This is an island in the Seto Inland Sea in Yamaguchi Prefecture. When seeing this kanji name (大津島), those of us in Shiga cannot help but to call this island “Otsushima.” However, it is actually called, “Ozushima” (おおづしま). Not only that, on the map’s upper left, you can see a place called 近江. Again, we in Shiga would call it “Omi.” But it is actually “Chikae.” Wow, very interesting. I thought that this island must have some connection with Shiga Prefecture, but I was told that there was no connection.

Ozushima is a short boat ride from Tokuyama Port near JR Tokuyama Station. I visited in fall 2012 and the main attraction is the Kaiten human torpedo museum and the training facility that still exists. The kaiten went on suicide missions with manned torpedos hitting ships. It’s sad story of 105 men who died driving a kaiten. More photos of Ozushima here.