A perilous body of water with strong tidal currents, Akashi Strait links the Harimanada Sea and Osaka Bay in the Seto Inland Sea. It is also a key point for crossing the sea to the territories around Kyoto and is where the Ama, with their superb seafaring skills, flourished. It is written in the Manyoshu (Collection of ancient Japanese poetry) that the Ama made salt here, and that Matsuho-no-ura was used as an anchor ground for the crossing over the Akashi Strait.