Awaji Island
Awaji Island, The Largest Island In The Seto Inland Sea, Joined To Kobe And Shikoku By Long Suspension Bridges, With Beaches, Flower Parks, Onion And Beef Farms And The Akashi Kaikyo Bridge Views. A Drive And Eat Weekend From Kansai. · Awaji, Hyogo
Awaji Island is the largest island in the Seto Inland Sea, a long green island between Honshu and Shikoku, joined to Kobe by the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, among the longest suspension bridges in the world, and to Tokushima by the Onaruto Bridge. Highway buses from Kobe cross in roughly 30 minutes, but the island is best with a car or bike, because the sights are spread along the coast. It is known for onions, Awaji beef and puffer fish, for flower parks, for the Awaji Yumebutai terraced garden and conference complex designed by Tadao Ando on a former quarry, and for the Naruto whirlpools at the southern tip. The Nojima Fault Preservation Museum keeps a fault line from the 1995 Kobe earthquake. It suits couples, families and drivers from Kansai with a weekend. It is worth the detour for food and sea views, and is not a place to see everything in a day without a car. Summer is hot and crowded. Kobe and Naoshima are separate stops.
Awaji Island, Hyogo, in the Seto Inland Sea, joined to Kobe by the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge and to Shikoku by the Onaruto Bridge, Awaji, Hyogo, Japan
The island has no single opening time, and each sight keeps its own hours, usually from about 9:00 to 17:00, with flower parks and museums closing earlier in winter and many restaurants closing by evening. Some museums close one weekday, often Monday - confirm. Highway buses run from Kobe Sannomiya and Maiko across the bridge in roughly 30 minutes, with fewer buses late in the day; IC cards work on buses, though local shops want cash. Local buses on the island are infrequent, so a car, taxi or bike hire is usually needed. Whirlpool boats run on tide timetables - confirm the best times. Book a hire car and any boat ahead for summer weekends and holidays.