The is a suspension bridge that carries 4 lanes of the Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway connecting Minamiawaji, Hyogo on Awaji Island with

Naruto, Tokushima is a Cities of Japan, city located in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 54,989 in 26,206 households and a population density of 410 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Naruto is locate ...

on Ōge Island,

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. Completed in 1985, it has a main span of . Although it is one of the largest bridges in the world, it is dwarfed by the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge, which is on the same route. In 2004, 6.8 million cars and trucks crossed this bridge, translating into a daily average of about 18,600. The bridge is complemented by the ("Small Naruto Bridge") and between Ōge Island and

Shikoku is the smallest of the List of islands of Japan#Main islands, four main islands of Japan. It is long and between at its widest. It has a population of 3.8 million, the least populated of Japan's four main islands. It is south of Honshu ...

. When the bridge was built, space was left for the proposed Shikoku Shinkansen; however, no progress has been made on the train line, so the space intended originally for the bullet trains is used as an observatory to see the Naruto whirlpools beneath the bridge. It is also a popular tourist destination for fans of the '' Naruto'' anime where it was referenced in episode 19 of the first season.

Naruto Whirlpools

Recurring whirlpools known as the Naruto whirlpools, in the Naruto Strait, spanned by the bridge, are caused by tidal currents between the Seto Inland Sea and the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

passing over undersea ridges under the span, causing very strong eddy currents, some of which make large, deep whirlpools. The bridge has a tourist attraction built into the south side anchor—the Uzunomichi WalkwayWelcome! Shikoku Web Site' Naruto Whirlpools English Page
/ref>—an enclosed walkway out to the south tower to allow visitors to view the swirls through side and floor windows, best seen during low tide. Tourist boats and other vessels circle the towers, allowing visitors to see the depth of the whirlpools up close, while the view from the bridge observatory lets visitors see the pattern created by the eddy currents extending out for quite a distance.

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Suspension bridges in Japan Bridges completed in 1985 Naruto, Tokushima Cross-sea bridges in Asia Bridges in Hyōgo Prefecture Transport buildings and structures in Tokushima Prefecture {{Japan-bridge-struct-stub