Lifestyles and Traditions - Culture
A funagoya boat house is a hut built to protect a boat from elements such as rain and wind. There are funagoya boat houses both on Dōgo and in Dōzen area, but the boat houses, about twenty of them, that line the coast of Tsuma Bay are the most exemplary. In the past, if the wooden boats were left in the sea, they would be infested with shipworms (Teredo worms). So in order to protect the boats, when they are not in use, the boats are lifted ashore or moved to the estuary to be submerged in fresh water. Oki is affected by snow and strong wind during winter, therefore boat houses are built to protect the boats. But this kind of spectacle can only be seen along the coast of the Sea of Japan. In fact, the different mechanisms of tides in the Sea of Japan and the Pacific Ocean. The daily range between high tide and low tide in the Sea of Japan is about 50cm but on the Pacific coast it can range from 2m to 5m; boat houses would not be suitable because it would be difficult to launch or reload a boat.
