2/5 H. W. 2 years ago on Google
My
husband
and
I
took
a
canal
tour
and
had
a
good
time
overall.
We
had
access
to
kayaks,
paddles,
and
PFD,
but
we
were
disturbed
that
we
didn’t
receive
any
safety
training
or
information
on
how
to
use
a
kayak.
I
have
kayaked
a
bit
before,
but
my
husband
had
never
tried.
I
assumed
that
the
tour
company
would
provide
basic
training
about
paddling
(starting,
stopping,
turning)
and
waterway
etiquette,
but
we
didn’t
receive
any
such
information
other
than
a
cursory
request
to
“stay
to
the
right
on
the
water.”
If
we’d
known,
we
would
have
watched
some
kayak
videos
ahead
of
time.
On
one
hand,
it
is
nice
that
everyone
could
get
in
the
water
without
laboring
over
safety
lectures.
Kayaks
are
intuitive
in
that
way.
On
the
other
hand,
we
found
the
lack
of
training
problematic
in
the
Tokyo
canals,
which
are
utilized
by
numerous
motorized
boats
that
could
cause
harm
to
kayakers.
In
the
smaller
canals,
you
can
expect
to
find
jet
skis
and
private
fishing
boats,
and
the
larger
canals
include
dinner
cruise
boats
and
the
waterbus,
all
headed
for
Tokyo
Bay.
It
is
important
to
follow
the
“rules
of
the
road”
when
entering
the
canals,
yet
we
had
no
knowledge
of
how
to
control
our
kayaks
or
basic
waterway
etiquette.
My
husband
and
I
were
put
into
a
tandem
kayak
even
though
we
expressed
repeatedly
that
we
did
not
want
to
use
a
tandem
kayak,
but
the
tour
operators
claimed
that
we
had
no
choice.
We
went
along
with
it
because
my
husband
really
wanted
to
try
kayaking.
I
was
surprised
that
I
was
placed
in
the
front
of
the
tandem
even
though
I
weigh
more
and
have
tandem
kayaking
experience.
Generally,
heavier/experienced
people
go
in
the
back
since
that
person
controls
the
boat.
When
I
questioned
the
tour
operators
about
the
seating,
they
dismissed
my
questions
without
an
explanation.
I
can
only
assume
that
this
was
a
kind
of
sexism,
that
the
man
has
to
go
in
the
back?
Maybe
similar
to
the
sexism
that
lead
them
to
put
a
man
and
woman
in
a
tandem
on
the
assumption
that
we
were
a
couple
just
because
we
made
the
reservation
together.
Once
we
were
on
the
canals,
one
of
the
tour
operators
kept
trying
to
get
close
to
talk
to
us
and
kept
bashing
their
boat
against
ours
and
then
apologizing
by
saying
something
along
the
lines
of
“Oh,
I
just
can’t
steer
these
boats
very
well.”
Please
practice
steering
the
boat
if
you
are
supporting
a
guided
boat
tour.
At
one
point,
one
of
the
other
tour
participants
decided
to
shoot
across
the
group
perpendicular
to
the
direction
of
motion.
We
were
following
the
river,
but
he
suddenly
came
from
the
side
and
cut
in
front
of
us.
He
had
his
head
turned
and
hadn’t
looked
before
darting
forward.
My
husband
had
no
idea
how
to
stop
the
boat
-
not
that
we
could
have
stopped
a
heavy
tandem
in
the
short
time
we
had
to
react
–
and
we
ended
up
running
into
the
back
of
the
other
kayak
and
submerging
it,
dumping
the
rider
into
the
water.
The
tour
operators
told
us
to
apologize,
which
we
did
to
keep
the
peace,
but
then
repeatedly
dismissed
my
husband’s
concerns
about
not
knowing
how
to
control
our
kayak
and
requests
for
instruction,
essentially
telling
us
to
apologize
and
just
figure
out
the
boat
ourselves.
There
is
no
reason
that
the
other
participant
should
have
been
travelling
perpendicular
to
the
direction
of
motion,
nor
should
they
have
been
shooting
between
other
kayaks
sideways
without
looking
for
oncoming
“traffic.”
This
is
the
exact
behavior
that
should
have
been
addressed
in
a
waterway
etiquette
meeting.
On
the
other
hand,
my
husband
and
I
didn’t
notice
the
other
boat
coming
towards
us,
so
we
had
our
own
responsibility
when
it
came
to
lack
of
situational
awareness
in
that
moment.
Overall,
this
tour
was
fun
and
the
canals
were
interesting.
We
are
glad
that
we
participated,
though
we
won’t
be
returning
given
the
overall
lack
of
consideration
for
boat
safety/etiquette
and
lax
attention
when
participants
expressed
concerns
about
boat
safety/control.
