Tokushima Prefecture offers tourist attractions such as Rengeji Temple, Tofukuji Temple, and Oshima Island; sightseeing events such as the Awa Odori Dance, Ikeda Awa Odori Dance, and Gion Festival; and local delicacies such as Tokushima Ramen, Bizan, and tarai udon noodles.
Tokushima Prefecture is located in the east of Shikoku and was once known as Awa Province. Tokushima Prefecture has many natural attractions such as the Naga River, the Yoshino River, and the Kii Channel, as well as tourist attractions such as the Naruto whirlpools and Iya Gorge. Tokushima Prefecture is also famous for the Awa Odori dance.
Awa Odori is a Bon dance that originated in Tokushima Prefecture, and events are held throughout the prefecture in August. The Awa Odori in Tokushima City is the largest and most famous of these events, and is one of the three major festivals in Shikoku.
The Awa Odori dance is accompanied by a two-beat accompaniment of shamisen, taiko, gong, and shinobue (bamboo flute) while the dancers sing "Erai yacha, erai yacha, yoi yoi yoi, odori ako ni mita ako, same ako, odori nara nasan sonson..." This song is not often used in actual dance, but is sung in a song called "yatsa yatsa yatsa," a Japanese folk song. However, this song is not really used very often, and the call "yattsa yattsa yattsa" is used more often.
Awa Odori dance events are held in many places outside of Tokushima Prefecture, such as the Koenji Awa Odori dance in Tokyo.
The Naruto Straits is one of the most popular natural sightseeing spots in Tokushima Prefecture. The Naruto Straits are located between Awaji Island in Hyogo Prefecture and the islands of Okejima and Shimada in Shikoku, and have been selected as one of the 100 most scenic spots in Japan.
The Naruto Straits are approximately 1.4 km wide, and the whirlpools appear on the downstream side of the narrowest part of the straits. The whirlpools can be as large as 15 meters, and they are a magnificent display of nature's grandeur. The whirlpools emanate from the Awaji Island side and the Naruto side, and tide boats are available to view them up close. The promenade is a great place to view the whirlpools from directly above.
Tokushima Prefecture is also home to a number of temples and shrines, including Reizanji Temple, the first of the 88 sacred places on Shikoku, Yakuoji Temple, the 23rd, and Unbenji Temple, the 66th, and Omatsu Daikongen, the site of Japan's three great monster cat tales.
In Tokushima Prefecture, which is rich in nature, vegetable production is especially active near the northern bank of the Yoshino River, where a variety of vegetables are produced, which are then transported to Kyoto, Osaka, and Kobe. Naruto Kintoki, produced in Naruto City, is a sweet potato with a mellow sweetness that is famous throughout Japan.
The Otsuka Museum of Art is an art museum that reproduces masterpieces from around the world on ceramic boards.The museum boasts the largest permanent exhibition space in Japan, with 1,074 items on display, including life-size ceramic panels of more than 190 masterpieces from 25 countries around the world. Among them, Picasso's "Guernica" and the wall paintings of the Sistine Chapel are particula...»
The Whirlpool Way is a promenade installed in the space of the Onaruto Bridge girder, allowing visitors to enjoy a walk on the sea to the observation deck 450 meters away. The observation deck at the end of the path has a glass wall that provides a view of both the Pacific Ocean side and the Seto Inland Sea side. A glass floor is also installed under the floor, allowing visitors to see the Narut...»
Dekomawashi is a local delicacy of Miyoshishi, Iya area. It is a broiled skewered potatoes called "goshuimo" from the local, soba dumplings, iwatofu and marukonnyaku. It was named dekomawashi because it was looked like spinning a head of a doll of the traditional arts, Awa ningyo joruri called "deko" when cooked, or when people spun and blew freshly broiled hot kushiyaki before eating....»
A primitive open-air cooking that uses heated stones to grill fish and vegetables. Place a flat stone in a stone furnace, and make a round bank with miso. Put water, sugar and sake, once the stone gets hot, break down the miso bank and cook amego on it. People used to go fishing amego while heating up the stone. It is known that Higashiiya was where mountain bushi from Awa, Koyadaira and Ichiu cam...»
"Hamokawa chikuwa" is made with hamo that is a local product of Ananshi, Tokushima Prefecture, and it is a very rare delicacy only few local people know about. The skin of the high-grade fish, hamo, is wrapped around a gamboo stick, coated with a sauce made with soy sauce and mirin, and grilled over charcoal. The skin is rich in collagen, and also chondroitin that prevents aging. It has a chewy te...»