Explore Tokushima: Nature, culture and cuisine on Japan's untouched coast
By Elizabeth Sok
Situated on the eastern side of Shikoku Island, Tokushima Prefecture abounds in natural beauty, rich cultural history and plenty of local dishes to savor. From rafting down the Yoshino River to crossing one of the country's most unique vine bridges, Tokushima offers awe-inspiring escapes from city life. If you're looking to take home something memorable from your trip, Naruto City's ceramics' earthy tones and textures are a great place to start. Resting on the coast usually means access to the bounties of the sea and Tokushima is no different with its famed sea bream.
Despite being on less-traveled Shikoku, Tokushima is easy to access. Arrive at Tokushima Awaodori Airport from Tokyo in under 90 minutes or take a JR highway bus from JR Osaka station in under two and a half hours. But, you may want to consider the scenic route on the Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway that connects Hyogo and Tokushima Prefectures across the Akashi and Naruto Straits.
Outdoor adventures in Tokushima
Traverse one of the Iya Valley's three historic vine bridges.
Image: thanyarat07/iStock
Understandably, the Naruto Straits off of Tokushima are one of the top natural sights in the prefecture with their captivating whirlpools. But, head inland and you'll discover plenty more in the region's valleys and rivers.
Iya Valley
Located in the heart of Shikoku, this remote mountainous valley includes the beautiful Iyakei Gorge, several hot spring areas and vine bridges. The Iya Valley is roughly 60 km long and is bordered by Mount Tsurugi, the second tallest mountain in Western Japan. Flowing down from the mountain is the Iya River which eventually leads to the Iyakei Gorge, with its steep slopes showcasing pristine forests that are especially picturesque during the fall. The valley also features suspension bridges constructed from mountain vines that span across the Iya River. At 45 meters in length, the Kazurabashi bridge, which is the longest and most popular of the bridges, grants spectacular views of the valley.
Yoshino River rafting
Hold on tight as you raft down Japan's wildest river.
Image: emi suga/Pixta
Experience some of Japan's wildest whitewater rafting on the Yoshino River. Flowing from Kochi Prefecture into Tokushima, the Yoshino River is considered to be the longest river in the Shikoku region at 194 km in length. The river is filled with thrilling rapids, arguably the best in Japan and renowned worldwide, and boasts clear water and epic views along its route. There are several tour operators offering half and one-day rafting packages, including those that are family-friendly and English speaking. And for those seeking more adventurous options, try the canyoning experiences, with some featuring a 40-meter waterfall drop.
Cultural experiences unique to Tokushima
Otani-yaki awaits in a kiln.
Image: nagare/Pixta
Tokushima has a rich cultural history stretching back centuries. From pottery and performance to creating dyes from indigenous Japanese plants, the prefecture has more than enough opportunities to steep yourself in local traditions.
Otani-yaki pottery
Head to Naruto City for the chance to take home one of the most coveted souvenirs of Tokushima: pottery. Otani-yaki, or Otani ware, is the representative pottery of the area. It is made of Hagiwara clay, a specialty of the prefecture, that is popular for its simplicity and elegant luster. Dark brown pieces are the most common, although you can also obtain pieces in silver and gray. One unusual feature of this pottery is that the artisans utilize a technique called nerokuro which entails lying beneath the pottery wheel and kicking it. Using this technique, craftsmen make large jugs, as sizable as an adult, which are fired in some of Japan's biggest climbing kilns.
Awa odori dance festival
Join over a million visitors to Tokushima City's annual Awa Odori Festival.
Image: papilio/Pixta
Perhaps Tokushima's most famous cultural treasure is the Awa Odori Dance. Although origin stories of the dance vary, most agree that it began about 400 years ago. Taking place in August as part of the Awa Odori Festival, with exact dates varying from city to city across the prefecture, this dance is now a well-known example of Japanese traditional dance arts.
Every year, more than a million people descend on Tokushima City to watch and join in on the matsuri (festival). From street stalls to cordoned-off major streets, the city is transformed for the festival to a lively center of traditional culture that is absolutely worth a special trip. If you visit outside of the matsuri days, head to the Awa Odori Kaikan in downtown Tokushima where dance troupes perform the Awa Odori all year round.
Indigo dyeing in Udatsu
Take a stroll through the historical Udatsu district and try your hand at indigo dyeing.
Image: Q2Photo/Pixta
Besides its pottery and dance, Tokushima is also known nationwide for being one of the top producers of natural indigo dye. Indigo dyeing, or aizome, has been practiced in Tokushima for over 800 years thanks to the irrigation of the Yoshino River which makes the northern part of the prefecture fertile ground for the Japanese indigo plant. The high quality dye produced here is called awa-ai and is highly regarded as an indigenous ink brand. While in Tokushima, why not try your hand at dyeing? At the Ai no Yakata Historical Museum, only a 40-minute bus ride from JR Tokushima Station, you can choose your fabric and dye and create your own unique piece in a workshop led by museum staff.
