shikokutokushima
Naruto
Naruto is a coastal city in Tokushima prefecture, in the Shikoku region, on the Naruto Strait between Shikoku and Awaji Island, known for the whirlpools that form in the strait with the tides, about ninety minutes by car from Kobe.
- Prefecture
- Tokushima
- Region
- Shikoku
- Journeys
- The Custom Tour of Japan
overview
The sea turns in great whirlpools beneath the bridge to Awaji.
The Naruto Strait is only about 1.3 kilometres wide, and twice a day the tide of the Inland Sea and the tide of the Pacific meet in it at different heights. The water rushes through the narrows at up to twenty kilometres an hour, among the fastest tidal currents in the world, and along the edges of the current it turns into whirlpools, the largest of them up to twenty metres across. They have been painted by Hiroshige and written about for centuries, and they are one of the great natural sights of Japan.
The whirlpools are seen from boats, which sail out beneath the Onaruto Bridge into the current, and from a walkway of glass panels inside the bridge itself, 45 metres above the water. Around the strait, Naruto is a city of the sea and of crafts: indigo, which has dyed the cloth of Tokushima for centuries, the large pots of Otani ware, and sea bream, wakame and sweet potatoes from its sandy fields.
Naruto is also where the Shikoku pilgrimage begins. The first of its eighty-eight temples, Ryozen-ji, stands in the town, and pilgrims dressed in white set out from it each day on the circuit of the island.
see and do
What to see in Naruto
The Naruto whirlpools
The whirlpools of the Naruto Strait, formed where the fast tidal current meets the slower water at its edge, turning in circles of white and green that can reach twenty metres across.
The whirlpool boats
Sightseeing boats sail from Naruto into the strait beneath the bridge, among them a small vessel with underwater windows that lets you watch the current from below the surface.
Uzu-no-Michi
A walkway of about 450 metres built beneath the deck of the Onaruto Bridge, with glass panels in the floor 45 metres above the whirlpools.
Onaruto Bridge
A suspension bridge of 1,629 metres opened in 1985 across the Naruto Strait to Awaji Island, part of the road that links Shikoku with Kobe by way of the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge.
Otsuka Museum of Art
A museum opened in 1998 in a hillside above the strait, showing more than a thousand masterpieces of Western art, reproduced at full size on ceramic panels, among them a full recreation of the Sistine Chapel.
Ryozen-ji
The first temple of the eighty-eight of the Shikoku pilgrimage, founded by tradition by Kobo Daishi, where pilgrims buy their white robes, staffs and stamp books before setting out.
Otani ware kilns
The pottery village of Otani, where large jars and pots have been made since the eighteenth century and the long climbing kilns still stand on the hillside.
Naruto German House
A museum on the site of the Bando prisoner of war camp, where German prisoners of the First World War were treated so well that they gave the first performance in Japan of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in 1918.
experiences
The best of Naruto
Into the whirlpools
A boat from Naruto into the strait, steered by its captain, planned to the tide table, so that the whirlpools turn around the hull with the great bridge above.
Indigo by hand
An afternoon with an indigo dyer of Tokushima, dipping cloth into a vat of fermented Awa indigo and watching the colour deepen as it meets the air.
A morning at the potter's wheel
A visit to an Otani ware kiln, where the largest pots are thrown by two people, one lying on the floor to turn the wheel with his feet while the other shapes the clay.
plan your visit
Naruto on a journey through Japan
- How long to stay
- One night at Naruto is enough for the whirlpools, the museum and an indigo workshop; it also makes a fine half-day on the drive from Kobe into Shikoku.
- Getting there
- By private car from Kobe in about ninety minutes, across Awaji Island and the Akashi Kaikyo and Onaruto bridges, or from Osaka in about two hours. Tokushima airport is about twenty minutes away by car, and Takamatsu about an hour.
- Pairs well with
- Naruto is the eastern gate to Shikoku from Kobe and Osaka, so a journey can cross Awaji to the whirlpools and continue to Takamatsu, the Iya Valley or the Pacific coast at Muroto.KobeOsakaKotohira and TakamatsuIya ValleyMurotoKyoto
journeys
Naruto on a private journey
We bring guests to Naruto on the Custom Tour of Japan, created around your party alone, on your dates, with your own Tour Director.
questions
Naruto: questions answered
When can you see the Naruto whirlpools?
Every day, around the turn of the tides, when the current through the strait is fastest; the boats and the walkway publish tide tables, and we plan the visit to them.
Is it better to see the Naruto whirlpools by boat or from the bridge?
By boat for closeness and the sound of the water, from the Uzu-no-Michi walkway for the view down through the glass; many travellers do both on the same visit.
How do you get to Naruto from Osaka?
By car or highway bus across Awaji Island, about two hours from Osaka and ninety minutes from Kobe, over the Akashi Kaikyo and Onaruto bridges.
What is the Otsuka Museum of Art?
A museum in Naruto showing more than a thousand Western masterpieces at their original size, reproduced on ceramic panels that will not fade, including the Sistine Chapel.
How big are the Naruto whirlpools?
The largest whirlpools can reach about twenty metres across, in a tidal current of up to twenty kilometres an hour.
Can Naruto be part of a private tour of Japan?
Yes. The Custom Tour of Japan is created around your party alone, on your dates, with your own Tour Director, and it can go anywhere in the country, Naruto included. If you would rather travel independently, the Expert Japan Itinerary plans every day for you.
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Naruto, planned for you.
Tell us when you would like to travel and what draws you to Naruto, and we will answer with a Custom Tour of Japan created around your party alone, or, if you would rather travel independently, an Expert Japan Itinerary that plans every day for you.