Nostalgic stroll in a port town “Tomonoura” and a town of slope “Onomichi”, where merchant houses line

The inland sea "Seto Inland Sea", located between Honshu and Shikoku, is known for its beautiful scenery of the calm sea and a number of islands, but also known as a sea route used by trading boats called “Kitamae-Bune” which supported Japanese economy in old times. Kitamae-Bune is a ship which used to call many ports between Osaka and Hokkaido around the Sea of ​​Japan doing businesses, from around the middle of the 18th century to the beginning of the 20th century. In the Seto Inland Sea which is a passage exiting from the Osaka to the Sea of ​​Japan, there are some towns which keep their remnant as ports of call.

"Tomonoura" called “A port for awaiting favorable tide”, and "Onomichi” called “A small city like a miniature garden" are representative of the town of Setouchi (the regions facing the Seto Inland Sea) where such nostalgic atmosphere is still given. Let's take a stroll through these two towns where leave the old Japanese shadow, using the ferry connecting these two.

Thinking of the merchants who enjoyed prosperity at the port for awaiting a favorable tide "Tomonoura"

The Seto Inland Sea shows a quiet sea surface like a lake, but also known for having one of the world's strongest current accompanied by the tides. In the era when manually moving the ship, it was necessary to advance the boat riding the current which switched every 6 hours. To that end, the port was born for awaiting the current to be switched. Tomonoura developed as such a port for awaiting a tide.

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