Tokushima

From MaxTravelz

Tokushima (徳島) is the capital of Tokushima prefecture on the island of Shikoku, Japan.

Contents 1 Understand 2 Get in 2.1 By plane 2.2 By train 2.3 By bus 3 Get around 4 See 5 Do 6 Buy 7 Eat 8 Drink 9 Sleep 10 Contact 11 Get out 12 External links

Understand

The main transport hub of eastern Shikoku, Tokushima has only one worthwhile attraction, but its palm-lined boulevards are pleasant enough to pass through.

Get in

By plane

Pint-sized Tokushima Airport, to the north of the city, has daily services to Tokyo, Nagoya, Fukuoka and Sapporo. Buses to Tokushima station take 25 minutes and cost ¥430, the schedules are synchronized to flight departures/arrivals.

By train

There are no train links through Awaji, but there are frequent services to Takamatsu and from there onward to Okayama via the Seto-Ohashi bridge.

From Okayama (a San'yo Shinkansen station), take a Marine Liner rapid train to Takamatsu, then transfer to the Uzushio limited express for the run to Tokushima (2 hours, ¥4420).

Two daily Uzushio trains run directly from Okayama, leaving at 10:52 and 18:52, with no change of trains required (¥5050).

These journeys can be taken at no cost with the Japan Rail Pass.

A rural line also runs toward Ikeda (2 hours), for connections south towards the Iya Valley.

By bus

If arriving from Kansai via Awaji Island, you're pretty much guaranteed to end up in Tokushima. There are direct buses from Kobe (2h), Osaka (2.5h) and even Tokyo (9.5h).

Get around

Central Tokushima is small enough to cover on foot. Buses radiate out to the suburbs.

See

• Awa Odori Kaikan (阿波おどり会館, ) is an interesting museum devoted to the Awa Odori festival (see Do). Exhibits include the history of the festival, videos and panoramas of the festival, and even the dancing Odobotto robot to show you how it's done! Open daily from 9 AM to 5 PM, entry to the museum ¥300. There are also several daily performances of the Awa Odori dances (¥500). Located straight down the road from the station, an easy 10-minute walk.

Do

• The yearly Awa Odori (阿波おどり) festival, held in yearly from August 12 to 15, is by far Tokushima's largest claim to fame. With a history of over 400 years, people dance in the streets according to the complex choreography. As the famous proverb says, "The dancing fool and the watching fool are both fools, so why not dance!"

Buy

Eat

Drink

Sleep

• Tokushima Youth Hostel (徳島ＹＨ, tel. 088-663-1505) is somewhat inconveniently but beautifully located in the green seaside hills of Omiko (大神子), a 30-minute bus ride from the station. A bed for the night costs ¥3000; alternatively, you can camp in the little park by the seashore for free.

Contact

• TOPIA International Exchange Plaza, on the 6th floor of the shopping mall above JR Tokushima station, . An excellent place to drop in with free Internet access and lots of guidebooks and other information to borrow. TOPIA staff can help you book accomodation and recommend things to see and do.

Get out

• Ryōzenji (霊山寺), the starting point of the 88 Temple Pilgrimage, is in the city of Naruto to the north of Tokushima.

External links

• Tokushima City

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