Departing from the calm waters below the Shinhozu Bridge in Kameoka, boats traverse the mountain rapids, finishing at Togetsukyō (渡月橋) in Arashiyama.
This 16km route is the same one once used by boatmen transporting lumber from Tanba Province (丹波国) to Kyotō. They would bind the logs together to form rafts and sail these downriver.
The wood was pivotal in the creation of the capitals Nagaoka-kyō (長岡京) and Heian-kyō.
It's thought the expression 'kawakudari' (川下り) was first used when boats transported logs to help in the construction of the short-lived capital Nagaoka-kyō (長岡京 784-94).
With (a lot of) poetic license we might better translate 'kawakudari' as 'shooting the rapids'.
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