Major Tourist Sites
The coastal area of the Inland Sea is one of the most famous tourist destinations in Japan. Even before Japan opened to foreigners in the middle of the 19th century, the sea's beauty was praised and introduced to the Western world by those who visited Japan, including Philipp Franz von Siebold, and after the country's opening, Ferdinand von Richthofen and Thomas Cook.
Its coastal area, except for Osaka prefecture and a part of Wakayama prefecture, was appointed the Setonaikai National Park (瀬戸内海国立公園, Setonaikai Kokuritsu kōen?) on March 16, 1934, as one of three oldest national parks in Japan.
Itsukushima Shrine, on the island of Itsukushima in the city of Hatsukaichi, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most famous Japanese sites outside Tokyo and Kyoto. Shodoshima, nicknamed the "island of olives," and the Naruto whirlpools are two other well-known tourist sites. Neighboring locations like Kotohira and Okayama are often combined with the tour of the Inland Sea region. Some historic sites, including Yashima in Takamatsu and Kurashiki, also attract many visitors. Hiroshima is the neighbor city to Itsukushima Shrine and another UNESCO World Heritage Site because of atomic bomb damage in 1945.
Read more about this topic: Seto Inland Sea
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