Since its maiden voyage in 2017, Guntu has become a familiar sight on the Seto Inland Sea. Designed by architect Horibe Yasushi, the compact cruise ship is a floating hotel, an impressive fusion of architecture and shipbuilding that was designed and launched in just two years.

Horibe’s early works were primarily residential buildings, and he has clearly applied this experience to the design of Guntu. The ship’s 19 cabins, all with sea views, are unlike anything found on a typical cruise ship: with wooden floors, walls, ceilings, and furniture, Guntu’s cabins look more like rooms in a ryokan (traditional Japanese inn) than on a cruiseliner. The cozy, welcoming atmosphere continues throughout the ship, with other traditional touches including a communal bath made of Japanese cypress, and an engawa (Japanese-style wooden veranda) on the top deck. To add to the feeling of staying in a floating Japanese resort, Horibe gave Guntu a gabled wooden roof, ensuring that the ship blends in with the coastal houses and environment along the shore.

Guntu’s electric engine is so quiet, and the scenery passes by at such a relaxed pace, it is easy for guests to forget they are on a modern ship at all. Even the vessel’s hull has been designed to blend in with its surroundings and is colored silver to best reflect the ambient colors of the sea and sky.

Based at the Bella Vista Marina, Guntu offers cruises lasting one, two, or three nights. The route varies depending on the cruise, but in addition to islands along the Shimanami Kaido, Guntu can travel as far as the waters near Miyajima in Hiroshima Prefecture, near Shodoshima in Kagawa Prefecture, and the Suo-nada Sea in Yamaguchi Prefecture. With a maximum of just 38 passengers, the experience is far more intimate than most cruises. Guntu itself doesn’t stop at any ports, but guests can travel to nearby islands on its small tender boats.

自2017年开航以来，guntû已经完全融入濑户内海的景观之中。这艘小型游轮由建筑师堀部安嗣（1967-　）设计，是一座将建筑与造船完美结合的海上酒店，从设计到投入使用仅耗时短短两年。

堀部的早期工作以住宅设计为主，其相关经验无疑被活用到gantû的设计中。这艘游轮不仅19间客舱均享海景，在其他各方面也都独树一帜：地板、墙壁、天花板及陈设用具均为木制，比起游轮的客舱，更像是传统日式旅馆的客房。日本扁柏打造的大浴场、顶层甲板上的缘侧（木质和式阳台）等传统设计不仅古韵十足，更为整艘游轮营造出温暖舒适的氛围。为增强日式水上度假胜地的氛围，堀部还在gantû上加装了木质悬山双坡屋顶，使之与沿岸房屋及其周边环境浑然一体。

gantû的电力发动机噪音极低，船外风景缓缓移动，让人不知不觉中忘记自己身处一艘现代化船上。船体本身的设计也与周围环境融为一体，并被涂成银色，映衬着晴空碧海，仿佛隐入海天一色。

gantû的航程以Bella Vista为起终点，有一晚、两晚、三晚几种宿旅套餐。各游轮的航线不尽相同，目的地包括岛波海道沿线岛屿，以及广岛县的宫岛、香川县的小豆岛、山口县的周防滩附近海域等。每艘船限乘38名乘客，氛围比其他游轮更显亲密舒适。gantû起航后中途不会停靠任何港口，不过乘客可乘小船前往附近的岛屿作短暂停留。