Must try Tokushima cuisine
Grilled is the best way to savor Awa odori chicken's rich umami flavor.
Image: tachan/Pixta
Tokushima's diverse culinary landscape will continually whet your appetite whether you favor poultry, noodles or seafood.
Awa odori chicken
One of your first foodie stops in the prefecture should be chicken. In particular, sink your teeth into Tokushima's Awa odori chicken, named after the famous dance. These chickens, a crossbreed of Awa-Jidori and White Plymouth Rock, are known for being low-fat with an almost sweet taste that is also high in umami. Raised for over 75 days, as per premium jidori chicken regulations, the meat is a distinctive reddish color and maintains a pleasing texture. One of the most popular ways to enjoy this dish is grilled since the smokiness complements the meat's flavor. Try it at Tosute, a quick 10-minute walk from JR Tokushima station, which offers mouth-watering grilled Awa odori chicken and can accommodate groups.
Tarai udon in Awa City
Awa City is home to tarai udon.
Image: bluet/Pixta
Tarai udon, a specialty of Awa City, is known for its firm noodles, served in a wooden tub with savory dashi broth. With solid wheat production stretching back centuries, Awa's hand-pulled freshly cooked noodles with dashi (fish-based broth) have long been popular, especially with local forestry workers. In the late Edo period, lumberjacks would cook the udon on makeshift stoves in the woods with a fresh fish broth, gathering around a tarai, a large wooden tub, to enjoy their meal. The broth varies but traditionally includes jinzoku river fish and sardines. Enjoy this dish in restaurants overlooking the Miyagawauchidani River to take in the view alongside the meal.
Naruto-dai sea bream
If you're in Tokushima in the spring, keep an eye out for sakura-tinted sea bream.
Image: プロモリンク/Pixta
If you're feeling like eating seafood while in Tokushima, look no further than the Naruto dai (Naruto sea bream). Caught in the rapid-moving Naruto Strait, these fish have a remarkably firm flesh born of their well-developed muscles. This results in a fresh and firm bite that makes these sea bream known across the country for their exceptional quality. Just before the Naruto Dai spawns in spring, it achieves a particularly pleasing fat balance and delicate taste as well as a vivid pink flesh. These so-called 'Sakura sea bream' are thus considered to be at their peak in March and April. To best enjoy Naruto Dai, try it as sashimi in nearby Naruto City!
More Tokushima highlights
Enjoy the night view from the top of Mount Bizan.
Image: Yama/Pixta
Still looking for ideas? Add these spots to your Tokushima itinerary.
Anan coast
Dive into the beautiful marine vistas and catch some of the best waves in the country.
Dive into the beautiful marine vistas and catch some of the best waves in the country. Mount Bizan
Take in the panoramic night views overlooking Tokushima City.
Take in the panoramic night views overlooking Tokushima City. Tokushima ramen
Enjoy a hearty bowl of the prefectural soul food, with three types of broth and a raw egg topping.
© Japan Today
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
35 minutes ago
The Engawa Café: A Relaxing Spot in a Traditional House in Tokyo
Cafés at Tokyo's Traditional Folk Houses The Engawa Café in northern Tokyo is a great location to enjoy a cup of coffee along with traditional Japanese architecture. Relaxing in an 'In-Between' Space The Engawa Café, set up in an old private home in the north of Tokyo, has all the features of traditional residential architecture. The engawa in its name is a wooden-floored corridor marking the boundary between indoors and outdoors in a home. It lets light and seasonal breezes into the interior to soften extremes of heat or cold and provides a relaxing, comforting space. In the past, neighbors might simply walk into the garden and perch themselves on the engawa ledge for a chat rather than approach through the main genkan entrance. The engawa at this café is used creatively and it holds particular appeal for me. The engawa wooden-floored corridor marks the boundary between indoors and outdoors. (© Kawaguchi Yōko) The café can be found at Shōwa no Ie in Adachi, Tokyo. Erected in 1939, this Japanese-style home with a western-style annex is a welcoming spot in the neighborhood. The house's tasteful design and quiet surroundings struck me as the ideal spot to enjoy coffee and dessert. Entering A Different World Engawa Café is a 14-minute walk from Takenotsuka station on the Tōbu Skytree Line. The property is surrounded by a white wall, and as I pass through the gate and walk along the path in dappled sunlight, the air feels different. I can hear a dried leaf falling to the ground, and birdsong fills the air. The sign at the entrance indicates that the café is open. (© Kawaguchi Yōko) After passing through the noren entrance curtain and removing my footwear, I turn right and move along a tatami-floored corridor to reach the café. Through the large expanse of windows, the garden's rich greenery sparkles. The café occupies the wide-open engawa, a 30-tatami-mat zashiki room past the fusuma sliding doors, and two small rooms at either end of the