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Naruto whirlpools by boat, Tokushima

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For a 9-hour call · Tokushima

Naruto: the whirlpool boat, Uzu-no-Michi and the Otsuka Museum

Calls of 9 hours or more on a Tuesday to Sunday. Not on a Monday (museum closed). Times assume 08:30 off the ship. Timed from the gangway and back.

7 hr door to door8 stopsNeeds a 9-hour call
Open the route in Google Maps, in 3 parts
Photo: Suicasmo / CC BY-SA 4.0
Door to door
7 hr
From the gangway and back
Best for
A 9-hour call or longer
Room to spare
None
What it costs
about ¥26,300 out and back
Booking
Book ahead
Best for
Calls of 9 hours or more on a Tuesday to Sunday. Not on a Monday (museum closed). Times assume 08:30 off the ship
Room to spare
Fits a 9-hour stop with nothing to add (off the ship 30 minutes after arrival, back at the gangway an hour before all-aboard). A longer call gives you the extra time; on this one, do not add a stop.
What it costs
Taxi about ¥13,350 out and ¥12,950 back from Akaishi, our estimates; from Okinosu about ¥9,550 and ¥9,150. Boat ¥2,000, Uzu-no-Michi ¥510, Otsuka ¥3,300.
Booking
At least one step needs booking before you sail: the steps below say which

Checked · Researched, not yet visited · times from official timetables and our estimates · Takumi Yamada

Numbers follow the route below. Pins are the places themselves; walking lines are not drawn because the best way between two stops can change with the tram, the tide or the weather.

Open in Google Maps, in 3 parts

  1. 1Your ship → Naruto Kanko Kisen, Kameuratrain or bus
  2. 2Naruto Kanko Kisen, Kameura → Uzu-no-Michi, Naruto Park → Otsuka Museum of Arton foot
  3. 3Otsuka Museum of Art → Back to the shiptrain or bus

Google Maps on a phone takes three stops between start and end, and none on a train or bus route, so the day opens in parts. Each step below also has its own directions.

The route

How the day runs

Times are from the moment you step off, not from the scheduled arrival. Everything shifts if your ship is late; the order does not.

  1. +0:00
    Taxi to Naruto Kanko Kisen at Kameura (40.3 km, about 45 min free-flow, allow an hour — our estimate)

    No taxi stand at the wharf is confirmed: book a taxi or a hired car before the call, or take the ship’s Naruto tour

  2. +1:10
    Wonder Naruto, 30 min round the whirlpools

    Every 40 min from 9:00 (9:40, 10:20 and so on), no booking, ¥2,000; not running 14–22 Jan 2027. Check the boat company’s tide table: the best time is within about 1.5 h of the fastest current, so swap the order if it falls in the afternoon

    What you will see hereDirections from the ship (train or bus)
    Naruto whirlpools by boat, Tokushima
    Photo: Suicasmo / CC BY-SA 4.0
  3. +1:50
    To Uzu-no-Michi: 6.3 km by road, about 7 min by taxi, or 2.7 km and about 40 min on foot (our estimates)

    A taxi rank at the pier is not confirmed; ask the boat office to call one

  4. +2:30
    Uzu-no-Michi, the glass-floor walkway inside the Onaruto Bridge

    ¥510, or ¥900 with the bridge museum Eddy next door. Oct–Feb 9:00–17:00, Mar–Sep 9:00–18:00

    What you will see hereDirections from the previous stop (on foot)
    The Onaruto Bridge over the Naruto Strait with whirlpools and white water below, Tokushima
    Photo: katorisi / CC BY-SA 3.0
  5. +3:20
    Walk 7 min to the Otsuka Museum of Art (our estimate)
  6. +3:30
    Otsuka Museum: the Sistine Chapel hall first, lunch inside

    9:30–17:00, tickets to 16:00, ¥3,300. Restaurant Garden (1F) and two cafés; their hours are not confirmed

    What you will see hereDirections from the previous stop (on foot)
    Otsuka Museum of Art, Tokushima
    Photo: Kzaral / CC BY 2.0
  7. +6:00
    Taxi back from the museum to Akaishi (39.2 km, about 40 min free-flow, allow an hour)

    Ask the museum desk to call the taxi 20 min ahead

  8. +7:00
    Back at the gangway

    For an 08:00–17:00 call that is 15:30, an hour before a 16:30 all-aboard

The margin is not optional. This route ends an hour before all-aboard on purpose. If you are running late, drop the last stop, not the hour.
Other routes

The other routes in Tokushima

Awa Odori dancers, TokushimaThe Awa Odori show and the Bizan RopewayNeeds a 5-hour call · ~3hAny call: one building, open every day except the 2nd Wednesday of Feb, Jun, Sep and Dec. Time your exit so you reach the Kaikan before an 11:00, 14:00, 15:00 or 16:00 showBizan Ropeway to the summit, TokushimaTokushima city: Bizan, the Awa Odori show, ramen and the castle gardenNeeds an 8-hour call · ~6hCalls of 8 hours or more on any day but Monday, when the Castle Museum is closed. Times assume 08:30 off the shipOtsuka Museum of Art, TokushimaThe Otsuka Museum, then the Awa Odori showA wet day · ~7hA wet day on any call of 9 hours or more except Mondays. Everything is indoors except the taxi stops
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