Map of The Setouchi

The Setouchi is where the Pacific Ocean flows through the heart of Japan and forms the Seto Inland Sea. An archipelago within the greater archipelago that is Japan, the region includes over 3,000 islands in the sea and also the coastal areas of eleven of Japan’s prefectures that border the sea. Sometimes the words Setouchi and Setonaikai, which is the Japanese word for the Seto Inland Sea, are used interchangeably, as if they convey the same meaning. But Setonaikai only means the Seto Inland Sea. The Setouchi is the people, culture, and islands and lands in and around the sea.