On the plus side, I did get to snap some nice pictures of the imposing Ohnaruto Bridge. When viewing the whirlpools, tourists can either opt to ride a sightseeing boat (as I did), or walk across a special glass-floored section of the bridge and view the swirls from above. With a main span of 876 meters, this currently ranks as the 28th longest suspension bridge in the world.

Just in case you were wondering, the current longest suspension in the world is also located in Japan. It is called the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge and its main span is 1,991 meters long.

Both bridges are part of the Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Project, which links the two islands together by way of the Seto Inland Sea.