Tokushima

Getting Here and Around

Tokushima is accessible by JR train: 1 hour 15 minutes from Takamatsu; 1 hour 30 minutes from Awa Ikeda; 2 hours 25 minutes from Kochi; 3 hours 40 minutes from Matsuyama; 3 hours 20 minutes from Shin-Osaka; 1 hour 30 minutes from Okayama. Highway and JR Buses are also an option. Highway Buses depart from Takamatsu (1 hour 30 minutes); Kochi (2 hours 40 minutes); Matsuyama (3 hours 10 minutes); Kobe (2 hours); Kyoto, Osaka, or Kansai Airport (3 hours); or overnight from Tokyo. By JR Bus it's 2 hours 25 minutes from Osaka, Kobe or Shin-Kobe. The ferry arrives from Tokyo (18 hours) and Wakayam (2 hours).

Buses leave Tokushima for Naruto on the hour between 9 and 3, taking 63 minutes and costing ¥690; the return has more varied times, so check the schedule. The boat quay at Naruto Kan-koko is a few stops before the end of the line, about an eight-minute walk from uzu-no-michi. There are also trains to Naruto Station; catch a bus or taxi from there to the coast. Going by car from Tokushima takes roughly a half hour.

Before hitting the town, head up by glass elevator to the sixth floor of the Clement Tower station building to TOPIA, the best tourist information center in western Japan. The city employs a native English speaker there nearly full time who can provide bus schedules, train times, tide calendars (necessary for seeing the whirlpools at their best), and a good battle plan for tackling it all.

Tokushima's best sights are far from the city center and not well serviced by public transportation. Hiring your own car to access the craft centers and whirlpools makes for a better, easier time.