Tokushima travel guide

Tokushima, Japan

By the Travel Wiki editorial team

Tokushima

Introduction

Tokushima is the capital of Tokushima Prefecture, on the island of Shikoku. It is a compact city by area, and its population is spread across well over a hundred thousand households.

Use the city as a base for exploring the prefecture, and expect a densely settled urban core rather than a sprawling metropolis.

Before you go

Before you go, it helps to know that Tokushima's local tourist association maintains a guide site, though it is written in Japanese only. The site does include integrated Google Translate, so you can still use it to gather information while planning, even without reading Japanese.

Getting there

Tokushima Airport sits north of the city and handles daily flights from Tokyo, Nagoya, Fukuoka and Sapporo. Buses meet the flights and run to JR Tokushima Station in about 25 minutes. From Kobe Airport there is an hourly bus to the station, and Airport Limousine buses connect the city with Kansai International Airport, the nearest international gateway; a round-trip ticket works out cheaper than two one-way fares.

By rail, the usual approach from Okayama is a Marine Liner rapid train to Takamatsu, then a change to the Uzushio limited express for the run into Tokushima; a couple of Uzushio services each day run straight through from Okayama with no change required. Coming from Kansai or further east, switching to a bus at Shin-Kobe makes for an easier trip. Long-distance buses reach Tokushima from Kobe and Kobe Airport, Osaka, Kyoto, and on weekends and holidays from Nara, while the overnight Dream Tokushima bus runs from Tokyo and Shinjuku. Ferries also serve the city: one overnight service links Tokyo, Tokushima and Kitakyushu, with Western-style bedrooms, bunks or floor space, and a Nankai ferry crosses from Wakayama in about two hours, day or night.

Getting around

Central Tokushima is compact and oriented around JR Tokushima Station, where restaurants, shops and visitor services cluster together, so walking covers much of what you will want to see. Be realistic about the limits, though: walkability drops off outside the centre, and some attractions sit far enough out that you will want a bus, train or taxi instead of a long walk. The terrain is flat, which makes cycling a practical option, and bikes can be rented next to JR Tokushima Station for a modest daily rate during daytime hours. Cycling infrastructure is less developed than in some other Japanese cities, so expect to share the road with vehicles, and note that bicycle registration is mandatory in Japan. For a longer ride, dedicated routes exist in the area, including the Naruto Tokushima Bicycle Road.

Public transport runs less often than in Japan's largest cities, so check timetables before committing to a plan. Local buses fill the gaps the rail network leaves, both in the city and across the wider region, while long-distance express buses are often the most convenient way in from Honshu: JR Bus runs the Awa Express from Kobe and Kobe Airport, Osaka, Kyoto and, on weekends and holidays, Nara; Keihan Railways runs its own highway bus to and from Kyoto and Hirakata; and the overnight Dream Tokushima connects Tokyo and Shinjuku. For rail journeys further afield, Tokushima links into the wider network via Takamatsu — from Okayama, take a Marine Liner rapid train to Takamatsu and transfer to the Uzushio limited express, though a small number of Uzushio trains run directly from Okayama. Taxis are the flexible fallback for late nights, remote attractions, or anywhere schedules do not line up, and remote areas can be genuinely hard to reach without a car or taxi. A language barrier can be an issue, so having your destination written down in Japanese helps. Tokushima Airport, north of the city, is small and easy to navigate, with an airport bus to JR Tokushima Station timed to flight departures and arrivals; ferries are another option, with Nankai Ferry to Wakayama running day and night, and Ocean East linking Tokyo, Tokushima and Kitakyushu on overnight sailings. For planning, the Tokushima International Strategies Center on the sixth floor of the shopping mall above JR Tokushima Station offers internet access, guidebooks and staff who can help find accommodation and recommend things to see and do, while the Tokushima City Tourist Association on Shinmachi handles local sightseeing information.

