Kyoto by the Sea: A Boathouse Getaway

Depart Kyoto Station on a morning train, arriving at the Sea of Japan coast in Amanohashidate around two hours later, where a local guide provides an orientation before dropping luggage at the hotel. Welcome to Kyoto by the Sea, home to the Amanohashidate sandbar, a pine-forested strip of land ranked among Japan's Three Most Beautiful Views and said in legend to have once been a ladder used by the gods. After a break for lunch, visit Motoise Kono Shrine, said to be the site where sake was first offered to the gods and once home to the sun goddess Amaterasu before she was enshrined at Ise. Ride the cable car up to Kasamatsu Park for sweeping views over the sandbar, where local custom suggests viewing it upside down through your legs for the illusion of a dragon flying skyward. Say goodbye to the guide and board a private speedboat to the tranquil fishing village of Ine, checking into a traditional Japanese-Western style boathouse with unbroken views of the bay and neighbouring funaya. Overnight in Ine.

Spend the day exploring Ine, a village of over 200 funaya boathouses built directly on the bay, where residents have lived in step with the mountains and sea for generations. At 10:00, join a guided walk through the quiet streets, rustic boathouses on one side and traditional wooden homes on the other, stepping inside a preserved boathouse and stopping at a local sake brewery, one of only a handful in Japan led by a woman master brewer, to sample its distinctive pink-tinted sake. Continue with a short sea taxi tour of Ine Bay aboard a local mariner's boat, taking in the village from the water and hearing the story of how it developed. The rest of the day is free to wander the village's narrow lanes independently, with a stop at a local cafe for lunch or coffee. Guests can choose instead to explore by electric bike: a shorter two-hour guided ride reaching the farther corners of the bay and a local boathouse, or a longer four-hour ride into the satoyama countryside beyond Ine, passing rustic farms, quiet villages and terraced rice fields along the coast, with lunch included. Overnight in Ine.

Meet a guide for a full day touring the Kyotango region by private car, focused on the area's renowned artisans. The day includes two visits chosen from a traditional sword forge, run by blacksmiths honoured with the Award of Excellence from the Society for Preservation of Japanese Art Swords; a hand-dyeing silk workshop, where a master colours kimono textiles by eye alone; a mother-of-pearl textile workshop weaving the material into silk, its work once featured at Paris Fashion Week; a high-quality silk production showroom with a working loom and an in-house cafe; and a wisteria weaving studio, keeping alive one of Japan's once-lost textile crafts. A culinary activity is also included, chosen from an organic farming and cooking experience on a sustainable local homestead, a sushi-making lesson hosted by a well-loved local grandmother, or a fermented food cooking demonstration with a local food educator, drawn from a region noted for one of the highest concentrations of centenarians in the world. In the afternoon, transfer to Amanohashidate Station to board the outbound train to Kyoto or Osaka. Guests continuing on can arrange for the private car to continue to Kinosaki Onsen instead.