About two hundred and thirty funaya line the shore of Ine Bay, and the families of this fishing village still live in them. Ine presents itself not as a tourist destination but as a living cultural property, and it asks visitors to keep things quiet while they are here. That is also the appeal: you can step inside an old funaya that is still a home, call at a brewery described as the sake brewery closest to the sea in Japan, and taste heshiko, mackerel or sardine cured in rice bran and salt until the flavour turns deep and salty.
Funaya: Boathouses Where People Still Live
A funaya began as shelter for the boat: a building where a wooden fishing boat could be hauled up out of the sea and kept away from wind, rain and insects. Wooden boats had to dry between trips, so the building was built with the boat on the ground floor and the nets hung to dry and the gear stored on the floor above.
That tradition has not gone away: many households keep a small work boat, and it still sits inside the funaya. Where a family no longer keeps a boat, the ground floor becomes a room for life by the sea, used for cleaning fish and drying the washing. Residents live in both the funaya and the main houses, and the sea-facing side of a funaya, which gets good light, is where much of the laundry hangs.
This is why Ine calls itself a living cultural property rather than a tourist destination, and why a quiet visit is what it asks for. The fishermen go out to fish from early in the morning and keep early nights. The funaya, the main houses and the land around them are all privately owned, so going in needs the owner's permission, and before pointing a camera at anyone around the fishing port or the boathouses, try to get their consent first.
Stepping Inside a Funaya
A few families let visitors see the inside of their funaya, and each house is a different visit. One is an old house that keeps the atmosphere of a funaya and is still lived in today, a short walk from the Ine tourist information office; the visit shows how an Ine family actually lives in one.
Another is a traditional Ine-ura building in which the main house and the funaya form a single structure. A guide walks you through the ground floor of both, so you see the house and the boathouse as one, and dogs, from large breeds to small, can come along. When a notice about funaya visits is posted at the entrance, ring the intercom and ask to see inside.
At a third funaya, fishing tools used in earlier years and old photographs are on display. A fourth pairs the visit with gelato to eat, in matcha, chocolate or vanilla.
Guided Walks Along the Shore
The guided walk sets out from the Ine tourist information office. Look at the sea beneath the eaves and there are turban shells and abalone in it; pull up a rope that runs down to the sea floor and a large basket rises with fish jumping inside it.
One private walk, limited to a single group, strings together a stroll through the funaya cluster, a visit inside a funaya, and the chance to see and try a traditional fishing tool. A walk-and-cruise tour adds a visit to the inside of a traditional funaya that is not otherwise shown to the general public. The English-language version has to be reserved in advance.
For a stroll at your own pace, an audio guide can be bought through its dedicated app, or paid for at the counter and played in the browser version.
On the Bay: Boats, Kayaks and a Soak
Local boatmen take visitors around Ine Bay in their own boats, guiding as they go. The boats have no roof and stay in on rainy days, and a party of about five or fewer can board on the day without a reservation.
For a closer look at the coast, a sea kayak run with an instructor follows the intricate coastline, and there is a bathing beach where the natural scenery remains untouched.
A day-bath facility about a ten-minute drive from the funaya offers a soak afterwards, with shampoo and body soap provided. It is open on Saturdays only.
Sake, Sushi, Croquettes and Heshiko
Mukai Brewery is described as the sake brewery closest to the sea in Japan. Its red sake, Ine Mankai, is brewed from an ancient variety of red rice, and its rosé colour has made it popular. In summer there is ice cream made with the lees of Ine Mankai, to eat while you look out at the funaya.
At a sushi restaurant where the calm water of Ine Bay shows across the counter, most of the fish has come in that morning through Ine's fishing port, with yellowtail among the local catch. The lunch set brings five pieces of sushi with sashimi, a simmered or grilled fish, a small side dish, chawanmushi and soup; dinner is a nine-course set that runs from local sashimi through simmered, grilled, steamed and fried dishes to five pieces of sushi, soup and dessert.
