The are a group of islands in the

Seto Inland Sea The , sometimes shortened to the Inland Sea, is the body of water separating Honshū, Shikoku, and Kyūshū, three of the four main islands of Japan. It serves as a waterway connecting the Pacific Ocean to the Sea of Japan. It connects to ...

, under the administration of

Hiroshima Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Hiroshima Prefecture has a population of 2,811,410 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 8,479 km² (3,274 sq mi). Hiroshima Prefecture borders Okayama Prefecture to the ...

and

Ehime Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Ehime Prefecture has a population of 1,342,011 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 5,676 km2 (2,191 sq mi). Ehime Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the northeast, T ...

. Some of the largest islands in archipelago are connected by the Nishiseto Expressway bridge system connecting

Honshu , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island s ...

and Shikoku. The Geiyo Archipelago is roughly defined as lying in the western part of

, from to . A narrower definition of the archipelago only includes the islands between the former provinces of Iyo and Bizen. The islands of in

Hiroshima Bay is a bay in the Inland Sea, Japan.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Hiroshima Wan" in . Administratively, the bay is divided between Hiroshima and Yamaguchi Prefectures. The bay's shore is a Ria. Its surface area is about 1,000 km², w ...

, most notably Etajima and Kurahashi-jima, are therefore excluded from the latter definition.

Economy and industry

Due to the calm yet deep waters of the

, the Geiyo Islands are one of the main hubs of shipbuilding,Onomichi's maritime industries
/ref> fishing, and aquaculture in Japan.

List of islands

The largest islands in the group, each with an area of more than 20 km², are: *

Hakata is a ward of the city of Fukuoka in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. Many of Fukuoka Prefecture and Fukuoka City's principal government, commercial, retail and entertainment establishments are located in the district. Hakata-ku is also the location o ...

Ikuchi-jima is one of the Geiyo Islands in the Seto Inland Sea, belonging to Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. Ikuchi-jima is administered as part of Onomichi city. The bridges connecting Ikuchi-jima to the mainland (Honshū) via Innoshima and to Shikoku via ...

* Innoshima * Mukaishima * Ōmishima * Ōsakikamijima * Ōshima Other notable islands in the group include: * Nii Ōshima * Okamura *

Ōkunoshima is a small island in the Inland Sea of Japan. It is considered to be part of the city of Takehara, Hiroshima Prefecture. It is accessible by ferry from Tadanoumi and Ōmishima. There are campsites, walking trails and places of historical inte ...

* Tsushima * Uoshima The following islands may sometimes be included under the archipelago's broader definition: * Etajima * Itsukushima * Kurahashi-jima * Ninoshima

Gallery

File:Innoshima habu port 001.JPG, The urban area of Innoshima File:JMSDF-Officer-Candidate-School-Former-Japanese-Naval-Academy.png, in Etajima (the former Imperial Japanese Naval Academy) File:Chigirishima001.jpg, File:Iwagijima.JPG, The fishing port in

References

External links

Navigating the Geiyo Islands
at NASA Earth Observatory, April 30, 2022 {{Authority control Archipelagoes of Japan Islands of Hiroshima Prefecture Islands of Ehime Prefecture Islands of the Seto Inland Sea Archipelagoes of the Pacific Ocean