Seto Inland Sea

Calm water, hundreds of islands, and old harbour towns between Japan's main islands.

Where it is

The Seto Inland Sea is the long, sheltered sea between Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu. It is shallow and calm, dotted with hundreds of islands, and for most of Japanese history it was the main road of the country: ships carried rice, salt and travellers along it between the western provinces and the capital region.

Much of it is protected as Setonaikai National Park, created in 1934 as one of the first national parks of Japan. The climate is the mildest and driest in the country, good for citrus and olives, and the tides run fast through the narrow straits between the islands.

Since the late 20th century three chains of bridges have crossed the sea, hopping from island to island between Honshu and Shikoku.

The map course: 9 pins

The map course is played on the real map, from one real place to the next: 9 pins, par 36, 311 km from the first tee to the last pin. Distances are real kilometres; the pictures of the holes are satellite views.

Route of the map course: the tee (T) and the pins in playing order.

1. Tee · Fukuyama StationStation

   The tee is at Fukuyama Station, on the Honshu shore, with the castle beside the platforms.

2. 1 · Hiroshima AirportAirport · 40.9 km · Par 4

   Hiroshima's airport, on a plateau in the hills east of the city.

3. 2 · ŌkunoshimaIsland · 15.7 km · Par 3

   A small island known today for its hundreds of free-roaming rabbits.

4. 3 · TomonouraPort · 36.4 km · Par 4

   An old harbour town where ships once waited for the tide to turn; its Edo-period waterfront survives.

5. 4 · Nabeshima LighthouseLighthouse · 40.7 km · Par 4

   A lighthouse on a small island in the middle of the sea.

6. 5 · Takamatsu AirportAirport · 25.7 km · Par 4

   The airport of Takamatsu, the main city of northern Shikoku.

7. 6 · Mount TsurugiMountain · 40.7 km · Par 4

   The second highest mountain of Shikoku, 1,955 m, far inland.

8. 7 · Todoro FallsSight · 28.7 km · Par 4

   A waterfall in the mountains of Shikoku.

9. 8 · ShikokuIsland · 31.2 km · Par 4

   The island of Shikoku itself, the smallest of Japan's four main islands and the land of the 88-temple pilgrimage.

10. 9 · ChichibugahamaBeach · 50.6 km · Par 5

    A wide beach on the Shikoku shore where tide pools mirror the evening sky.

Par and distances are the game's own course data. The pins are real places listed in Wikidata; what is said about them is kept to well-known facts.

Travel notes

The Inland Sea is gentle in every season: clear in spring and autumn, hazy and warm in summer, mild in winter. The lasting pleasures are simple ones: the view over the islands from any hilltop, the old harbour fronts, and the crossings themselves, by bridge or by ferry.

More courses

Sources: Seto Inland Sea · Setonaikai National Park · Honshū–Shikoku Bridge Project · Ōkunoshima · Tomonoura · Shikoku Pilgrimage · Mount Tsurugi (Tokushima) · Chichibugahama Beach · Fukuyama Station · Hiroshima Airport · Takamatsu Airport · Shikoku · Wikidata (CC0)