Tokushima

Tokushima has a treasure trove of fabulous sights and unique local attractions. Most visitors stay near the city's center or in Naruto, a nearby peninsula famous for giant whirlpools that churn and thunder in the rocky straights below the cliffs. Nearby, the ambitious Otsuka Museum attracts huge crowds for its bizarre and breathtaking archive of the world's art. In surrounding hamlets you can try your hand at local crafts like indigo-dyeing, paper-making as they've done it for centuries. Back in the city proper you'll learn to dance the Awa Odori, either in a special performance hall or with the million others dancing the streets every summer during the Awa Odori Festival. Tokushima's major sights can be covered in a well-planned day or two, giving you plenty of time in the mountains and gorges of Iya after moving on.