Tomonoura is a port town on the coast of the Seto Inland Sea, in Hiroshima Prefecture. It occupies an important location because this is the point where the tides from each end of the Inland Sea meet. In the old days, ships had to wait here until the ebb tide, before continuing their journeys. For that reason it became known as "the port for awaiting the tide" and was even mentioned in the Manyoshu, a collection of Japanese poems collated some 1,200 years ago. Tom Miyagawa Coulton is a photographer who lives on an island in the Seto Inland Sea. On this episode of Journeys in Japan, Tom explores the historic town of Tomonoura and discovers the town's centuries-old tradition of forging steel. He also meets the local people who have protected this town and kept their community ties with love and care.

古くから海上交通の要衝として知られた鞆の浦。江戸時代には北前船や外国の使節団も立ち寄る港町として栄えた。歴史あるたたずまいを残す町並み、船のいかりなどを作ってきた伝統的な鍛冶文化、人のつながりの深さを感じる日常の光景…。イギリス出身で瀬戸内の島に暮らす写真家、トム・宮川・コールトンが、鞆の浦を巡り歩き、歴史が刻まれた町の魅力、人と人とのつながりを大切にし人情味あふれる人々の魅力をたっぷりと感じる。