is a

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a na ...

on the north coast of western

Honshu , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island s ...

, the largest island of Japan. The bay faces the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, i ...

and within the borders of

Tottori Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Tottori Prefecture is the least populous prefecture of Japan at 570,569 (2016) and has a geographic area of . Tottori Prefecture borders Shimane Prefecture to the west, Hiro ...

. Miho bay is bounded to the west by Yumigahama Peninsula, which forms the western border with

Shimane Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Shimane Prefecture is the second-least populous prefecture of Japan at 665,205 (February 1, 2021) and has a geographic area of 6,708.26 km2. Shimane Prefecture borders Yamagu ...

Geography

Miho Bay is approximately in length, extends from the coast, and has a depth of . The bay has an average temperature of between 20 and 22 °C. Miho Bay is generally defined as extending from the mouth of the

Amida River Amida can mean : Places and jurisdictions * Amida (Mesopotamia), now Diyarbakır, an ancient city in Asian Turkey; it is (nominal) seat of : ** The Chaldean Catholic Archeparchy of Amida ** The Latin titular Metropolitan see of Amida of the Roma ...

in Daisen to the east and Cape Jizō at the tip of the Shimane Peninsula to the west. Miho Bay is naturally protected by numerous

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes—deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock ...

s and the quicksand of the

Hino River The is a major river in the western part of Tottori Prefecture. The river flows east-northeast for , and is the longest river in the prefecture. The Hino River emerges from the Chūgoku Mountains. The source of the river is at an elevation of ...

, but as these natural areas of protection have decreased,

coastal erosion Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of waves, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts of storms. The landwar ...

has become a problem along the bay. Miho Bay was known historically as a safe harbor.

Coastal cities and towns

Miho Bay is faced by the coastal cities and towns of and

Matsue is the capital city of Shimane Prefecture, Japan, located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. The city has an estimated population of 202,008 (February 1, 2021) following the merger with Higashiizumo from Yatsuka District. Matsue is located ...

Sakaiminato is a city in Tottori Prefecture, Japan. In 2016, it had an estimated population of 33,888. History An Imperial decree in July 1899 established Sakai as an open port for trading with the United States and the United Kingdom. Sakaiminato was fou ...

and Yonago make up the Yumigahama Peninsula coastal area of Miho Bay, and the coast continues east to Hiezu and Daisen at the west of

Rivers

The Hino River, the Miho River, and the Amida River all empty into Miho Bay. The short, shallow

Sakai Channel is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It has been one of the largest and most important seaports of Japan since the medieval era. Sakai is known for its keyhole-shaped burial mounds, or kofun, which date from the fifth century and inclu ...

connects

Nakaumi is a brackish lake located between Tottori and Shimane prefectures in Japan. The lake is enclosed by the Shimane Peninsula to the north and Yumigahama Peninsula to the east. It is the fifth largest lake in surface area in Japan. Nakaumi co ...

and Lake Jinji to Miho Bay.

Tourism and recreation

A large onsen in Yonago, the Keike Onsen, faces Miho Bay. There are also yachting美保湾ヨットクラブ
/ref> and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from fish stocking, stocked bodies of water such as fish pond, ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. ...

facilities, as well as numerous white sandy beaches.

Transportation

Yonago Airport prominently occupies the middle of the Yurigahama Peninsula, and the

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt, concrete ...

of the airport is less than 1 km from Miho Bay. Two train lines run along the distance of the bay. The

JR West , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, and i ...

Sanin Main Line runs near the eastern coast of the bay to Yonago Station, and the JR West Sakai Line runs along the western coast of the bay to Sakaiminato Station. Miho Bay has traditionally been one point of connection to the

Oki Islands The is an archipelago in the Sea of Japan, the islands of which are administratively part of Oki District, Shimane Prefecture, Japan. The islands have a total area of . Only four of the around 180 islands are permanently inhabited. Much of the ...

. One ferry to the

, name, has a terminus on Nakaumi in Sakaiminato, travels through the Sakai Channel, crosses Miho Bay, and the connects to the Oki Islands across the Sea of Japan.

Mihonoseki Incident

In 1927, 4 nautical miles from Cape Jizō, the light cruiser ''Jintsuu'' and the ''Momi''-class destroyer ''Warabi'', both ships of the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

, collided at the mouth of Miho Bay. There were 92 naval personnel who were killed when the ''Warabi'' sunk, and 28 were killed aboard the ''Jintsuu''. The event became known as the . Captain Keiji Mizushiro (1883–1927) was questioned, but committed suicide before the beginning of the trial. The ''Jintsuu'' was recommissioned during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and was chosen as a shinyo suicide boat in

Tokyo Bay is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan, and spans the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. The Tokyo Bay region is both the most populou ...

, but it ran aground shortly before the end of the war and was scrapped in 1947.

References

{{Reflist Bays of Japan Landforms of Tottori Prefecture Landforms of Shimane Prefecture Tourist attractions in Tottori Prefecture Tourist attractions in Shimane Prefecture