Where to stay

Most of Tokushima's accommodation clusters around JR Tokushima Station, which makes the city easy to use as a base. The JR Hotel Clement Tokushima is directly connected to the station and offers luxury Western-style rooms alongside a few Japanese-style ones, with three restaurants including one on the 18th floor with a bar. Also close to the station are several business hotels: the APA Hotel Tokushima-ekimae is a thin white ten-story building a short walk away, clean and inexpensive, while the Alpha Hotel Tokushima sits about ten minutes from the station and provides free internet connections in all rooms plus PC rentals.

If you would rather stay outside the centre, the Tokushima Youth Hostel is beautifully located in the green seaside hills of Omiko, though it takes a 30-minute bus ride to reach and the last bus leaves in the late afternoon or early evening depending on the day. It offers dorm beds, and you can camp for free in the little park by the seashore.

Food & drink

Tokushima's local produce shapes much of what you'll eat and drink here. The prefecture is known for its strawberries and for sudachi, a small round green citrus with a lime-like flavour. In summer, look for sugata sushi, a whole small fish stuffed with sushi rice, and try narutokintoki, a type of sweet potato. For a proper sit-down meal, head to the 5th floor of Clement Plaza above the train station, or to the department stores nearby. Tokushima ramen is the dish to seek out, made with pork, seafood and plenty of vegetables; Inotani in Nishi Daikumachi is a busy lunch spot that represents the style. Sudachi also flavours local shochu and sake, and most of the bars are clustered around the ACTY 21 building.

What to see and do

For a city of its size, Tokushima holds an unusual concentration of pilgrimage sites: temples 14 through 17 of the 88 Temple Pilgrimage — Jōrakuji, Kokubunji, Kan'onji and Idoji — all stand within the city limits, while Ryōzenji, the route's starting point, lies just north in Naruto. In the centre, a brisk uphill walk from Chuo Park behind the station brings you to the ruins of Tokushima Castle and a view over the city; the castle museum sits in a traditional Japanese garden that is at its most meditative early in the morning. The Awa Odori Kaikan devotes itself to the festival with video, panoramas and a dancing robot, alongside daily performances of the dances. Elsewhere you can take in the bunraku puppet theatre at the Awa Jurobe Yashiki, once a samurai's home, or dye your own fabric with real indigo at the House of Indigo in an old indigo merchant's house. The Tokushima Modern Art Museum and the Prefectural Museum, both in Bunka-no-Mori Park, cover contemporary art and the natural history of Shikoku respectively. The Awa Odori is the city's great event, a festival with more than four centuries of history in which dancers take to the streets in complex choreography — as the local proverb has it, the dancing fool and the watching fool are both fools, so why not dance. Outside festival time, ride the ropeway from the Awa Odori Kaikan up Mount Bizan, where some 1,500 cherry trees make blossom season a spectacle, and walk back down in about a quarter of an hour. Tokushima Chuo Park, directly behind the station, offers gardens and ponds for a stroll while you wait for a bus, or an evening visit when locals are out exercising and the frogs and birds are audible; from the top of its hill you can look out over the city from the castle ruins.

Festivals & events

Tokushima's best-known event is Awa Odori, held in August. If your trip coincides with it, plan around the crowds and book your accommodation well ahead.

Three days in Tokushima

Day one: Arrive at Tokushima Airport, where buses connect to JR Tokushima Station, or come in by Airport Limousine from Kansai International Airport. If you are coming from Kobe Airport, the Marine Liner via Okayama and Takamatsu is an option, and ferries from Kitakyushu and Wakayama also serve Tokushima. Once settled, use the city as your base for exploring Tokushima Prefecture on Shikoku.

Day two: Travel onward from Tokushima using the Uzushio and Marine Liner services, or connect through Okayama, Takamatsu, Kobe, Osaka, Kyoto and Nara. Long-distance buses such as Dream Tokushima link Shinjuku, while Nankai routes serve Wakayama. Before you go, Japanese signage and announcements are common, so Google Translate can help you navigate.

Day three: Use Tokushima as a starting point for wider Shikoku travel, with connections toward Tokyo, Nagoya, Fukuoka and Sapporo by air from Tokushima Airport. Coming from Kansai, Kobe Airport and Kansai International Airport give you flexible arrival choices, while buses and the JR Tokushima Station network keep your onward plans simple.

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