Japan Guide
Western Honshū
Kojima
Twenty-five kilometres south of Okayama, KOJIMA, with its sprawling shopping centres and newly laid roads, has boomed since the opening in 1988 of the nearby 12.3-kilometre-long Seto Ōhashi, a series of six bridges and four viaducts hopping from island to island across the Inland Sea to Shikoku. One of the most memorable ways to view this engineering wonder is to take an hour-long boat tour (daily: March– Nov 9am–4pm; Jan, Feb & Dec 10am–2pm; ¥1550) from the sightseeing pier immediately to the east of Kojima Station. The boats depart on the hour, except at noon.
If you'd prefer to view the Seto Ōhashi and islands from dry land, head 4km south of Kojima to Washū-zan, a 134-metre-high hill jutting out into the Inland Sea. Regular buses run to the lookout point, from outside both Kojima and Kurashiki stations. From here you can climb to Washū-zan's summit and take in what has to be one of Japan's most glorious panoramas. If you have time, stop off in Shimotsui and check out the interesting Mukashi Shimotsui Kaisendonya (daily except Tues 9am–5pm; free), a museum of fisherfolk life, and wander around the old streets, taking in the castle ruins, the covered wells from which passing boats stocked up on fresh water, and the Gion-jinja shrine.
Back in Kojima, the Bridge Museum, or Seto ōhashi Kinenkan (Tues– Sun 9am–5pm; free), a fifteen-minute walk west of the train station, is an usual attraction, well worth a look if you have the time.
The best place to stay in the area is at the Washū-zan Youth Hostel ( 
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086/479-9280; Price: Up to ¥3000), which has bunk-bed dorms (¥2100 per person) and good food, as well as impressive views of the Seto Ōhashi and the Inland Sea from its location at the tip of a promontory. It takes twenty minutes to reach the hostel on one of the hourly buses (last bus at 4.20pm) leaving for Washū-zan from platform 2 outside Kojima Station.