Views of the Inland Sea. Kinoe to Takehara Ferry

 

The Seto Nakai, or Inland Sea, is dotted with islands and islets, and while many have now been connected by bridges to each other and the mainland, there are still dozens and dozens of small ferries plying the waters. These photos I took on the ferry from Kinoe on Osaki Kamijima Island to Takehara in Hiroshima. Shipbuilding and repair is still a major industry on many islands.

Most Japanese seem blissfully unaware of the incredible amounts of concrete that are poured in Japan compared to other countries.

The island with the two transmission towers on it is Okunoshima, now most famous as "Rabbit Island", less famous as the site of a WWII poison gas factory, and almost unkown as the home of the tallest electricity transmission tower in all of Japan.

Some of the smaller islands have become floating factories. Not sure what is being produced or processed here.

Of course small fishing boats continue to operate.....

Early Morning Views of the Inland Sea

After coming down from my night spent on Mount Kannomine I started walking up the coast of Osakikamijima on my third day walking along the Aki Nada chain of islands in the Inland Sea. I love sleeping out at the highest point anywhere, and on the islands in the Inland Sea the views are particularly impressive. Links to posts on Mount Kannomine are here   here   and here.

I was heading up to Kinoe, a port on the East coast of the ilsnad from where I could take a ferry to Takehara on the mainland of Hiroshima. A car ferry also runs from Kinoe across to Omishima and the Shimanamikaido.

This eastern end of the Aki Nada Islands is close to the chain of islands that comprise the Shimanami kaido, and as both are popularly cycling routes it is a way of connecting the two.

Kinoe was in forer times a major port for ships plying the Inland Sea route..... the expressway of historical Japan. Kinoe was well known a place where sailors could purchase the companionship of young women, though Mitarai on Osaki Shimojima was higher-class and busier.

On top of Mount Kannomine

Mount Kannomine, 425 meters above the sea on Osaki Kamijima in the Inland Sea, is the highest poinbt on the island and where I chose to spend the night on the second day of my walk along the Akinada chain of islands. This link will take you to the other posts from  that walk and the views of sunset from Kannomine.

As well as an observation point that offers stunning views across the Inland Sea, there are two, small religious sites, a Shinti shrine and a Buddhist temple. The shrine is a branch of Ishizuchi Shrine, the famous shrine on top of Mount Ishizuchi, the highest point on Shikoku, and a center for yamabushi and tengu.

Like the shrine, the small temple was also a concrete structure, and it was a Yakushi-do. It had a nice. small Fudo Myo, but the big surprise was a wooden phallus.

Other than a couple of famous sites and shrines in some of the big cities, phalli are far less common than they used to be and it is always a joy to find them in remote spots like this.

Sunset from Mount Kannomine

425 meters above sea level, Mount Kannomine is the highest point on Osaki Kamijima Island in the Inland Sea off the coast of Hiroshima.

I had walked up from the coast below to spend the night at the end of my second day walking along the Aki Nada island chain. I have a fondness for sleeping out on mountaintops where I can get a good view for sunset and then sunrise.

The islands of the Inland Sea are particularly good for this, with great views across dozens of islands and islets. Unfortunately, on this day it was quite cloudy.

The first shot is from part way up and then the shots move from southeast to southwest. In the middle of the second shot you can clearly see some of the bridges of the Shimanami kaido.

Roadside Attractions on Osakikamijima Island

The short ferry ride from Osakishimojima Island deposited me on the southern tip of Osakikamijima Island and I started to walk up the coast on the eastern side of the island. "Bow Shaped Rock" was a little offshore but apparently accessible at low tide. According to the legend the area was constantly raided by pirates in the early 15th Century and so one local samurai strung a bowstring to this rock and fired arrows at the approaching pirates and successfully drove them off.

A little further up the coast a small Local History Museum shaped like a boat. From here you can see across the water to Omishima and the distinctive architecture of the Tokoro Art Museum. Next to the Tokoro they were in the process of building the Toyo Ito architecture Museum.

Shipbuilding and repair is one of the main industries on the island and next to this rather nicely painted boatshed was a large steel sculpture.

Looking like a Chinese restaurant, this is actually a community center. I am sure there must be a reason why it was done in Chinese style, but I don't know it. On the hillside just above it is Kongoji Temple.

It has a large cemetery, so I guess the pagod-shaped elevator and walkway means parishioners don't have to climb steps to get to it. I walked up because from Kongoji a footpath heads directly up to Mount Kannomine, at 452 meters the highest point on the island and where I was planning to spend the night.

Ocho to Akashi Ferry

The small ferry that connects Ocho on Osakishimojima Island with Akashi on Osakikamijima Island is only a ten minute journey and the distance is probably less than 3 kilometers.

It passes right under the Okamura Bridge, the last of the seven bridges that connect the islands along the Tobishima cycle path.

I recently published a piece on that cycle route over at JapanVisitor.....  https://www.japanvisitor.com/japan-city-guides/tobishimakaido

Like all the short ferry journeys throughout the Inland Sea area, the views are pleasant and ever changing......