Awaji

Two Days on Awaji: The Doorway to Japan

Awaji is small enough to drive across in two hours and large enough to disappear into for two days. It is also, by the reckoning of the Kojiki, the first piece of land in Japan — the island Izanami bore before any other, the place where the gods stepped down from heaven. Everything else in Japanese myth descends from what begins here. Two days is the right amount of time to read the volume by walking it: one day for the northern coast and central plain, where the foundational shrines are; one day for the southern shore, the rival Onogoro at Nushima, and the great whirlpools at the Naruto Strait. You will end where Japan ends — or begins.

From Kobe, Awaji is thirty minutes by car across the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge, or thirteen minutes by Jenova Line ferry from Akashi Port to Iwaya. From Osaka, a direct highway bus reaches Sumoto, the island's central town, in around two hours. From Kyoto, two and a half hours via bus or via Shin-Kobe shinkansen plus bus. A rental car is the easiest way to circle the island; Awaji has limited public transport once you leave the highway corridor.

The itinerary below assumes a rental car and a single night's stay in central or southern Awaji. Walkers can substitute taxis and local buses for shorter days. The pace is unhurried by design — these are sites that reward sitting still in them.

  • Duration 2 days
  • Difficulty Easy
  • Best season Year round

The trail, day by day

## Day 1 — The Northern Doorway

8:00 AM — Depart Kobe Sannomiya by car via the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge, or board the Jenova Line ferry from Akashi Port to Iwaya
9:00 AM — Arrive at Iwaya Harbor and walk five minutes along the seafront to view Eshima rising from the bay
10:00 AM — Coffee at one of the small harbor cafés; quiet time looking across the Akashi Strait toward Kobe
11:00 AM — Drive south through central Awaji along the coastal route (around forty minutes)
12:00 PM — Lunch in Sumoto, the island's central town
1:30 PM — Visit Onokoro Jinja near the rice plains of Minamiawaji; walk under the 21.7-metre vermilion torii, one of the three great torii of Japan
3:00 PM — Drive twenty minutes north to the Tsuna district
3:30 PM — Visit Izanagi Jingu, the hidden palace where the creator god retreated; sit in the shaded inner precinct
5:00 PM — Drive south to your overnight accommodation in the Sumoto or southern Awaji area
7:00 PM — Dinner: local seafood, Awaji beef, or the island's famous onion-based dishes

## Day 2 — The Southern Shore and the Pillar

8:00 AM — Drive south to Habu Port in Minamiawaji (around forty minutes from central Awaji)
9:00 AM — Board the morning ferry from Habu Port to Nushima (around ten minutes' crossing)
9:30 AM — Walk through Nushima village toward the southern cliffs
10:30 AM — Arrive at the viewpoint above Kamitategami-iwa, the thirty-metre basalt pillar widely identified with the Heavenly Pillar of the creation myth
11:30 AM — Return walk to Nushima village; lunch at a local seafood restaurant
1:00 PM — Return ferry to Habu Port
1:30 PM — Drive ten minutes to Fukura Port at the southern tip of Awaji
2:00 PM — Board the Uzushio whirlpool cruise at Fukura Port to see the great tidal whirls of the Naruto Strait
3:30 PM — Return to Fukura; coffee at the harbor
4:00 PM — Depart Awaji — cross the Naruto Bridge to Shikoku to continue your journey, or return north via the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge to Kobe

## Notes

The whirlpools at Naruto are tidal — they are largest around the spring and autumn equinoxes during new and full moons. Cruise schedules and whirlpool intensity are published on the Uzushio Cruise website. If you are visiting outside peak tidal windows, the strait is still a striking thing to look across; the whirls themselves are simply smaller.

Nushima ferry timetables are limited — usually around six round trips daily. Check the current schedule before driving to Habu Port. The last ferry back to Awaji is typically mid- to late afternoon.

Eshima is currently closed to visitors due to rockfall risk; you can see it clearly from the harbor at Iwaya but cannot walk onto it.

Sites along the way