Seto Inland Sea Cruise on Asuka II – Day 4

This is a post about Day 4 of our Asuka II cruise.
Day 4 was the absolute highlight of our Seto Inland Sea journey! We looped around the islands of the Shimanami Kaido, sailed through the Kurushima Strait, and headed back out toward the Pacific Ocean.

Link to Day 1 post
Link to Day 2 post
Link to Day 3 post
Link to Day 5 post
Link to Final Day post

At 5:10 AM, we set sail while most passengers were still fast asleep.
Although I had been waking up around 5:00 AM on the previous days, I overslept that morning! By the time I realized it, the ship had already departed, so I rushed up to the deck at 5:37 AM.

The Seto Inland Sea is filled with countelss small islands.
As the ship sailed along, the sun would peek out and hide repeatedly behind the ridgelines of the islands, allowing me to enjoy a variety of beautiful sunrise views.
When I was lucky, I managed to capture shots where the sun sat right on top of an island peak—like a mini version of Diamond Fuji (a sunrise over Mount Fuji). I was so happy with those shots!

Along the way, another passenger ship similar to Asuka II passed by. I wondered, “What ship could that be?” It turned out to be the Celebrity Millennium. (In the photo, I’ve edited out the “X” logo and the ship’s name on the hull.) We’d seen plenty of fishing boats and tankers on this trip, but this was the first cruise ship I noticed. Cruise ships have such a dreamlike, wonderful design, don’t they?

Thanks to the calm waters of the Seto Inland Sea, the ship hardly rocked at all.
My niece felt completely fine without any seasickness, so we went to the Lido Cafe & Lido Garden on Deck 11 for breakfast.

I sprinkled yukari (red shiso seasoning) over my rice and topped it with an umeboshi (pickled plum), goji berries, and spinach. In the bowl on the right is chilled tofu (hiyayakko). The package with the ASUKA logo contains seaweeds (nori), which I brought to wrap around my rice. While I usually choose miso soup with my meals, the soup on the top right looked so delicious that morning that I went with that instead. However, I completely forgot what kind of soup it was! After this, I also had a fried egg.

By the way, what do you put on your fried eggs?

In Japan, people are divided into soy sauce fans, salt fans, Worcestershire sauce fans, and more—and almost everyone has a strong conviction that their choice is the absolute right way to eat it! Because of this, debates over what to put on fried eggs can even lead to fights between newlyweds (lol).

Years ago, a friend’s newlywed husband insisted on sauce, and she sent me a text asking, “It’s definitely soy sauce, right?!”

Usually, if parents use soy sauce, the kids grow up using soy sauce too, and if they use Worcestershire sauce, the kids follow suit.

If you have any Japanese friends, asking them which team they belong to might make for a fun conversation!
By the way, the soy sauce team is the most popular, and I’m one of them. I like to eat mine with soy sauce and a sprinkle of black pepper.

However, since puting soy sauce on fried eggs is probably unique to Japan, I imagine salt is the overwhelming majority worldwide.
Still, if you have access to soy sauce, please give it a try! It’s genuinely delicious and highly recommended.

After breakfast, I went back out to the deck to enjoy taking more photos.
The scene of small islands floating on the sea, beneath tiny clouds that looked as if they’d been torn off and floated into the sky, was just so adorable that I couldn’t stop snapping pictures.

At 9:00 AM, there was an event called “Shimanami Hopping” at the Hollywood Theatre, where we learned about the highlights and sightseeing spots of the islands along the Shimanami Kaido.

The Shimanami Kaido is an expressway connected by bridges that spans from Onomichi in Hiroshima Prefecture (Honshu) all the way to Imabari in Ehime Prefecture (Shikoku), passing through the islands of Mukaishima, Innoshima, Ikuchijima, Omishima, Hakatajima, and Oshima.

I had no idea such a route existed! I learned about it for the first time on this trip.
I heard you can even cross it by bicycle, so I’d love to try it someday. Cycling along a road like that must feel amazing!

Around 10:15 AM, we were scheduled to pass under the Innoshima Bridge—one of the bridges on the Shimanami Kaido—so I headed to the bow deck around 10:00 AM.

Innoshima Bridge connects Mukaishima and Innoshima and stands 50 meters tall.
Since Asuka II is 45 meters tall, we technically had a 5-meter clearance, but visually, it looked extremely close! It didn’t look like we had 5 meters of space at all.
We passed under the bridge right at 10:15 AM sharp.

We had lunch at the Lido Cafe & Lido Garden again. My niece was still feeling great and full of energy.

They also offer burgers and pizza during lunchtime, so I tried them for the first time on this cruise. They were actually really good! I also picked small bites of delicious-looking dishes from the buffet.

By the way, after eating full-course meals and buffet food day after day, I’ve definitely gained some weight.
I doubt I could even fit into the dress I wore for the informal night two days ago (lol).

Around 12:20 PM, we were set to pass under the Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge, so we headed back out to the bow deck.

The Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge is the world’s first series of three consecutive suspension bridges, connecting Oshima, Umashima, Mushishima, and Shikoku.
The Kurushima Strait is known for its fast tidal currents, making it a challenging spot for navigation. There are two shipping lanes, and the route chosen depends on the tide conditions at the time.

We passed under at 12:24 PM.

I learned that the two black cylindrical baskets mounted vertically on the ship serve as markers to signal to surrounding vessels that we are a large ship.
I wondered, “Can people actually tell just from those?”
When I looked it up, it turns out ship navigators and lookouts monitor surrounding vessels using high-powered binoculars!

After safely passing through the Kurushima Strait, I went to the pool and treaded water like crazy to burn off some calories before heading to the Grand Spa. Soaking in an open-air bath after a swim feels absolutely amazing! Plus, being surrounded by the scenery of the Seto Inland Sea was pure luxury.

For dinner, we returned to the Four Seasons Dining Room on Deck 5.
Following the previous day, we enjoyed another Japanese course meal tonight.
Cheers with champagne!

The flounder (hirame) sashimi was delicious. I love white fish sashimi like sea bream (tai) and flounder—it’s light yet rich in flavor.

From the deep-fried dishes to the main shabu-shabu and the melon for dessert, everything was delicious and completely satisfying.

At 8:15 PM, there was a magic show at the Galaxy Lounge.

The magician, TAKUYA, is reportedly an exclusive performer for Asuka II.
His deeply mysterious atmosphere was so captivating! (Sorry, it’s hard to put into words properly.)

At one point, a person was actually floating in mid-air! How do they even do that? It was so mysterious.
It was an incredible show and a lot of fun to watch.
The quality of the performances on Asuka II is truly top-notch.

Starting at 9:00 PM, there was a Karaoke Night at Club Stars on Deck 6, so we went to check it out.

I ordered a gin and tonic, and it was delicious!

My sister-in-law and my niece sang their hearts out.
I actually love singing too, but ever since I was a child, I’ve been extremely shy about being in front of people.
Singing in public is an absolute no-no for me unless I’m only around close family or friends I’m completely comfortable with… even though I secretly really want to sing!

It wasn’t just our family—other guests were actively taking the mic too, so the place had a pretty lively and fun atmosphere.

Finally, I visited the Grand Spa for the second time that day.
Since I had already bathed after pool time, I just soaked my body in the outdoor bath. The moon and stars were so beautiful.

Next up will be the post for Day 5.

Sweet dreams!

Link to Day 1 post
Link to Day 2 post
Link to Day 3 post
Link to Day 5 post
Link to Final Day post
If you’re interested in learning more about the ship, check out the official Asuka II & Ⅲ site here.