Naruto whirlpools

{{short description|Tidal whirlpools in the Naruto Strait in Hyōgo, Japan}}{{More citations needed|date=April 2025}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}

Image:NarutoStraitFlow.jpg

Image:Naruto Whirlpools taken 4-21-2008.jpg

Image:Hiroshige Wild sea breaking on the rocks.jpg ukiyo-e print shows a Naruto whirlpool.]]

The {{nihongo|Naruto whirlpools|鳴門の渦潮|Naruto no Uzushio}} are tidal whirlpools in the Naruto Strait, a channel between Naruto in Tokushima and Awaji Island in Hyōgo, Japan.{{Cite news |last=Koseki |first=Tsutomu |date=March 4, 2025 |title=Spring whirlpool season swells in west Japan's Naruto Strait |url=https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20250303/p2a/00m/0li/008000c |access-date=2025-04-12 |work=The Mainichi}} The strait between Naruto and Awaji island has a width of about {{convert|1.3|km|abbr=in}}. The strait is one of the connections between the Pacific Ocean and the Inland Sea, a body of water separating Honshū and Shikoku, two of the main islands of Japan. The tide moves large amounts of water into and out of the Inland Sea twice a day. With a range of up to {{convert|1.7|m|ft|abbr=on}}, the tide creates a difference in the water level of up to {{convert|1.5|m|abbr=on}} between the Inland Sea and the Pacific. Due to the narrowness of the strait, the water rushes through the Naruto channel at a speed of about {{convert|13|-|15|km/h|0|abbr=on}} four times a day, twice flowing in and twice flowing out. During a spring tide, the speed of the water may reach {{convert|20|km/h|abbr=on}}, creating vortices up to {{convert|20|m|abbr=on}} in diameter.

The current in the strait is the fastest in Japan and the fourth fastest in the world after the Saltstraumen outside Bodø in Norway, which reaches speeds of {{convert|37|km/h|abbr=on}}, the Moskenstraumen off the Lofoten islands in Norway (the original maelstrom) reaching {{convert|27.8|km/h|abbr=on}}; and the Old Sow whirlpool in New Brunswick, Canada with up to {{convert|27.6|km/h|abbr=on}}.

The whirlpools can be observed from the shore on Awaji island, from tourist ships, or from the Uzunomichi Walkway of the 1985 Ōnaruto Bridge spanning the strait. The suspension bridge has a total length of {{convert|1629|m|abbr=on}}, with the center span over the strait having a length of {{convert|876|m|abbr=on}} and a height of {{convert|41|m|abbr=on}} above sea level.

The whirlpools inspired the name for narutomaki surimi and the name of Naruto Uzumaki from the manga and anime Naruto, "Uzumaki" (うずまき) meaning "whirlpool". The storyline starts with building the Great Naruto Bridge (なると大橋, Naruto Ōhashi) into The Land of Waves (波の国, Nami no Kuni) which is based on the Naruto Bridge spanning the Naruto Strait.