A historic port town at the tip of the Numakuma Peninsula that flourished as a tide-waiting harbour since ancient times. Referenced in the Manyoshu and visited by Joseon emissaries. Its 1859 stone lantern, stone piers, and boatyard survive as the only complete Edo-era harbour infrastructure in Japan, earning Important Preservation District status. Setting for Miyazaki Hayao's film "Ponyo."

Tomonoura has been a strategic port on the Seto Inland Sea since ancient times, flourishing as a harbour where vessels waited for favourable tides. By the 8th century, its name appeared in the Manyoshu, one of Japan's oldest poetry anthologies. In the medieval period, Ashikaga Yoshiaki, the 15th sho…