10 things to do in Tokushima

Checked 15 November 2026 · Researched, not yet visited · times from official timetables and our estimates · Takumi Yamada

1. 01
   Suicasmo / CC BY-SA 4.0
   Do~3hNeeds a 5-hour call

   Naruto whirlpools by boat

   The tide pours through the Naruto Strait at up to 20 km/h and throws up whirlpools 20–30 m across at spring tides. Naruto Kanko Kisen’s Wonder Naruto needs no booking: it sails every 40 minutes from 9:00 to the last at 16:20, takes about 30 minutes and costs ¥2,000. The company advises boarding within about 1.5 hours of the fastest current on its daily tide table; at other times the water can be calm. Not running 14–22 January 2027.

   Taxi from Akaishi to Naruto Kanko Kisen at Kameura, 40.3 km, about 45 min and ¥13,350 each way, our estimate. From Okinosu about 25 minGoogle Maps
2. 02
   See~3hNeeds a 5-hour call

   Uzu-no-Michi glass-floor walkway

   A walkway inside the Onaruto Bridge, with glass panels in the floor straight above the whirlpools. October–February 9:00–17:00 (last entry 16:30), March–September 9:00–18:00; adult ¥510, or ¥900 with the bridge museum Eddy. Closed the 2nd Monday of March, June, September and December, and 14–16 December 2026.

   Taxi from Akaishi to Naruto Park, 38.3 km, about 40 min and ¥12,650 each way, our estimateGoogle Maps
3. 03
   Kzaral / CC BY 2.0
   See~4.5hNeeds a 6.5-hour call

   Otsuka Museum of Art

   Western masterpieces from 26 countries, reproduced at full size on ceramic boards, with a walk-in copy of the Sistine Chapel. 9:30–17:00, tickets sold until 16:00, adult ¥3,300. Closed on Mondays (the next day when Monday is a holiday): check your call’s weekday. Allow at least two hours; Restaurant Garden and two cafés are inside.

   Taxi from Akaishi, 39.2 km, about 40 min and ¥12,950 each way, our estimate; 7 min on foot from Uzu-no-MichiGoogle Maps
4. 04
   
   Do~2.5hNeeds a 4.5-hour call

   Awa Odori show at the Awa Odori Kaikan

   Tokushima’s summer dance, any day of the year. The house troupe Awa no Kaze performs at 11:00, 14:00, 15:00 and 16:00, 40 minutes, adult ¥1,300, and ends with a corner where the audience dances too. The 20:00 show by a famous dance group (50 minutes, ¥1,600) ends at 20:50; with the taxi back it fits only a sailing at about 23:00 or later (our arithmetic), as in Awa Odori week. The building closes on the 2nd Wednesday of February, June, September and December.

   Taxi from Akaishi, 16.5 km, about 25 min and ¥5,650 each way, our estimate; about 15 min on foot from JR Tokushima StationGoogle Maps
5. 05
   新幹線 / CC BY-SA 4.0
   See~2hNeeds a 4-hour call

   Bizan Ropeway to the summit

   Six minutes up Mount Bizan in renewed gondolas, for the city, the Yoshino River and, on clear days, the Onaruto Bridge and Awaji Island. Return ¥1,500. November–March 9:00–17:30, with weekends and holidays to 19:30 in November and December; April–October 9:00–21:00.

   From the Awa Odori Kaikan’s 5th floor; taxi from Akaishi about 25 min, our estimateGoogle Maps
6. 06
   663highland / CC BY 2.5
   See~2.5hNeeds a 4.5-hour call

   Tokushima Castle Museum and the Omote-goten garden

   The city’s castle museum on the castle site in Tokushima Chuo Park; the ticket includes the former palace garden of rocks, pines and a pond. 9:30–17:00, last entry 16:30, ¥300 (¥500 during special exhibitions). Closed on Mondays and the day after a holiday.

   Taxi from Akaishi to JR Tokushima Station, about 25 min and ¥5,850, our estimate, then 9 min on footGoogle Maps
7. 07
   atsushi masegi / CC BY-SA 2.0
   Eat~2hNeeds a 4-hour call

   Tokushima ramen

   Tokushima’s own ramen: a dark pork-bone and soy broth with sweet-simmered pork belly, often with a raw egg. The Japan Tourism Agency’s port page names it as the local food. Ramen Toudai’s Odo main shop is the best-known address; it opens every day, 11:00–04:00, on the company’s shop list.

   Taxi from Akaishi to Ramen Toudai Odo Honten, about 25 min, our estimate; 9 min on foot from the Awa Odori KaikanGoogle Maps
8. 08
   Take home~1.5hNeeds a 4-hour call

   Sudachi and indigo at Arudeyo Tokushima

   The Kaikan’s ground-floor shop gathers the prefecture’s take-homes: sudachi, the small green citrus squeezed over everything here, as juice and sweets; Naruto Kintoki sweet-potato sweets; and goods dyed with Awa indigo. 9:00–20:00, so it fits before or after the show.

   Awa Odori Kaikan 1F, 9:00–20:00; taxi from Akaishi about 25 min, our estimateGoogle Maps
9. 09
   Do~3hNeeds a 5-hour call

   Aqua Eddy: the whirlpools from under water

   Reservation required: a 46-seat semi-submersible that takes you round the whirlpools with windows below the waterline; sailings every 30 minutes 9:15–16:15, about 25 minutes, adult ¥2,500. Out of service 1–23 December 2026 for its statutory inspection; the Wonder Naruto boat runs then.

   Naruto Kanko Kisen, Kameura; taxi from Akaishi about 45 min, our estimateGoogle Maps
10. 10
    katorisi / CC BY-SA 3.0
    See~7hNeeds a 9-hour call

    A Naruto day: boat, walkway and museum

    The three Naruto sights sit within a short taxi or walk of each other: the Wonder Naruto boat from Kameura, Uzu-no-Michi under the Onaruto Bridge and the Otsuka Museum 7 minutes on foot from it. With the taxi both ways it fills a 9-hour call. Not on a Monday: the museum is closed, and on the 2nd Monday of March, June, September and December Uzu-no-Michi is too.

    Taxi or hired car from Akaishi, about 40 min each way, our estimate; or the ship’s tourGoogle Maps