Visit the world’s narrowest strait, the Dobutsu Strait, and enjoy the surrounding scenery

Before checking into our hotel, our final sightseeing stop of the day was the Dobutsu Strait (土渕海峽), which holds the Guinness World Record since 1996 as the narrowest strait in the world. Many group tours and independent travelers to Shodoshima either begin or end their trip here because it’s very close to Tonosho Port.

After parking our car in a nearby free parking lot, we walked for about a minute to reach the Dōbutsu Strait. The bridge crossing the strait has a beautifully designed floor, and it likely cost a fair amount to construct such an artistic structure.

In addition to the gently curved, semi-circular bridge design, there is also an artistically styled clock nearby, adding a unique touch to the area. There’s also a pet-friendly park called FURETOPIA TONOSHO operated by the town of Tonosho. We saw local visitors walking their dogs there.

橋Next to the bridge, you’ll find handprints of various Japanese music artists, displayed in a style reminiscent of Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.

The town of Tonosho has also put up a sign urging people not to litter. On both sides of the strait, there are a few shops, including one run by a Taiwanese owner called Shodoshima Agon. Since we had plans to have dinner at the hotel later, we didn’t go inside.

Dobutsu Strait offers multilingual information about the area in English, Korean, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese. Even though it is the world’s narrowest strait, we were really hoping to see a boat pass through. If any do, they must be very small.

After staying for about 20 minutes, we didn’t spot any boats—perhaps it was dinner time. Looking at the art installations spanning the strait, it felt like we were passing through a tunnel. The whole setup really highlights this spot as a symbolic landmark of the world’s narrowest strait.