Tokushima in 5 days and 4 nights: how to order eastern/western stays
For performances/views and Naruto first, spend three nights in Tokushima then move to Iya. For valleys first, choose two Iya nights then two Tokushima nights. Western travel uses a hire car; Naruto uses return buses. If visiting the bridge on your final morning from Iya, confirm time to return the car in Tokushima and catch your departure.
Choose a 4 nights, 5 days itinerary
A — Three eastern nights, then one western night
See dance, mountain views and the strait before a valley night. Spend three nights in Tokushima, then move via Wakimachi to Iya. Final-day bridge sightseeing is followed by car return; move or omit the bridge for an early departure.
A — Three eastern nights, then one western night →4 nights, 5 daysB — Western sights first, finishing in the east
For the gorge and vine bridge first, spend two nights in Iya, then travel via Wakimachi to Tokushima. Spend two nights there, returning the car before taking buses to Naruto. Day-one gorge views exclude the boat trip.
B — Western sights first, finishing in the east →A — Three eastern nights, then one western night
See dance, mountain views and the strait before a valley night. Spend three nights in Tokushima, then move via Wakimachi to Iya. Final-day bridge sightseeing is followed by car return; move or omit the bridge for an early departure.
Day 1 · Performance, then a city overnight stay
Spend three nights near Tokushima Station for performances, views and the Naruto Strait. Hire a car on day four, travel via Wakimachi and spend one night in Oboke/Iya; return the car in Tokushima on the final day. Move the bridge earlier or omit it for an early departure.
- JR Tokushima Station → Your booked Tokushima accommodation
Travel from Tokushima Station to your booked accommodation.
- Accommodation in Tokushima → Awa Odori Kaikan entrance
Walk to Awa Odori Kaikan. The performance hall is on the second floor of the same building.
- Awa Odori Kaikan entrance → Second-floor performance hall
Watch one second-floor daytime show: 11:00, 14:00, 15:00 or 16:00, each 40 minutes, JPY 1,300 per adult. For a late arrival, the 20:00 evening show costs JPY 1,600. Exclude ordinary sessions on Kaikan closing days and during the 11–15 August suspension.
Kaikan performance/ropeway fares and servicesOfficial fare table
- Awa Odori Kaikan → Dinner near the station/Kaikan and the same accommodation
After the show, choose an open restaurant near the Kaikan or station, then return to the same accommodation. If choosing the evening show, check last food-order times too.
Day 2 · Return buses to the Naruto Strait
Look down over the Naruto Strait from Uzu-no-Michi’s walkway. Take return buses to Naruto Park timed around the tidal currents.
- Tokushima accommodation and station-front stand 16 → Naruto Park bus stop
Take a Naruto Park-bound bus from stand 16 in front of Tokushima Station. Adult fare: JPY 870 one way or JPY 1,740 return. Choose both buses around your date’s tidal-current table and Uzu-no-Michi’s last admission. Allow extra time to walk from your accommodation and wait for the bus.
- Naruto Park bus stop → Uzu-no-Michi entrance and strait walkway
Walk about 5 minutes from the stop and buy the JPY 510 adult ticket. Explore the walkway beneath the bridge. Whirlpools may be absent at some times, so choose buses around your date’s tidal-current table. Last admission is 16:30 in October–February and 17:30 in March–September.
Directions to the entranceCheck fees and closuresCurrent table for your visiting date
- Uzu-no-Michi and Naruto Park stop → Tokushima Station and the same accommodation
After visiting, take a Tokushima Station-bound bus from Naruto Park and return to the same accommodation. If eating lunch in the park, fit it around your return bus. If no shops are open, eat near the station. Choose the return service before sightseeing.
October weekday timetableHoliday timetableCheck fees and closures
Day 3 · Bizan, then the same accommodation
Walk from your station-area accommodation to Awa Odori Kaikan, then go up to the fifth-floor ropeway base station.
- Awa Odori Kaikan fifth-floor base station → Bizan summit station
Buy a return ticket at the fifth-floor Bizan Ropeway base station in the Kaikan and travel to the summit. Adult return fare: JPY 1,500; ride about 6 minutes; normally operating from 09:00. Allow extra time for tickets, queues and summit walks. Recheck seasonal closing times and maintenance/bad-weather suspensions for your date.
Kaikan performance/ropeway fares and servicesOfficial fare table
- Bizan summit station → Base station and Tokushima accommodation
After seeing the views, descend on the same ropeway. Eat in the city and spend a third night at the same accommodation. If you watched the daytime show on day one, another evening show today is excluded from default costs.
