It was in 2017 that I visited this quaint little fishing village duped as the "Venice of Japan." Given my personal bias for hidden gems slash off the beaten path kind of travels; Ine No Funaya remains one of my favorites quiet places in all of Japan, thus far. I've written quite extensively about this town in a previous post so, I won't bore you too much with the same details again.
This seaside fishing village lies North of Kyoto, roughly 3 hours away from the actual city center. Within its name, 'Funaya' is what the boathouses in this seaside fishing village is made up of. They are a traditional type of wooden boat houses that's special due to their architecture featuring two floors, with the first floor being a docking for the boats and the second floor as a living quarter. Upon talking to some more locals during this trip, we learned that the original intended usage of the second floor of the 'Funaya' was actually for storage and the living space of a fisherman family would be in a separate building close by. You can differentiate the usage of the boathouse by looking at the orientation of the roof. If you look closely, in all of the photos you'll notice that all of the roofs of the boathouses that face the waterline have the roof open up to the front. Behind the boathouses, all other homes have roofs that turn to the side. It's learning about how a collective group of people meticulously commit to these small details that always blows my mind when it comes to Japan. To be quite honest, I don't really remember much of my first visit here asides from the fact that getting there was such a struggle, and wishing that I could have spent a night here to experience waking up to a fisherman either going out or coming back from the sea. Three whole years later, and that wish finally came true for me.
This seaside fishing village lies North of Kyoto, roughly 3 hours away from the actual city center. Within its name, 'Funaya' is what the boathouses in this seaside fishing village is made up of. They are a traditional type of wooden boat houses that's special due to their architecture featuring two floors, with the first floor being a docking for the boats and the second floor as a living quarter. Upon talking to some more locals during this trip, we learned that the original intended usage of the second floor of the 'Funaya' was actually for storage and the living space of a fisherman family would be in a separate building close by. You can differentiate the usage of the boathouse by looking at the orientation of the roof. If you look closely, in all of the photos you'll notice that all of the roofs of the boathouses that face the waterline have the roof open up to the front. Behind the boathouses, all other homes have roofs that turn to the side. It's learning about how a collective group of people meticulously commit to these small details that always blows my mind when it comes to Japan. To be quite honest, I don't really remember much of my first visit here asides from the fact that getting there was such a struggle, and wishing that I could have spent a night here to experience waking up to a fisherman either going out or coming back from the sea. Three whole years later, and that wish finally came true for me.
Although it's been 3 years since I've been back here, I can safely say that not much has changed. Asides from the trip being a little smoother (less random transfers along the way) it still took us roughly 3.5 hours from Kyoto Station. It's one of the biggest reasons why I think if this is somewhere that you're planning to visit, you should stay the night. I've already covered the basics of my trip to visiting Ine No Funaya in an older post, so I'll just breakdown where I stayed and ate, and what I did and wore.
Where To Stay
In my past trip, I had my eyes on staying at a boathouse called the WATERFRONT INN. Unfortunately, this time, they were fully booked during the time that I planned on visiting Ine. Instead, I used the local Ine Town Tourism Association and found another local boathouse that was newly renovated to stay at. Beyond looking for an accommodation, this site will also guide you to book local activities that you can do such as biking, fishing, and boat tours. I ended getting to stay at Funaya no Yado Maruichi, which was slightly further away than the rest of the accommodations (which is probably another reason why it didn't get booked out) but the views from there was so worth it. Other than the views, the bed were comfortable, and it felt much more secluded from the rest of the town-which only gave it much more charm.
Due to this boathouse being quite away from everything else, we ended up getting a ride from our host to and from our dinner (otherwise there was nothing to eat nearby). This is something else to keep in mind when you visit. While Ine No Funaya is a well-known town, it's actually not a tourist destination. You won't find a lot of cars driving back and forth, let alone cabs should you need to go somewhere. It's also important to have cash handy, and stock up on some snacks from the convenience store before you arrive for the night. Of course, since this is Japan, you'll always have a vending machine somewhere for your choice of beverage.
Due to this boathouse being quite away from everything else, we ended up getting a ride from our host to and from our dinner (otherwise there was nothing to eat nearby). This is something else to keep in mind when you visit. While Ine No Funaya is a well-known town, it's actually not a tourist destination. You won't find a lot of cars driving back and forth, let alone cabs should you need to go somewhere. It's also important to have cash handy, and stock up on some snacks from the convenience store before you arrive for the night. Of course, since this is Japan, you'll always have a vending machine somewhere for your choice of beverage.
