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Ine Bay sightseeing boat: fares, times, sea taxis and tours

Last checked: October 2026

White boat deck with railings, table and chairs, hill and boathouses across the water
White boat deck with railings, table and chairs, hill and boathouses across the water

Cruise, sea taxi or guided walk

Types of trip on Ine Bay

You can see Ine from the water on Tankai’s big cruise boat, a small sea taxi or a private tour that pairs a guided walk with a sea taxi ride. The table puts them side by side.

Tankai loop: about 25 minutes1

Ine Bay boat trips compared
TripLengthAdult priceBoat or groupBookingSource
Tankai's Ine Bay cruise
About 25 minutes
¥1,100–1,200
Boats carry 150 or 200
Walk up, or online via VELTRA or KKday
Tankai (operator); VELTRA (booking agent); KKday (booking agent)
Ine sea taxi
25 minutes
¥1,000–1,500
Up to 12 passengers
Walk-ups up to about 5 people; cash only
ine-kankou.jp (official)
Ine Walking & Cruising Tour
2 hours
¥20,000 for 2 people
Private, 2–10 people
At least 3 days ahead
ine-kankou.jp (official)

Tankai (operator); VELTRA (booking agent); KKday (booking agent); ine-kankou.jp (official)

From the water you see Ine’s funaya: about 230 boathouses with boat storage on the ground floor and living rooms above, lining about 5 km4 of shore. The townscape is a national Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings4. To explore the village on foot, see the Ine no Funaya boathouse village guide.

Fishing boats moored beside old wooden Ine boathouses, green wooded hill across the water
Fishing boats moored beside old wooden Ine boathouses, green wooded hill across the water

Tankai’s Ine Bay cruise (Ine-wan Meguri)

Tankai’s cruise is the no-planning option: turn up at the pier, buy a ticket and sail. Boats leave every hour on the hour and half hour, and extra sailings may run when it’s busy1.

Tankai's Ine Bay cruise departures

Hide pier, round trip

  • 9:00 first
  • Every hour and half hour
  • 16:00 last

Tankai (operator)

Extra sailings may run when it's busy; sailings may be suspended in rough weather.

Leaving the pier, the boat first passes Aoshima, an uninhabited island at the mouth of the bay with a whale grave. Feeding the seagulls from the deck is a popular part of the ride. Tankai’s boats are big: they carry 150 and 200 passengers5.

The Kamome 6 Ine Bay cruise boat at the pier, with passengers walking past
The Kamome 6 Ine Bay cruise boat at the pier, with passengers walking past

Ine Bay cruise fares

FareAdultChild
Tankai fare list
¥1,200 (13 and up)
¥600 (6–12)
VELTRA online ticket
¥1,100
¥550
Preschoolers
One rides free per adult
Extras pay the child fare
Disability discount
50% off with handbook
–
Pets in a bag or cage
Free
–
Parking at the pier
¥500
–

Tankai (operator); VELTRA (booking agent)

The fares differ by seller: the online agent VELTRA sells the ticket for less than Tankai’s own fare list. VELTRA vouchers are swapped for a boarding ticket at the Hide Station ticket window, and you can sail at any time during operating hours5. Tankai’s cruise page links to KKday for advance tickets.

Disability-discount tickets are sold only at the pier on showing a certificate, with up to one carer also discounted6.

Ine sea taxis

Ine’s sea taxis are small boats for up to 12 passengers, and a tour of the bay takes 25 minutes3. The most convenient place to board is near the Shichimenyama Parking Lot.

Ine sea taxi fares

FareAdultChild
Standard fare
¥1,000
¥500 (elementary school)
Re:INE, weekends and holidays
¥1,500
¥1,000 (elementary age and younger)
Preschoolers, standard fare
–
Free

ine-kankou.jp (official)

Small groups of up to about 5 people3 can board on the day without a reservation. Sea taxis take cash only3, so carry yen. The Re:INE weekend and holiday fares apply from September 20267.

The tourism association gives these boarding times for a boat it lists. Check the times for the boat you pick.

Season Weekdays Weekends and holidays
April–October7
9:00–18:007
9:00–11:307
November–March7
9:00–17:007
9:00–11:307

Ine Walking & Cruising Tour

The Ine Walking & Cruising Tour is the private option: 2–10 people, 2 hours, in a slot you choose between 9:00 and 17:008. It costs ¥20,000 for two people (about US$128), plus ¥5,0008 (about US$32) for each extra person.

The price covers:

  • an English-speaking guide
  • the sea taxi fare
  • the funaya entrance fee
  • a mondori fishing experience

The parking fee isn’t included8. You meet in front of the Ine Tourist Information Center, and the tour runs in all weather except severe conditions8.

Pick by group and plans

Which Ine Bay boat trip fits you?

Pick by your group size and how much planning you want to do.

  • You want the classic loop with no fuss: Tankai’s cruise. It runs through the day from the Hide pier, and you can buy your ticket there.
  • You’re a small group and like a small boat: a sea taxi. Bring cash.
  • You want a guide and a look inside a funaya: the Ine Walking & Cruising Tour, whose price includes an English-speaking guide and the funaya entrance fee8.
  • You’re coming from Kyoto or Osaka without a car: a day tour, below, handles the transport.

From Amanohashidate Station

How do you get to the Ine Bay cruise pier?

Take the Tankai bus from Amanohashidate Station to the Ine-wan Meguri/Hide stop: the ride takes about 50 minutes5, and the pier is right in front of the stop.

