徳島県 · Shikoku Region

Tokushima Hidden Gems

Tokushima is mountainous almost everywhere and the interior was, until recently, genuinely hard to reach. The Iya valley in the west is the clearest case: steep gorges where defeated Heike partisans were said to have hidden in the twelfth century, crossed by bridges woven from mountain vine that could be cut down if pursuers arrived. Three are maintained today and they still flex underfoot. On the coast, the Naruto Strait between here and Awaji is narrow and the tidal difference between the Inland Sea and the Pacific pushes water through fast enough to generate whirlpools several metres across, on a schedule set by the moon rather than the tourist board. The prefecture also holds the first twenty-three temples of the 88-temple Shikoku pilgrimage, so walkers in white are a normal sight on the roads. Awa Odori, in August, empties the surrounding prefectures into the city for four days and is danced by neighbourhood troupes rather than performed at spectators.

20 spots

Climate & Best Season

Warm and rainy, with typhoon exposure in late summer; the Iya valley is cooler and snows lightly. August for Awa Odori.

Famous For (Food)

Tokushima ramen
Sudachi citrus
Handa somen
Naruto wakame

Signature Sights

Awa Odori
Iya Valley vine bridges
Naruto whirlpools
Shikoku pilgrimage temples 1–23

When to Go

Awa Odori runs August 12–15 and accommodation across the region is booked months out; it is the single reason many people come. The whirlpools at Naruto are largest around the spring and autumn equinox tides and at new and full moons, and they follow a daily timetable — check the forecast before booking a boat, because a mistimed trip sees nothing. Summers are hot above 33°C and this coast is exposed to September typhoons. The Iya valley is cooler and sees light snow in January; its autumn colour peaks in early November. The rainy season in June is heavy in the mountains.

Getting Around

There is no shinkansen on Shikoku. From Osaka the fastest route is a highway bus over the Akashi and Naruto bridges, roughly two and a half hours to Tokushima; by rail you take the Sanyo Shinkansen to Okayama, then the Marine Liner and a change. Tokushima Airport is about half an hour from the city. Inside the prefecture the JR Kotoku and Tokushima lines cover the coast and the Yoshino river valley, but the Iya valley is the hard part — the Yodo line reaches Oboke, and buses from there into the gorge run only a few times a day. For Iya and the Ochiai terraced village, drive, on roads that are narrow and single-track in places.

Local Food

Tokushima ramen comes in a dark pork-and-soy broth with sliced pork belly and, characteristically, a raw egg cracked on top and rice ordered alongside. Sudachi, a small green citrus, is grown here almost exclusively and squeezed over nearly everything from grilled fish to noodles from August to October. Handa somen is thicker than the Miwa style and made along the Yoshino river. Naruto's fast tidal water grows dense wakame seaweed harvested in late winter, and the same strait gives its name to the swirl-patterned fish cake in ramen bowls.

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