Shikoku · Day Tour
A dance four centuries old, performed year-round for anyone who walks in.
From
¥15,000 per person
approx. US$95
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before
Instant confirmation
A guided tour of Tokushima on Shikoku. The Awa Odori Kaikan, where the city's four-hundred-year-old dance is performed daily, the Mount Bizan ropeway from the same building, the castle ruins and their garden, and the riverside park. Compact, walkable and close to the port.
Awa Odori has been danced in Tokushima for around four hundred years. In August the whole city takes part and over a million people come to watch. The rest of the year it is performed several times daily at the Awa Odori Kaikan, with an explanation of the steps and, at the end, often an invitation to join in.
The ropeway to the summit of Mount Bizan runs from the top floor of the same hall. From the top you get the city, the Yoshino River delta and, on a clear day, the Inland Sea. It takes a few minutes and it puts the geography of the place in order.
The keep is long gone, but the stone foundations remain and the Omote-goten garden beside them survives from the seventeenth century, built with local blue schist. The museum on the site holds armour and objects from the Hachisuka family, who governed here for close to three hundred years.
Tokushima sits between rivers, and the promenade along the Shinmachi is where the city walks in the evening. During the festival the dance moves through these streets. The rest of the year it is a quiet stretch of water with the mountain at the end of it.
Meet your guide at the Ministop in Komatsushima.
A live performance, and the history of the dance.
The ropeway, and the view over the delta.
The stonework, the garden and the museum.
The riverside promenade, to finish.
Ministop Komatsushimacho, Komatsushima, Tokushima. Your guide will contact you on WhatsApp beforehand.
The price covers your English-speaking guide. Entry fees, transport and meals are paid as you go, and by convention you also cover your guide's. Bring cash.
Yes. It is performed daily at the Awa Odori Kaikan throughout the year, with an English explanation and a chance to join in at the end.
They are elsewhere in the prefecture and need most of a day, with timing tied to the tide. Ask when you book and we will tell you whether it fits.
Yes. The sites are compact and close to the port, and the day is timed around your ship.
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start time. Bookings are confirmed instantly.
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