Uzushio Rest Area is an unmissable stopping point on a wider tour of the Awaji-shima area, which is full of exciting destinations such as Kunjudo, Nadakuroiwa Suisenkyo, Sumoto Castle and Sumoto Retro Komichi.
On the first day of our Awaji trip, we visited the south part of the island mainly. Compared to the north part (Awaji City), the south (Minami-Awaji and Sumoto City) is more bustling with hot springs, tour attractions, and transportation options.
We went to Uzushio Rest Area, which is the one of the most famous places in Awaji. There are three attractive points in the area you must know about.
First of all, you can see the Naruto whirlpools up close. The whirlpools' current is the fastest strait in Japan and fourth fastest in the world. There are two ways to see the Naruto whirlpools before your eyes. The first is to take the Whirlpools Cruise at Awaji. Unfortunately we couldn't take the cruise, because the weather was horrible on our trip day. The second way is from the Uzu-no-Michi, which is the walkway that extends under the Onaruto Bridge. The walkway's observation room sits 45 meters above the whirlpools below which can be seen through glass windows set in the floor. The only problem is that you can only access the walkway from the Tokushima side of Onaruto Bridge. The Naruto whirlpools are caused by tidal currents, so do check the homepage and tide charts before you go.
Secondly, Uzushio Rest Area is the place with the most delicious burgers in the Japan. Its burgers took first and second place in the Tottori Burger Festa in 2013 and 2014 respectively. This event aims to promote locally made burgers in Japan. The “Awaji onion beef burger” was first while the “Awaji onion gratin burger” was second. With these two burgers, you can taste many ingredients from Awaji, especially delicious Awaji onion, which is famous in Japan. An interesting thing food there was onion-flavoured ice cream. Don't you want to know how it tasted?
Finally, at the souvenir shop, you can see and buy a lot of Awaji-made souvenirs. We found out a lot of Awaji's products such as Awaji coffee beans, Awaji organic jam, salt, and organic vegetables. I recommend buying some Awaji souvenirs for your family and friends.
