Kyoto Elegant Seaside Gateway

📍 Time Start (Guided tour): 10:45 Duration: 4 hDistance and journey time Kyoto Station to Amanohashidate Station: 2 h (train) Amanohashidate to Ine: 45 min (speedboat)

Depart from Kyoto Station on a morning train and arrive at the Sea of Japan coast, disembarking at Amanohashidate Station to be greeted by a local guide. Before touring, guests will be escorted to their hotel to drop luggage and receive a brief informative orientation from the guide about the region.

Welcome to Kyoto by the Sea, a delightful destination famous for tranquil coastal views and tasty seafood. This slice of seaside paradise is the home of the picturesque Amanohashidate sandbar. The island stretching across the bay has long been counted among the Three Most Beautiful Views in Japan, and is said to have been used as a ladder by the gods when they descended to our earthly realm for mischief in ancient times.

After a break for lunch, visit Motoise Kono Shrine, said to be where sake was first offered to the gods. The Shinto religion’s most important deity, the sun goddess Amaterasu, was once enshrined here, making it the most revered historical shrine in the region. Amaterasu is now enshrined at the Ise Grand Shrine in Mie prefecture, which is why the name Motoise literally means the “Origin of Ise.”

After lunch, take the cable car up to Kasamatsu Park and enjoy the incredible view of Amanohashidate’s sea bridge from above. The rather amusing local custom is to bend over and view the sandbar upside down while looking through your spread legs. This angle is said to make the island look like a dragon flying towards heaven. Give it a try and see!

Say goodbye to the guide and board a private speedboat to the tranquil fishing village of Ine. Stay the night in a Japanese-Western style boat house with an unforgettable view of the sea and neighboring boathouses.

Overnight in Ine
 

Inclusions:

🥘 Lunch, 🍗 Dinner

📍 Time Start (guided walking tour): 10:00 Duration: 2 h

Spend the day exploring Ine, a unique village of over 200 funaya (boat houses) built right on Ine Bay, where people have lived in harmony with the mountains and sea for generations. Ine is the only spot in Japan to experience this kind of waterside scenery. Still unknown to most travellers, it’s a truly special destination where sustainable travel is carefully managed to prevent overtourism.

At 10:00 this morning, learn what it’s like to live in Ine on a private guided walk of the town. Stroll the quaint streets – rustic boathouses on one side, traditional wooden homes on the other – and discover the special charm of this quiet village. Enter preserved boathouses and see what life has been like in Ine for generations. Stop in at a local sake brewery – one of only a handful in Japan with a woman as the master brewer – to see their famous pink tinted sake (subject to schedule availability).

Next, hop in a boat operated by a local mariner and enjoy a short sea taxi tour of Ine bay. This is a fun chance to see the town from a waterside perspective and learn the history of how this amazing village developed.

Ine is all about taking it slow and enjoying the rhythm of the daily fishing life. After the tour, wander the village’s picturesque narrow roads independently and stop at a local cafe for lunch or coffee.

Optional Activity 1: E-bike Tour of Ine Bay 

Instead of the above-mentioned walking tour, hop on an electric bike and join a local guide for a tour of the town.

Reach some of the farther areas of the bay that aren’t easily accessible on foot and visit a local funaya boathouse. Learn about the town’s colorful history and what it’s like to live there while enjoying the fresh sea breeze in this active tour.

Time
Start: 10:00
Duration: 2 h 

Optional Activity 2: E-bike Tour of the Satoyama Ine 

Go farther afield on this longer electric bike tour that includes Ine Bay but also heads into the coastal countryside of the broader region.

Satoyama is a Japanese term meaning farms at the foot of the mountains, but it also conjures up nostalgic feelings of the olden days, small villages, and friendly country folk. Discover the satoyama scenery of Ine on this cycling tour that passes rustic farms, quiet towns, and seaside terraced rice fields. The coastal views are spectacular, and electric bikes make the hills easy to climb. Lunch included.

Time
Start: 10:00
Duration: 4 h 

Overnight in Ine

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast, 🍗 Dinner

📍 Time Start (Guided artisan visit tour): 9:00 Duration: Approx 6.5 h

This morning meet a guide for a full day tour of Kyotango by private car. The focus will be on the various artisans of the Kyotango region, a unique selection of masters and experts renowned for their skill and passion.