Heshiko is Ine's own preserved food: mackerel or sardine packed in rice bran and salt and left a long time, until it carries a deeper umami than raw mackerel, salty and distinctive, good with rice or a cup of sake. The curing starts in autumn and winter and the fish is ready after six months to a year, so it is a food with a season. It belongs to the Tango region of northern Kyoto and has been handed down with Ine at its centre; once every household made it, and today most of it comes from the fisheries cooperative or seafood companies. At the sightseeing-boat terminal, croquettes handmade from local fish come in a heshiko version and a mackerel version, and the souvenir corner there sells goods from around Ine.
Getting to Ine
| From | To | Time or fare |
|---|---|---|
| Miyazu Station | Ine bus stop | about 72 minutes by bus |
| Amanohashidate Station | Ine bus stop | about 59 minutes by bus |
| Miyazu Station or Amanohashidate Station | Ine bus stop | 400 yen one way by bus |
| Amanohashidate Station | Ine-wan-meguri/Hide bus stop | 400 yen one way (two fare zones) |
| Ine bus stop | Funaya Biyori | about 8 minutes on foot |
| Ine bus stop | Ine tourist information office | about 1 minute on foot |
| Ine bus stop | Mukai Brewery | about 5 minutes on foot |
| Yosa-Amanohashidate Interchange | Ine Bay sightseeing boat (Ine-wan-meguri Yuransen) | about 30 minutes by car |
| Kyoto | Ine | about 2 hours by car |
| Kyoto | Ine | about 3 hours by train and route bus |
New to rural buses and one-man trains? See how to ride them, step by step.
Hours and Fees
| What | Fare or time | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Ine Bay sightseeing boat (large boat), adult | 1,200 yen | about 25 minutes around the bay |
| Ine Bay sightseeing boat, departures | first 9:00, last 16:00 | |
| Ine-Kasamatsu ticket | 1,800 yen | bay boat, Amanohashidate cable car or lift and the Nariai-ji bus; children half price |
| Parking at Hide Station (boat departure point), car or motorcycle | 500 yen | |
| Sea taxi (small boat), adult | 1,000 yen | elementary pupils 500 yen; preschool children free |
| Lived-in funaya interior visit, adult (junior high and up) | 500 yen | elementary and younger free |
| Lived-in funaya interior visit | 11:00 to 15:00 | |
| Funaya and main house visit with a guide | 500 yen | coffee or a bottle of water included; elementary age and up |
| Funaya visit at the gelato house, visit only | 300 yen adults | 100 yen children; preschool free |
| Funaya visit at the gelato house, with gelato | 700 yen | |
| Funaya with the fishing-tool display, adult (junior high and up) | 200 yen | |
| Funaya with the fishing-tool display | 11:00 to 16:00 weekdays; 10:00 to 17:00 weekends and holidays | |
| Funaya with the fishing-tool display, closed | Wednesdays | |
| Guided walk, adult | 2,200 yen | 1,600 yen junior high to high school; elementary free |
| Guided walk, sessions | 10:15 to 11:15 and 13:00 to 14:00 | 60 minutes each |
| Private walk, two adults | 8,000 yen | |
| Private walk and cruise, two people | 18,000 yen | |
| English-language tour, two people | 20,000 yen | |
| Sea kayak, per person | 7,700 yen | two or more people; no child fee |
| Day bath, adult (junior high and up) | 1,000 yen | |
| Day bath, days | Saturdays only | 12:00 to 19:00 May to October; 12:00 to 18:00 November to April |
| Mukai Brewery | 9:00 to 17:00 | lunch break 12:00 to 13:00 |
| Mukai Brewery, closed | Thursdays | and the year-end and New Year period |
| Sushi restaurant | lunch 11:30 to 14:30 (last order 14:00); dinner 17:00 to 20:30 (last order 20:00) | hours differ by season |
| Heshiko croquette at the sightseeing-boat terminal | 300 yen |
If you would rather have the bay cruise or a guided walk arranged ahead of the trip, tours and activities covering Ine and the Amanohashidate area show what is on offer.
Where to stay
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