Naruto Whirlpools

What?
Naruto (鳴門) is the most accessible city in Tokushima Prefecture (徳島県) from the mainland and in old times it prospered as the gateway between Shikoku (四国) and Honshu (本州) through Awajishima (淡路島). Most famous are the whirlpools though, which are created at the Naruto strait which serves as borderline between the Seto Inland Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Strong currents are huddled in the small strait which leads to numerous whirlpools which can grow up to be 20 meters in diameter. Usually they are smaller though. Connecting Shikoku with Awajishima is the Onaruto Bridge (大鳴門橋) which runs over the whirlpools and has its own commemorative museum.
Where?
Naruto is located in Tokushima Prefecture on Shikoku, the 4th largest island of Japan. From Kansai, the easiest way to get there is by highway bus as it only takes 2 hours. Get off at the Naruto Koen-guchi (Naruto Park Entrance) Bus Stop (鳴門公園口). From Tokyo, flying to Tokushima Awaodori Airport is the most convenient way. The connecting bus will take around 40 minutes.
URL
Japan Guide Outline Uzushio Boats

Living in Kansai, I always was under the impression that Tokushima prefecture was a far away place. Training all the way to Okayama, crossing the Seto inland sea just to train all the way back on Shikoku... it seemed a lot of wasted time. And then the existence of highway buses finally occurred to me. Some five years ago I visited Tokushima city once, but honestly speaking, it was one of the most boring places I have been to. But the prefecture seems to offer several other attractions, one of them being the whirlpools of Naruto. And by bus they are only 2 hours away from the heart of Osaka.

Apparently the tides are very important for viewing the whirlpools, so I did what was recommended: go in spring, go during low tide. I bought a combi ticket for the boat ride, the walkway underneath the bridge and the Eddy Commemorative Museum. Hopping on the boat I was expecting to experience the most spectacular sights first. But truth to be told, while the wind in my hair was pleasant and the rough waves were mesmerizing, I didn’t really see any real whirlpools, at least the way I imagined them and the way they are depicted in brochures. It was only on the way back to the harbor that I saw the first real spiral. But more impressive was the clearly visible difference in sea level between the Pacific Ocean and the Seto inland sea. I really was unaware that such a thing could be seen with the naked eye.
So I stepped off the ship rather satisfied, although not really for the reasons I came. The Uzu no Michi, the walkway under the bridge, should give me a better vantage point, I reasoned. And it’s true. The whirlpools can be seen more clearly from a 45 meter high point. I was a bit disappointed by the small size of most whirlpools, but I did enjoy staring at the sea raging and tearing and crashing without apparent reason.

The Onaruto Bridge connecting Shikoku and Awajishima.

On your left the Pacific, on your right the Seto Inland Sea.

The clearest whirlpool I saw.

Ships floating through the whirlpools.

The last attraction of the combi ticket was the museum, which was decidedly less crowded. It seemed to have been recently renewed and the place has some interesting offerings like the interactive walls room and the vr testing devices. The roof also served as a panorama viewpoint with a clear scenery of the Onaruto Bridge - the reason for existence of this museum- and the land lying beyond. But otherwise the museum was a collection of rather shabby models of ships, unclear pictures of far from impressive bridges within Japan and around the world, and in general the museum seemed to lack a clear raison d’etre. Nothing wrong with that, this blog has the same problem, on the other hand no one pays to visit it. Anyway, while not really a recommendation, it’s also not a place you need to avoid. 490yen is far from expensive, so if you have some time before the next bus departs, hopping in is a viable way of spending it.