trip to Northeast Japan in 2023 caused a lot of trouble. When we arrived at Ichinoseki Station early in the morning, we found that the Geibikei cruise ship had stopped operating. We went to the tourist information center to ask a Taiwanese lady to provide Chinese travel information, and then ate at a ramen restaurant in the station. In the afternoon, we took the JR Ofunato Line at 2:17, expected to arrive at Geibikei Station at 2:46, and then took the 3:00 ferry. I was worried that I would not have enough time to get to the boat station after arriving at the station (even though the official website said it was a 6-minute walk). But as soon as I got out of the station, a bicycle rider came to greet me and asked if I wanted to take the boat, how many people I had, and whether I was Taiwanese. Then he took us to the boat boarding area to buy tickets. It turned out that he was a staff member. He was wearing a shirt with "Geibikei" embroidered on it. During the process, he even called to report and asked the boat to wait for our arrival before leaving! Why come to Geibikei? In the process of looking for scenic spots, I hope to focus on JR stations and try not to take buses (which will increase transportation costs), so I gave up the Mogami River in Yamagata and Genbikei in Hiraizumi; in addition, Geibikei is one of the three major rivers in Japan and is also listed as a 100-point scenic spot. It gets on and off the boat at the same point and the boat is the cheapest (1,800 yen); and you can also make an appointment for JR's Pokémon bus along the Otofu Line on weekends, which can connect the attractions into a line, but man proposes, God disposes. The cruise ship stops running in the morning and the Pokémon bus stops running on the same day, hahahaha! Geibikei is a valley where there is a large stalactite protruding from the rock wall. Its shape resembles the nose of a lion, so it is called Geibikei. The Geibi River boat cruise is a 90-minute cruise along the Geibi River. In winter, the boat is equipped with a charcoal stove (but we didn't burn it that day?), a warm quilt (covered), a transparent roof and openable windows. There are two people and the boatman, one at the helm and the other giving introductions in Japanese (with a little Chinese). Taiwanese will send Chinese DMs to passengers to check with their numbers. There are canyon rocks on both sides along the way, such as the Big Geibi Rock, Shelter Rock, Young Woman Rock, Zhuangfu Rock, Dafeiquan... etc. In fact, we couldn't understand the content of the introduction at all. We were on the boat, just looking at the gray and white rock walls, the winter snow scene, the snowflakes on the trees, the snow on the ground, and experiencing the mountain viewing show as if we were in a Chinese landscape painting, we were super intoxicated! There are several fun things to do while on a boat. You can buy feed (50 yen per bag) on ​​the boat to feed the ducks. The beautiful ducks will follow the boat. When you open the window and throw out the feed, the ducks will splash water to compete for the food. It's super fun! During the cruise, you will take a 20-minute break before going ashore and walking along the river bank. After crossing a bridge, you will arrive at the 124-meter Daegibi Rock. In addition to admiring the Fairy Tail Rock, Longqiantan, and Buxiao Rock, you can also transport stones and throw them (3 stones for 100 yen). It is said that throwing stones into the hole on the other side will bring good luck. A man on the same boat actually hit 2 stones, and everyone exclaimed. The boatman also gave them small gifts. The return trip ended with an enka performance by the boatman. I highly recommend that you arrange a unique human-powered round-trip stream rafting in Japan in winter. The white snow, steep cliffs, winding canyons and natural beauty allow you to admire the wonders of nature with your own eyes, leaving behind beautiful images and memories. It is worth it! It’s really worth it! #Geibikei should be the most beautiful fjord snow scene in Tohoku #2023 Travel Review