Along with the Naruto Strait and the Kanmon Straits, the Kurushima Strait located in Imabari city, Ehime prefecture is one of Japan’s three great tidal currents, and has been known as a rough spot since ancient times.

Today, with its southern side is the starting point of the Shimanami Kaido road, the Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge stretches over the strait.

Big bridges such as this that connect the islands are truly one of the scenes characteristic of the Setouchi area. That’s why this time, using Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge as an example, we will introduce some tips for taking beautiful photographs of “bridge scenery”!

Below is a map of the area around Kurushima Strait. It may be obvious, but to take good photos, you need to go to a good location.
Actually, there are three points to consider when choosing a location to take pictures of scenery with bridges.

(In black: Imabari (left), Oshima (right)
(In orange: Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge
1) The first point is the foot of the bridge. The location this time is Itoyama Park (point 1 on map).
2) The second point is to have a mountain(s) in the background. This time the location is Umiyama Castle Lookout Park (point 2).
3) The third point is the slightly distant shore. The location that qualified this time is Osumi Beach Park.

There are different photographing tips for each of the points, so we will introduce them one by one.

The first is the foot of the bridge, and at the foot of Kurushima Kaikyu Bridge you can find Itoyama Park with an observation deck and space available on the bank. We recommend the two-story observation deck on top of a small hill.

Itoyama Park is known as a location where you can enjoy sublime sunrises all year round.

If you arrive before dawn you can aim for the moment of the sunrise.

It’s an impressive sunrise!
By the way, if you are taking the picture in the immediate vicinity of a bridge like this, you may not be able to fit the whole bridge in the photograph with a standard lens.
A super wide-angle lens (10mm-24mm lens) will come in handy.

In Itoyama Park, there is also a wide area available below the observation deck and you can take some photographs from a dynamic angle looking up at the bridge. In this case, if you have a super wide lens, you will be able to take photographs with a composition that has more impact, so we recommend giving it a try!

Next is the second point, having a mountain(s) in the background. Mt. Umiyama is located behind Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge and a road leads to the vicinity of the mountaintop. If you walk around 10 minutes from the parking area, you will reach a castle-shaped observation deck. In the Warring States period (approximately 1467-1568), an actual fortress was located here from where the Kurushima Strait could be kept an eye on!

From this observation deck you can see Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge in the distance. In this location, a 200mm-300mm telephoto lens is useful.

In addition, from the mountaintop you can see over the entire strait, and can take photographs with deep scenery including the islands and ocean surrounding the bridge, even with a standard lens.

Last is the third, slightly distant shore. This time we chose Osumi Beach Park, which is located at the northernmost tip (excluding islands) of Ehime prefecture.

We recommend walking to the tip of the cliffs, too, while being careful of your footing. Various ships of different sizes pass by frequently, so if you consider the timing, you can take good photographs of scenes from the strait.