We enjoyed a day trip to Awaji Island also known by many as “Godzilla Island” because Awaji Island is where the legend of Godzilla was born in 1954. Its here where the giant lizard arose from the depths to terrorize Japan and the world ever since. The “Godzilla Interception Operation Awaji” will be Nirvana for any diehard fan of the creature. But while there, we experienced a temple to another of Japan’s iconic characters, Hello Kitty.
Awaji Island is a lesser known, yet quite sizable island in the main Japan island chain. It is conveniently situated on the edge of Osaka Bay opposite Kobe on one side and the larger island of Shikoku on the other. You approach Awaji Island by taking the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge which is the tallest and longest suspension bridge in Japan, and second in the world. Click here to watch our video on the amazing behind the scenes tour of this incredible engineering feat.
While on the island we had one of our most memorable experiences among our many trips to Japan. After leaving the Hello Kitty Surprise Museum, we drove along the coast admiring the turquoise blue waters when suddenly there sprung up a long line of brightly painted shipping containers surrounded by palm trees. It struck us as if we’d stumbled upon a Mediterranean Village. So we pulled off and discovered it was the Awaji Chefs Garden.
This is an outdoor dining venue perched on the water’s edge comprised of 12 to 14 shipping containers, each of which had been turned into walk up food stands representing foods from all over Japan. Some of them had small eating areas inside, but the draw was to sit outside soaking in the beautiful view under the sun or the large canopy. It was an absolute delightful experience that totally surprised us. So if you make it to Awaji Island be sure to check out all of these attractions and watch our full video on Awaji Island by clicking here! For details on any of the places in the video, you’ll find links in the video description.