engawa. The engawa and the spacious zashiki offer fine views of the garden. (© Kawaguchi Yōko) Taking a seat in the engawa, I peruse the menu. Among the caffè latte, fruit tea, black tea and other selections, I choose pour-over coffee and a tart featuring seasonal fruit. Three varieties are on offer: a luscious strawberry tart, another combining refreshing Kawachi bankan citrus and Kiyomi orange, and the last featuring peach pine, a variety of pineapple grown on Ishigaki in Okinawa. If you prefer a more Japanese-style offering, try matcha with wagashi confectionery, or anmitsu, a dessert of beans, agar jelly cubes and red bean paste topped with brown sugar syrup. A house-made tart accompanies carefully prepared pour-over coffee. (© Kawaguchi Yōko) The house and its garden offer a pleasant respite from the daily hustle and bustle. On a sunny afternoon, the garden displays fresh greenery, with a few blossoms remaining on the drooping cherries and emerging azaleas adding a colorful accent. Green plum branches, red and purplish maples, and hydrangeas awaiting the rainy season offer a variety of colors throughout the year. Inside, shōji screens cast delicate shadows on the tokonoma alcove. If you have the opportunity to visit a traditional home, take a moment to admire the interior fittings exhibiting fine handiwork: fusuma sliding doors, transoms, and yukimi shōji sliding paper-covered screens whose bottom portion can be raised to reveal the outdoors through a window. Just inside the entrance is a round window decorated with the auspicious motif of a fishing net being cast. All of these examples of fine work hint at the family's affluent lifestyle and speak of refined manual skills. Carved motifs in the room's fittings add character. (© Kawaguchi Yōko) The latticework on this round window features a fishing net motif. (© Kawaguchi Yōko) A western-style room is in the northwest corner of the house. This was once used for meeting customers of the owner's business, but now serves as a waiting area when the café's seats are full. The old-fashioned windows, doors, and chandelier create a nostalgic atmosphere and the splendid coffered ceiling is made of solid natural wood. The coffered ceiling in the western-style room. (© Kawaguchi Yōko) A Family Home Transformed The house was built in 1939 by Hirata Genshichi, who operated a workshop that processed automobile parts. At the time, the property covered over 6,500 square meters, on which Genshichi's workshop and the family home stood. In all, 10 people lived in the house—the family, along with a houseboy and a maid. The café is now operated by Genshichi's grandson Hirata Shigeru, who remarks that in his grandfather's day, Mount Fuji was visible from the house. That vista would be hard to imagine today. At the time, the workshop was the only building in the area, and there were no eateries or drinking establishments where employees could unwind after work. So from time to time, the workers were treated to food and drink in the zashiki at the house. That is why such a large room was needed. Hirata says to me that 'the door through which you entered was previously the house's back door. It didn't face the street, but now the street runs in front due to area redevelopment.' As the neighborhood grew and residents adopted new lifestyles, the house and garden also changed. Still, something of their original atmosphere was preserved. A room next to the engawa was formerly used for storage and the room next to it was for a servant. Some decades ago, alterations to the rooms' storm shutters turned the space into an attractive western-style room with outdoor views. Sitting on the sofa, I have a perfect view of the garden's fresh greenery and the drooping boughs of sakura cherry trees. I asked Hirata why he had opened a café in this heirloom property. 'My mother had been living with me, and after she passed away, I felt that it was a pity that only the family could enjoy the wonderful view here. Taking care of the house and garden is a lot of work, but I decided to open a café because I wanted to share the site with people outside the family.' Hirata pondered the lives of the three generations that had lived in the house as he prepared to open the café. During refurbishing, he disposed of all the furnishings, including a sunken kotatsu and numerous hibachi, which were once the only sources of heat in winter. Old houses like this one can get bitterly cold. Western-style furnishings blend well with this tatami-floored room. (© Kawaguchi Yōko) Summer meant mosquitoes, so mosquito nets were essential for sleeping undisturbed. In the house, the lintels in the rooms still have the hooks used for suspending the nets. On summer evenings when Hirata was growing up, children chattered away before falling asleep amid the lingering scents of fireworks enjoyed from the engawa and of the mosquito coils lit to keep the insects away. The house has been lovingly cared for for 86 years now. A large stone lantern stands in one corner of the garden, which also featured a waterfall and a pond at one time. Under an artificial hill, there was once an air raid shelter too. Hirata remarks that he has his hands full keeping the