Awaji Island

Some scholars, such as Motoori Norinaga, have claimed that the name means "the road to Awa (阿波)", the historic province bordering the Shikoku side of the Naruto Strait (now part of Tokushima Prefecture), although this etymology is disputed. Others, including Tsugita Uruu, have interpreted the historical meaning of awa as 粟 "millet", due to a story where the kami Sukunabikona climbs a millet stalk on the island, as told in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki; in these books, the island is referred to as Awaji no Honosawake no Shima (淡道之穂之狭別嶋（あはぢのほのさわけのしま）) – referencing the Japanese creation myth, where it was the first island created in Japan – and Awaji-shima (淡路洲), respectively.

Geography

The island is separated from Honshū by the Akashi Strait and from Shikoku by the Naruto Strait. Since April 5, 1998, it has been connected to Kobe on Honshū by the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, the second longest suspension bridge in the world. Since its completion, the Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway across the island has been the main eastern land link between Honshū and Shikoku. The Naruto whirlpools form in the strait between Naruto, Tokushima and Awaji.

The Nojima Fault, responsible for the 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake, cuts across the island. A section of the fault was protected and turned into the Nojima Fault Preservation Museum in the Hokudancho Earthquake Memorial Park (北淡町震災記念公園) to show how the movement in the ground cuts across roads, hedges and other installations. Outside of this protected area, the fault zone is less visible. The Onaruto Bridge Memorial Museum (大鳴門橋記念館, Ōnarutokyō Kinenkan) and the Uzushio Science Museum (うずしお科学館, Uzushio Kagakukan) are located near Fukura.