Today’s tour will include two artisan visits from the selection below:

•    Traditional sword forge, run by three exceptional blacksmiths who have earned the prestigious Award of Excellence from The Society for Preservation of Japanese Art Swords. Learn the history of samurai swords and how the weapons changed over time, with an opportunity to hold some of the newly forged blades and admire the details. Afterwards, visit the forge itself to witness some of the sword making process, and take part in some of the work if one so wishes.

•    Hand-dyeing silk workshop, where a skilled master creates amazing color gradations on textiles for kimonos. Watch as he deftly mixes drops from his hundreds of paint bottles into the perfect color to adorn the silk, then applies it by hand using only his eyes as the measure for how to blend the colors. There is no one else performing this traditional method of coloring in Japan, making him a one-of-a-kind treasure, and his textiles are highly sought after. Visit his immaculate studio, see him at work, and take home a painted present as a memento.

•    Mother-of-pearl textile workshop, home to one of the most fascinating forms of weaving. The area of Kyotango is known for producing the highest quality Kimono silk, and today’s artisan will show how they weave mother of pearl into the silk to create something even more exquisite. Discover this fascinating – and rapidly disappearing – technique with opportunities to watch the crafters at work. The stunning work created here has been featured in Paris Fashion Week and is unrivaled in beauty and skill.

•    High quality silk production showroom, the atelier of a groundbreaking weaver who has adapted Kyotango silk cloth to modern specifications. The vibrant colors and modern patterns of their silk will amaze visitors to the showroom, where the weaving process is on display. Climb a ladder to inspect the massive loom as it whizzes away, and browse a selection of high end silk in the gallery. A drink at the in-house café is included as well.

•    Wisteria weaving studio, where one of Japan’s once-lost forms of weaving is thriving. Using the long fibers of wild wisteria vines from the local forest, a friendly artisan creates rustic textiles in her homely workshop. Learn about the process and see the simple tools that have been used for generations. This is a rare chance to see a craft that harkens back to Japan’s ancient past, yet is still celebrated in modernity as a sustainable connection between art and nature.

For lunch, one local cuisine-related activity will be selected from the following:

•    Organic farming and cooking experience on the homestead of a sustainable local farmer. Learn the ancient story of agriculture in northern Kyoto, where rice was first cultivated in Japan and a proud farming heritage still exists today. Enjoy time on the farm learning about local agriculture and soil reconstruction, and pick some seasonal vegetables. Then, head into the kitchen where the hostess will teach guests how to cook a hands-on, farm-fresh Japanese vegetarian lunch.

•    A delightful sushi-making experience hosted by a colorful local who is well-loved as a friendly and boisterous obaachan (grandmother). Join her at her roadside restaurant and shop – yes, that’s her smiling on the billboard outside! – where she teaches guests how to make fresh makizushi rolls using locally caught seafood. Served with additional seafood and seaweed to be seared on a small grill, this is a fun, casual course in homestyle sushi. Vegetarian options available.

•    Fermented food cooking demonstration in the kitchen of a local food educator. The Kyotango region holds the international record for a community with the highest number of citizens over 100 years old, and researchers believe this may be because of specific foods that are local to this area. The focus of today’s cooking activity are several key ingredients that the host considers “the pillars of Japanese cooking.” The cooking methods are presented in such a way that guests will learn Japanese techniques and recipes that can be applied in their own kitchens upon returning home.

(Note: Clients can request specific activities, but ultimately the itinerary is subject to availability. Some activities are not available in all summer due to hot weather.)

Proceed to Amanohashidate station for dropoff to board an outbound train to Kyoto or Osaka.

Optional Transfer to Kinosaki Onsen 

For guests continuing on to Kinosaki Onsen in Hyogo Prefecture, arrangements can be made for today’s private car to continue all the way to tonight’s accommodations in Kinosaki. Ask a Travel Consultant for more information.

Distance
Kyotango to Kinosaki Onsen: Approx 1 h 

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast, 🥘 Lunch