Setonaikai

Naruto

The world’s greatest whirlpools

We are not going to stop in Naruto, just cruise on through the exciting strait between Naruto and Awaji Island to enter the Inland Sea of Japan –The Seto Naikai.
The Pacific tide here creates a difference in the water level of around 1.5m between the Inland Sea and the Ocean, and due to the narrowness of the strait, the water rushes through the Naruto channel at a speed of up to 12knots four times a day.
The current in the strait is the fastest in Japan and the fourth fastest in the world.
The whirlpools can be observed from the vessel as you cruise through the straights under the Naruto Suspension Bridge, and have been famously recorded by Japanese artists through the centuries.