Maizuru bay (舞鶴湾)
Maizuru bay constitutes the features of the coastal geography in Maizuru City Kyoto Prefecture. It is located south west of Wakasa Bay, being a branch of Wakasa Bay. The inner part of the bay is largely divided in to two parts; Maizuru Higashi Port (Maizuru East Port) and Maizuru Nishi Port (Maizuru West Port).
Maizuru bay in English
Summary
Maizuru bay comprises Wakasa Bay and its mouth is Y-shaped oriented north-northeast. The mouth is narrow with a width of only about 700 meters. Therefore the inside of the bay is very calm and quiet with an extremely small tidal range not higher than 30 cm. The bay has an average depth of twenty meters, meeting requirements for a suitable port due to the 300- to 400-meter-high mountains surrounding the bay, which block strong winds and stormy weather. It was also regarded as important as a military base because its insides could not be seen from the Japan Sea. Maizuru Chinju-fu (Maizuru navy base) was established on October 1, 1901.
After World War Two it was a repatriation port for returnees from the Chinese continent; about 660 thousand people returned home at Taira-sanbashi Bridge over thirteen years. There is a famous story of Ganpeki no haha, or mothers who were waiting for their sons to come back from war. In recent years, Maizuru City has actively appealed Maizuru Port's scenic beauty formed by its ria coast. The superb view afforded by Gorogadake Sky Tower, which opened in 1995, was selected to be included in the 100 Most Beautiful Scenes of Kinki region.
Bakuchi Misaki Cape is east of the mouth of the bay; Kanagamisaki Cape is west of it.