Tokushima Travel Guide

The first major city beyond the Akashi Kaikyo-Ohashi bridge, Tokushima is a small, but modern metropolis with a quaint air. The city is best known for its annual Awa-Odori festival (considered by some to be "Japan's Mardi Gras"), which is held during the yearly Obon period in mid-August. This is a three-day festival during which the city's population explodes and finding hotel rooms can be difficult. During the festival days, the city is quiet, but once dusk comes, thousands of people are out drinking, watching dancing groups call ren, and generally enjoying themselves. Some local people claim the festival began with the completion of Tokushima Castle, which was later dismantled. All the men doing that construction work meant there was a market for female company, which is why the females' distinctive hats cover their faces yet the ladies also repeatedly show their ankles and lower legs while dancing.

The major geographic feature of the city is its mountain of Bizan, accessible by an inexpensive ropeway located south of the Yoshino River. From its summit, you can get a nice panoramic view of the area. There is also a small museum dedicated to a Portuguese, Wenceslau de Moraes, who retired to Tokushima, where he died in 1929. Tokushima Pagoda, a stupa built as a memorial to Japanese soldiers killed in Burma, is the main feature of the mountain-top park, although there is a monument to a visit from the Meiji Emperor as well. There is also a wide area of flowers and small gardens that can be very pleasant in warm seasons.

For those unable to visit during the massive Awa Odori festival (August 12–15), the Awa Odori Kaikan, at the base of Mt. Bizan, offers numerous exhibits relating to its trademark dance. The former castle of Tokushima is now only ruins, having been destroyed in 1896. Despite its absence, there are some remnants along with a formal garden (Shenshuku-teien) in Tokushima-chuo-koen, northeast of the station. The park also features a museum dedicated to the castle, providing examples of how it once looked. Further away, 4km north of Tokushima station is Awa Jurobe Yashiki, which features displays and performances of local Bunraku puppetry performed by local women; it can be reached by bus, but the frequency is very limited.

Beyond Tokushima to the north are the famous Naruto Whirlpools, formed by the changing of tides. Though sometimes difficult to plan for accurately, they are viewable by tour boat or by walking across the Uzu-no-Michi walkway. If you have access to a car, a drive along the Naruto Skyline Drive is very scenic, with some high bridges providing superb views of various inlets and fishing villages. This road is popular with motorcyclists and, once the sun goes down, people into drifting, skid-sliding cars through twists and turns of the road.