Grand Setouchi Tour from Osaka: Himeji to the Naruto Whirlpools
Kansai International Airport (KIX) in / out
A full week across the Seto Inland Sea from Osaka’s gateway airport — World Heritage Himeji Castle, the gardens and craftsmanship of Okayama, the island port of Onomichi, Dogo Onsen and Kotohira-gu on Shikoku, and the Naruto whirlpools on the way back to KIX.
Day by day
Day 1
- Arrive Kansai International Airport (KIX) around 7:20
- Himeji Castle — UNESCO World Heritage site
- Nadagiku Sake Brewery — lunch and a brewery visit
- Bizen Osafune Japanese Sword Museum
- Manekineko (Lucky Cat) Museum
- Hotel in Okayama around 17:30, traditional Japanese dinner at the hotel
Day 2
- Depart hotel around 8:25
- Okayama Korakuen — one of the three great gardens of Japan
- Kyudo (Japanese archery) experience
- Yakitori grilling experience — lunch
- Hotel in Fukuyama around 14:50
- Optional walk to Fukuyama Castle
Day 3
- Depart hotel around 8:30
- Abuto Kannon temple, or a walk through the port town of Tomonoura
- Onomichi — Senkoji ropeway
- Pirate-style lunch on Innoshima island
- Tidal current cruise (departs 15:00)
- Murakami Kaizoku Museum
- Hotel in Imabari around 17:00, dinner at the hotel
Day 4
- Depart hotel around 8:30
- Dogo Onsen Honkan
- Tart-rolling experience
- Japanese restaurant lunch
- Kotohira-gu Shrine
- Chichibugahama — the “mirror of the sky” of the Seto Inland Sea
- Hotel in Marugame around 17:50, dinner at the hotel
Day 5
- Depart hotel around 8:30
- Uzunomichi — the walkway above the Naruto whirlpools
- Nijigen no Mori anime park on Awaji Island (lunch at leisure)
- Hotel near Rinku Town Station around 16:30
Day 6
- Depart hotel around 7:45 by train
- Kansai International Airport (KIX) around 8:00
- Departure around 10:00
- ※ The Bizen Osafune Japanese Sword Museum, the tidal current cruise and the Murakami Kaizoku Museum are closed on Mondays.
- ※ Kotohira-gu has 785 stone steps up to the main shrine.
- ※ At Chichibugahama the reflection is at its best at sunset on a falling tide, so the timing depends on the tide table.
- ※ The kyudo and yakitori experiences are special arrangements and subject to availability; the yakitori experience takes up to 10 people.
Timings are indicative and assume a private charter vehicle. Everything on this page — transport, hotels and ryokan, restaurants, entrance tickets and guides — is arranged by us locally and quoted at net rates on a single invoice.
On this itinerary
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