If you've been to the Odaiba waterfront in the evening you may have noticed the dozens of lantern-lit yakatabune party boats gathered out in Tokyo Bay, where they're rented out for dinner and drinking parties on the water. When the boats aren't out on the bay or traversing the Sumida River they're docked here in Asakusabashi, along the eastern edge of the Kanda River.

If you pass by during the daytime, the rustic wooden shacks belonging to the boat rental companies look rather incongruous amid the modern office and apartment buildings of Asakusabashi, as do the wooden docks along the river embankment. But the festively decorated boats make a picturesque sight in the early evening as they head out to Tokyo Bay for their nightly parties.