Ine no Funaya: visiting the boathouses by bus and boat

What Ine’s funaya are

Ine’s funaya are working boathouses set right on the water, and the village around them is still lived in. About 230 of them line roughly 5 km⁶ of Ine’s shore.

• Boats below, homes above: boat storage on the ground floor, living rooms on the floor above.
• Built for boats: each was a boat garage with a ramp leading straight into the water.
• Old: the funaya date back to the Edo period (1603–1868)³.
• Still in use: they remain living and working spaces for the families who own them.

The funaya townscape is a national Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings⁶. The oldest remaining boathouse was built in 1863, and you can enter it only with a guide⁷.

Ine is a seaside village in the Kyoto by the Sea area of northern Kyoto Prefecture. Google Maps puts Ine Fishing Village at Hirata, Ine, Yoza District, Kyoto 626-0423 and lists it as open Mon–Sun 00:00–24:00⁸, so in practice your day runs on the bus and boat times.

Seeing the funaya from the water

The boathouses open onto the bay, so a boat gives you the front view. You can pick the larger Tankai sightseeing boat or a small sea taxi.

The Ine Bay sightseeing boat (Ine-wan Meguri) leaves on the hour and half hour, from 9:00 (checked October 2026) to 16:00, and circles the bay in about 25 minutes¹³. Leaving the pier, it first passes Aoshima², an uninhabited island at the mouth of Ine Bay with a whale grave. More on boarding is in the Ine Bay sightseeing boat guide.

Ine sea taxi

The Sea Taxi is a small boat that takes you close along the funaya. The most convenient place to board is near the Shichimenyama Parking Lot¹⁴.

• Tours take about 25 minutes¹⁵.
• Boats carry up to 12 passengers¹⁴.
• Groups of up to about 5 people¹⁴ can board on the day without a reservation.
• One of the listed boats has no roof, so there are no sailings in rain¹⁵ on that boat.

The sea taxi page gives these boarding times for one of the boats it lists:

Going inside with a guide

Ine’s official tourism site lists a private Ine Walking & Cruising Tour of 2 hours¹⁶. Its price includes an English-speaking guide, the sea taxi fare, the funaya entrance fee and a mondori fishing experience¹⁶.

Visiting the boathouses respectfully

The funaya are private homes and workplaces, so you look at them from the lanes or from the water. Ine’s tourism office asks visitors to keep out of the boathouses to protect residents’ privacy.

Around the funaya area

Cruises, rental bicycles and walking tours are all offered for exploring the funaya area. These stops are close by:

• Funaya no Sato Ine roadside station: on a hill with an observatory over the funaya, plus restaurants and a souvenir shop. It is generally closed on Tuesdays, but its toilets and parking are open 24 hours¹².
• Ineura Park: in the centre of the funaya area.
• Urashima Shrine: one of Japan’s oldest Urashima shrines, 15 minutes¹⁷ from the funaya area.
• Ine Onsen Megumi no Yu: a day-trip hot spring about 10 minutes¹¹ by car from the funaya.

Nearby on the Amanohashidate side

Back at the sandbar, these pages cover the sights you can pair with Ine:

• Amanohashidate View Land: an observatory on top of Mt. Monju. See the way up to Amanohashidate Viewland.
• Kono Shrine: near the northern end of the sandbar. Read the guide to visiting Motoise Kono Shrine.
• Everything else: the things to do guide lists the rest.