Northeast Tokushima · NarutoNo.636★★★Open in map →

Naruto Whirlpools

— Seen from the walkway inside the bridge

natureThe classic — done right

One of the fastest tidal currents in Japan, boiling through the strait between Shikoku and Awaji Island around every turn of the tide. A walkway slung inside the road bridge lets you stand directly over it, with panels of glass set into the floor.

FromNaruto Station (JR Naruto Line)
~30 minBus from JR Naruto
Naruto Whirlpools

Directions ↗

Where it is

13 more notes in Tokushima · open the map →

What to look for — in walking order

The air corridor of the UzunomichiKounosu / CC BY-SA 3.0

Naruto Parkthe wooded headland above the strait, with lookouts along the path down to the bridge
The Uzunomichi entrancethe ticket hall at the Shikoku foot of the bridge, where the lower deck opens
The air corridor450 metres of caged walkway running out inside the bridge's hollow lower level
The observation roomthe far end, 45 metres above the sea, with glass panels let into the floor

How to actually get there

Tokushima Station → Naruto Station (JR Naruto Line, the branch's terminus).
Naruto Station → Naruto-koen (Tokushima Bus, out along the headland).
Bus stop → the Uzunomichi ticket hall, a few minutes on foot through the park.
Ticket hall → the walkway → the observation room at the far end, then back the same way.

Train and bus from Tokushima: Tokushima Station →(JR Naruto Line)→ Naruto Station, then a Tokushima Bus service out along the headland to the Naruto-koen stop. The bus is the only public leg that reaches the bridge, and from the stop it is a short walk through the park to the ticket hall. Highway coaches from Kobe and Osaka also set down at Narutokoen-guchi on the expressway above.
Return to Naruto Station: The same bus runs back down the headland to the station, where the Naruto Line connects towards Tokushima. Services thin out after the facility closes for the day, so check the last departure before you walk out onto the bridge rather than after.

Directions from my location (Google Maps) ↗

About the place

The Naruto Strait is the gap between Shikoku and Awaji Island, about 1.3 kilometres across at its narrowest. Twice a day the Inland Sea and the Pacific fall out of step, and the whole difference, as much as about 1.5 metres of water, has to pass through that gap. The current can reach 20 kilometres an hour. The seabed sharpens it further: the channel narrows to a V some 90 metres deep with far deeper basins on either side, so fast surface water rides over slow water beneath and tears itself into rings.

How to enjoy it

The whirlpools follow the tide rather than the clock. They build around each turn of the current and fade between, so the published tide table decides the visit more than the opening hours do, and spring tides give the biggest water. Hours themselves shift with the season and the walkway shuts on occasional inspection days, both worth confirming before you travel.

Background & history

The whirlpools were famous long before there was any way to stand above them. Hiroshige and other printmakers drew the Awa whirlpools as one of the set pieces of the provinces, and boats have carried sightseers into the strait for generations. The bridge that now spans the water was built on two levels: a road on top, and a lower deck left hollow for a railway that was planned across Shikoku and never laid. That empty deck is the corridor visitors walk today, which is why the handrail is a steel cage rather than a parapet.

Before you go

Cash: Admission is charged at the ticket hall on the day, and the park's car park is paid separately. Nothing needs booking in advance.
Good to know: Opening hours move with the season, running later in summer and shutting earlier through winter, and the walkway closes on occasional days for inspection of the bridge. A closure here strands the whole trip, so confirm the day before travelling. Strong wind and typhoon warnings also shut it.
Another way: Sightseeing boats put out from the port below the park and run into the current itself, which is the closer, wetter version of the same thing. The opposite shore is Awaji Island, reached by highway coach, and the whirlpools can be watched from that side too.
After you get off: Naruto Station is the rail end of the trip; the headland beyond it is bus, then foot. From the Naruto-koen stop the path climbs through the park past the viewpoints and reaches the ticket hall at the Shikoku foot of the bridge.