garden's mossy ground free of weeds. This Shōwa era (1926–1989) house and its beautiful engawa reflect the love and care lavished on it throughout the years. To me, the café itself seems like an engawa marking the boundary between the private realm and the surrounding urban area. That was my feeling as I sat quietly contemplating the lush garden. Engawa Café, Shōwa no Ie Address: 2-5-10 Nishi Hokima, Adachi-ku, Tokyo 2-5-10 Nishi Hokima, Adachi-ku, Tokyo Hours: 11:30–18:00 (last order 17:30) 11:30–18:00 (last order 17:30) Closed: Sat/Sun/Mon and occasionally at other times. Sat/Sun/Mon and occasionally at other times. Access: 14 minutes on foot from Takenotsuka station on the Tōbu Skytree Line. 14 minutes on foot from Takenotsuka station on the Tōbu Skytree Line. Website: (Japanese only) (Originally published in Japanese on April 29, 2025. Banner photo © Kawaguchi Yōko)
Kyodo News
5 hours ago
- Kyodo News
Museum featuring Asian works opens on Japanese island of art
KYODO NEWS - 26 minutes ago - 19:02 | Arts, All, Travel/Tourism A museum dedicated to contemporary Asian works opened Saturday on Naoshima Island in Kagawa Prefecture, known as an island of art and the only Japanese destination to make the BBC's list of the 25 best places to travel in 2025. The Naoshima New Museum of Art, designed by renowned architect Tadao Ando, is located in a hilltop village overlooking the Seto Inland Sea in western Japan. Featuring black plaster walls and stone fences, the building has a calm, subdued appearance. Built low to blend into the surrounding landscape, the museum has one floor above ground and two below, with four galleries arranged around a stairwell illuminated by natural light. Many tourists and families with children visited on Saturday. Naoshima has gained fame for its extensive collection of contemporary art pieces and facilities. Since the 1980s, education services provider Benesse Corp. has played a central role in developing and managing the island's museums and related initiatives. Hideaki Fukutake, head of the foundation operating the facility, said at the opening ceremony, "One of the attractions of the Naoshima New Museum of Art is that it remains in a constant state of evolution, with works being added and exhibits regularly changed." The opening exhibition showcases works by 12 artists from across Asia, including Japan, China, South Korea and Indonesia. The museum is considering future programs that visitors can participate in. Related coverage: Japan dinosaur museum identifies fossil as new pterosaur species Renowned art museum in central Japan to temporarily close for repairs Japan museum named "world's most beautiful" at French award ceremony
Kyodo News
11 hours ago
- Kyodo News
Chinese tourists returning to Japan with new travel style
KYODO NEWS - 1 hour ago - 12:39 | All, Japan, Travel/Tourism Chinese tourists are driving a recent surge in inbound travel to Japan, with arrivals now exceeding pre-pandemic 2019 levels, though their travel habits are shifting noticeably. Previously, Chinese tourism in Japan was defined by large group tours and shopping sprees known as "bakugai." Nowadays, however, more travelers are seeking immersive experiences related to Japanese cuisine, culture and scenery, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization. A total of 3.13 million Chinese travelers visited Japan in the first four months of this year, topping the 2.89 million recorded during the same period in 2019. While the number of visitors from China was slow to rebound after the pandemic, arrivals have steadily increased since the Chinese government lifted its ban on group tours to Japan in 2023, reaching 2.42 million that year and 6.98 million in 2024. Growth has continued into 2025, with year-on-year increases of 135.7 percent in January, 57.3 percent in February, 46.2 percent in March and 43.4 percent in April. The shift in travel preferences is partly driven by Chinese travelers in their 30s and 40s, many of whom have visited Japan before, now choosing family trips with their children over group tours. The JNTO is working to better target that market, including opening an account on a popular Chinese social media platform last fall. Meanwhile, visitor numbers from Hong Kong, which are tallied separately from mainland China, increased 30.8 percent in January from the previous year but declined 5 percent in February and 9.9 percent in March. A Japanese manga predicting a major disaster in Japan this July is believed to have discouraged travel. Posts about the manga "The Future I Saw" went viral after some claimed that its artist, Ryo Tatsuki, also predicted the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan, among other events. Nevertheless, April saw a strong rebound, marking a 42.9 percent increase from the previous year. At a press conference earlier this month, Japan Tourism Agency Commissioner Naoya Haraikawa dismissed the concerns, saying, "I believe they currently have no real impact." Related coverage: Foreign visitors to Japan in April set monthly record at 3.9 million Japan to give South Koreans fast-track entry in June to mark ties anniv. Japan to launch prescreening of visa-free travelers in FY 2028
