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Tokushima

Home to Japan's most famous dance festival and some of its wildest whirlpools

Overview of Tokushima

Tokushima Prefecture sits on the eastern edge of Shikoku, the smallest of Japan’s four main islands, bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the south and the Naruto Strait to the northeast. Despite flying under the radar compared to destinations like Kyoto or Osaka, Tokushima rewards curious travelers with a compelling mix of natural drama, deep-rooted tradition and rural authenticity.

The prefecture is best known for two things: the Awa Odori, one of Japan’s largest and most energetic summer festivals, and the Naruto whirlpools, a natural phenomenon where powerful tidal currents create spinning vortexes that can reach up to 20 meters in diameter during peak tidal conditions in the Naruto Strait. Both have drawn visitors to the region for centuries.

Beyond these headline attractions, Tokushima is also a key stop on the Shikoku Pilgrimage — an 88-temple circuit linked to the Buddhist monk Kukai (also known as Kobo Daishi) — and is home to the Iya Valley, a remote mountain gorge with vine bridges, dramatic scenery and a pace of life that feels worlds away from urban Japan. The Yoshino River, which cuts through the prefecture, is also a popular destination for whitewater rafting.

Getting to Tokushima

Tokushima sits on the northeastern corner of Shikoku and is the closest Shikoku prefecture to the Kansai region, making it one of the easier parts of the island to reach. There is no shinkansen service on Shikoku, so most visitors from Tokyo fly or combine shinkansen with a highway bus or ferry crossing.

From Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, ANA and JAL operate several daily flights to Tokushima Awaodori Airport in about 75 minutes. An airport limousine bus reaches JR Tokushima Station in about 30 minutes. Flights from Fukuoka also operate daily.

From Osaka, the fastest and most popular option is the JR Shikoku Bus or similar highway bus services, which run from Osaka and Shin-Osaka stations to Tokushima Station every 30 minutes in about 2 hours 30 minutes, crossing the Akashi-Kaikyo and Naruto Bridges via Awaji Island. 

For rail travelers, the standard route from Tokyo, Kyoto or Osaka is the Tokaido/Sanyo Shinkansen to Okayama, then a transfer to the JR Limited Express Uzushio, which reaches Tokushima Station in about 2 hours.

Things to do in Tokushima