Tankai bus: ¥400 one way15

  1. Catch the Tankai bus

    Buses toward Ine leave Amanohashidate Station from 7:26 to 19:31, 15 departures listed; some run only on weekdays or holidays.

  2. Ride to Ine

    The ride takes about 50 minutes and costs ¥400 one way, as it crosses two fare areas.

  3. Get off at Ine-wan Meguri/Hide

    The cruise pier is right in front of the bus stop.

  4. Buy or swap your ticket

    Buy at the Hide Station ticket window, where VELTRA vouchers are exchanged for boarding tickets.

Amanohashidate itself is about 2 hours11 from Kyoto by express train. For routes and fares, see getting around Amanohashidate by bus and train. Driving? Parking at the pier is in the cruise fares table above.

Don’t mix the Ine cruise up with the Amanohashidate sightseeing boat back at the sandbar in Miyazu Bay: the official site lists that one as a boat that shuttles back and forth as a sea lane12.

Transport sorted for you

Book a day tour from Kyoto or Osaka

A day tour from Kyoto or Osaka puts Amanohashidate and Ine in one trip, with the transport sorted. Before you pay, check whether your package includes the Ine Bay boat ticket and where it meets.

White sightseeing boat moored at a pier, with bicycles and people on the quay Day tour

9 hoursFree cancellation

Kyoto Amanohashidate & Ine Funaya & Ine Bay Scenic Day Trip (Departing from Osaka or Kyoto)

4.9 (6,660 reviews) on Klook, checked October 2026

fromUS$51.65

See dates on Klook
Narrow alley between two wooden Ine boathouses opening onto the water, boat and hills beyond Day tour

10 hoursFree cancellation

Japan Vision Tour

Kyoto/Osaka: Amanohashidate & Ine Funaya & Ine Bay Day Tour

4.8 (905 reviews) on GetYourGuide, checked October 2026

fromUS$52

See dates on GetYourGuide
White and blue sightseeing boat moored at a wet pier, wooded hill behind Day tour

10 hoursFree cancellation

Japan's Three Scenic Views & Kyoto by the Sea: Amanohashidate Cable Car + Ine Bay Boat Tour Day Trip (Departing from Osaka or Kyoto)

4.7 (3,933 reviews) on Klook, checked October 2026

fromUS$51.65

See dates on Klook
Ine's funaya boathouses along the water, with fishing boats moored in front Day tour

8 hoursPickup includedFree cancellation

kansai holiday

Amanohashidate & Ine Private Tour from Kyoto with English Driver

5 (4 reviews) on Viator, checked October 2026

fromUS$391.15

See dates on Viator

Fares side by side

What a boat trip on Ine Bay costs

The ladder compares per-person boat fares across sellers and boats, from the cheapest listed price to the highest.

Sea taxi adult: ¥1,0003

  • Ine sea taxiChild ticket, standard to Re:INE weekends ¥500–¥1,000
  • Ine Bay cruiseChild ticket, online agent to Tankai ¥550–¥600
  • Ine sea taxiAdult ticket, standard to Re:INE weekends ¥1,000–¥1,500
  • Ine Bay cruiseAdult ticket, online agent to Tankai ¥1,100–¥1,200

Boat fares per person, lowest to highest listed price. The private walking tour is priced per group and sits outside this scale.

Read before you pay

Booking, cancelling and what’s not included

VELTRA: book by 15:00 on the day5

Check the cancellation rules of the seller you book with. The online cruise tickets cover the boat, not the trip to Ine.

Booking Cancelling
KKday cruise ticket
Free until 1 day before; no cancellation, refund or change on the day6
VELTRA cruise ticket
100% charge from 23:59 local time one business day before5
Ine Walking & Cruising Tour
30% from 7–4 days before, 50% from 3–1 days before, 100% on the day8

Before you book:

  • Transfers: VELTRA’s ticket is boat fare only, with no transfers5, and KKday lists its ticket as meet on site, with no guide and no pickup6.
  • Discounts: the KKday ticket can’t be combined with other coupons, vouchers or discount tickets6.
  • Last-minute plans: VELTRA takes bookings until 15:00 on the day5.
  • At the pier: KKday ticket holders show a swipe-to-validate ticket6.
  • Refunds: after an approved cancellation, KKday starts the refund within 15 days6, to your original payment method.

The rest of your day

Before and after the boat

Plan the rest of your day around the bay:

Photos: Wikimedia Commons and Pexels. Authors and licences: image credits

Checked against 15 sources · last checked October 2026
  1. Tankai (operator) · checked October 2026
  2. European Central Bank (official) · checked October 2026
  3. ine-kankou.jp (official) · checked October 2026
  4. Tankai (operator) · checked October 2026
  5. VELTRA (booking agent) · checked October 2026
  6. KKday (booking agent) · checked October 2026
  7. ine-kankou.jp (official) · checked October 2026
  8. ine-kankou.jp (official) · checked October 2026
  9. Ine Tourist Information (ine-kankou.jp) (official) · checked October 2026
  10. mlit.go.jp (official) · checked October 2026
  11. amanohashidate.jp (official) · checked October 2026
  12. amanohashidate.jp (official) · checked October 2026
  13. Wikipedia · checked October 2026
  14. Tankai (operator) · checked October 2026
  15. Tankai (operator) · checked October 2026
Page history · last changed 26 October 2026
  • First written