Whirlpool-watching season begins in western Japan

An event marking the start of the whirlpool-watching season has been held in the Naruto Strait in western Japan. The annual “Uzubiraki” is held in spring when larger whirlpools develop in the turbulent strait linking the Pacific Ocean and the Seto Inland Sea. A local tourism ambassador headed to the strait on a whirlpool-viewing boat on Saturday. After the vessel reached the strait, she threw an object called a Golden Key into the whirlpools. The object measures 1.7 meters long and symbolizes the opening of the whirlpools. More than 100 tourists onboard the boat went onto the deck in the mild weather, and took photographs of the swirling water. A woman visiting from nearby Hyogo Prefecture said the whirlpools were more dynamic than the ones she saw last time, and that she was deeply moved. She said she felt like she was going to be sucked into them. For more...