We’ve visiting the village of Ine today, in the far north of Kyoto prefecture. Its main claim to fame is the houses built right onto the waterfront, called Funaya. It’s like living right on top of your boathouse, which makes sense because Ine is an old fishing town.

The population has been shrinking steadily over time, probably owing to its remoteness and lack of accessibility – we had to drive here because there’s no trains, and the nearest stations are at least 10km away.