Complete the boarding procedures 20 minutes before departure at the boarding counter in the Roadside Station Yoshiumi Ikiiki Hall.

Kurushima Strait Rapids Sightseeing Boat Boarding Point Guide

As people said in the past, "First Kurushima, second Naruto, and third Bakanseto (Kanmon)," the Kurushima Strait is the most perilous point to navigate at sea and one of the three fastest currents in Japan along with the Naruto Strait and the Kanmon Straits.

Located right in the middle of the Seto Inland Sea shipping route connecting the Kyushu and Kansai regions, the Kurushima Strait is a key junction in transportation. This shipping route is an international route where various types of vessels pass, including foreign ships, containerships, tankers, cargo ships, cruise ships, defense ships, and submarines.

The navigation system used here is called "Jun-chu Gyaku-sei," a rule that ships must take the Naka Suido (central path) when sailing in the tide's direction and the Nishi Suido (west path) when sailing against the tide. Kurushima Strait is the only one in the world with this type of switching system even though ships usually navigate on the right side. For safety reasons, large ships over 200m long are required to take the Naka Suido when the tidal current is weak before/after the slack tide.