Where To Eat
On my first night, I ate at a local fisherman's home with Shun. I don't really recall the name, or if it even had one since it was a recommendation from our host. Some accommodations will come with dinner, but definitely check before you arrive. The next morning, we had some coffee and bread from the comfort of our beds on the tatami floor, facing the open sea. Watching the sun come up was actually beyond my expectation even with the on-and-off drizzle that took place. After a slow and quiet morning, we got ready at our leisure pace and checked out of our boathouse just in time for lunch.
Back into the busier part of Ine, we found ourselves at WATERFRONT INN since other than being just an accommodation, they also have a restaurant that serves lunch and dinner to outside guests. As you might have guessed, being this close to the sea obviously, meant fresh and delicious seafood- but I literally never expected a roughly 15$ lunch set to come with 3 different types of fish, prepared 4 different ways. Infact, it was so good that Shun and I ended up ordering a huge beer to go along with this set (haha, this is why we can never do road trips together). The last time we were in Ine, we had a really good omakase lunch at Wadatsumi, which I still would have loved this trip if we had the stomach to eat a second lunch.
We didn't want to leave Ine right away, despite it being quite a trek back to Kyoto, then Tokyo- so we decided to grab coffee at the Ine Cafe, which is just as quaint and lovely as I remember when we first came.
Back into the busier part of Ine, we found ourselves at WATERFRONT INN since other than being just an accommodation, they also have a restaurant that serves lunch and dinner to outside guests. As you might have guessed, being this close to the sea obviously, meant fresh and delicious seafood- but I literally never expected a roughly 15$ lunch set to come with 3 different types of fish, prepared 4 different ways. Infact, it was so good that Shun and I ended up ordering a huge beer to go along with this set (haha, this is why we can never do road trips together). The last time we were in Ine, we had a really good omakase lunch at Wadatsumi, which I still would have loved this trip if we had the stomach to eat a second lunch.
We didn't want to leave Ine right away, despite it being quite a trek back to Kyoto, then Tokyo- so we decided to grab coffee at the Ine Cafe, which is just as quaint and lovely as I remember when we first came.
What To Do
While having our coffee, we saw that the boat tours were starting to operate, so of course, we walked down to the dock and asked if any were free to take us. As mentioned before, these boat tours can be reserved in advance, and the boat drivers can even coordinate with your accommodation to pick you up from the actual boathouse that you're staying at. Otherwise, these tours take place pretty much anytime at a 30 minutes interval for a price of roughly 10$ per person. On our boat tour, we got to learn so many little cool facts about Ine from a grandpa that's been living here all his life. These are things that you probably won't read about online (such as the roof facts that I mentioned above), so I highly recommend it. Towards the end of our tour, the grandpa handed our shrimp crackers to all of us, and we got the chance to feed all of the seagulls that were flying by. It was so exhilarating and fun that I forgot about all my worries of possibly falling over and drowning (since I can't swim) for a whole 10 minutes.
Other than taking a boat tour, you can also take water taxis around to different docks throughout the day. There is also a bigger boat that you can take as well at the entrance into the town that will go even further out at sea, close by to one of the small island that you can see from the inner shore. If you decide to stay longer, there are so many activities that are available, including going fishing, biking around town, getting dressed in a kimono for a photo tour and learning how to cut sashimi or cook with local fresh fish too.
Other than taking a boat tour, you can also take water taxis around to different docks throughout the day. There is also a bigger boat that you can take as well at the entrance into the town that will go even further out at sea, close by to one of the small island that you can see from the inner shore. If you decide to stay longer, there are so many activities that are available, including going fishing, biking around town, getting dressed in a kimono for a photo tour and learning how to cut sashimi or cook with local fresh fish too.
With everything that's taking place this year, I am grateful that I was able to take this trip and spent some quiet and reflective time in Ine with the boyfriend. There's a saying "it's not about the destination, but it's the journey" or vice versa, to some, but when it comes to Ine No Funaya, for me, it's totally both.
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Camera Gear Used: Nikon D600 (body only) with 50mm F1/4 and 24-70mm F3.5 lens.
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Camera Gear Used: Nikon D600 (body only) with 50mm F1/4 and 24-70mm F3.5 lens.