Day 4 · Via Wakimachi to the west
After Wakimachi, spend one night in Oboke/Iya. Check driving time using your accommodation’s address and arrive before check-in/dinner deadlines. If late, shorten Wakimachi and reach the accommodation first. For an early next-day departure, compare skipping Wakimachi and visiting the bridge before your accommodation. Choose this only if car collection, bridge hours and accommodation deadlines align; otherwise omit the bridge.
- Tokushima accommodation and booked hire-car collection office → Airando Udatsu passenger-car park
After collection, navigate to Airando Udatsu’s passenger-car park. The official roughly 1-hour-5-minute drive from Tokushima City excludes accommodation-to-office access, collection formalities and traffic congestion. Facility hours: 09:00–17:30; closed 27 December–1 January; passenger-car capacity 39. Confirm travel-day fees and availability separately.
Airando Udatsu location and operationDistinguish passenger-car and tourist-coach parking
- Airando Udatsu passenger-car park → Wakimachi Udatsu streets
After parking, walk towards the linked Yoshida residence to explore the old streets. Choose an open shop for lunch. The default plan is a street walk; the residence interior is optional at JPY 510 per adult, last admission 16:30.
Airando Udatsu location and operationYoshida residence fees and hours
- Wakimachi Udatsu streets and Airando Udatsu car park → Your booked Oboke/Iya accommodation
Retrace the walk to the car park and drive to your booked western accommodation’s actual address. Oboke Station-area and Kazurabashi-area accommodation differ, so no single driving time from Wakimachi applies. Check the exact route and time after choosing the address.
Airando Udatsu location and operationDistinguish passenger-car and tourist-coach parking
Day 5 · Bridge, then car return in Tokushima
Cross Kazurabashi, then return to Tokushima, return the car and depart. Allow time after refuelling/return to reach your station or airport-bus boarding point. For a morning departure, move the bridge to an earlier day or omit it.
- Western accommodation → Yumebutai car park and Iya Kazurabashi entrance
Ordinary-car parking costs JPY 500 per vehicle, separate from bridge admission; reservations are not accepted. Walk through Yumebutai towards Iya Kazurabashi after parking. Check the car-park-to-bridge walk and drive from your accommodation separately.
- Iya Kazurabashi entrance → Bridge and Yumebutai car park
Buy a ticket and cross the bridge. Admission for junior-high pupils and older: JPY 550 each. Open April–June 08:00–18:00, July–August 07:30–18:30, September–March 08:00–17:00; bad weather may alter operations. Return to your car park afterwards.
- Yumebutai car park → Tokushima car-return office and actual departure boarding point
After visiting, return to Yumebutai car park and drive to your contracted Tokushima return office. Refuel and return the car, then travel to your departure station or airport-bus point. Exclude the final-day bridge for a morning departure.
Visit the bridge from your western accommodation, then return to Tokushima. If car-return and departure deadlines do not allow this, move the bridge to yesterday or omit it.
Included items: The subtotal includes the JPY 1,300 daytime show, JPY 510 for Uzu-no-Michi, JPY 1,500 for Bizan, JPY 550 for Kazurabashi and JPY 1,740 for return buses to Naruto.
Extra costs: Flights, accommodation, meals, airport/onward-city travel, accommodation↔boarding-point access and luggage storage cost extra. Hire, insurance, fuel, expressway tolls and parking are excluded. Optional Yoshida residence interior adds JPY 510. Yumebutai parking is separately JPY 500 per vehicle.
Yumebutai parking is separately JPY 500 per vehicle. Optional Yoshida residence interior adds JPY 510 per adult. Omitting the bridge removes JPY 550 admission from the facility subtotal; if not using its car park, its JPY 500 per-vehicle parking fee also does not arise. Moving the single visit to another day leaves admission unchanged.
Official fare tableKaikan performance/ropeway fares and servicesCheck fees and closuresFares and paymentFees and seasonal hoursYoshida residence fees and hoursParking fees and use
B — Western sights first, finishing in the east
For the gorge and vine bridge first, spend two nights in Iya, then travel via Wakimachi to Tokushima. Spend two nights there, returning the car before taking buses to Naruto. Day-one gorge views exclude the boat trip.
Day 1 · Oboke Gorge, then western accommodation
Spend two restful nights in Oboke/Iya, then two in Tokushima. On day one, hire a car in Tokushima and stop at the Oboke tourist-information facility on National Route 32 before your accommodation. Allow time to arrive before check-in/dinner deadlines; for a late arrival, drive straight there.
Visit Kazurabashi on day two, then return the car in Tokushima via Wakimachi on day three. Take buses to Naruto on day four and choose either a performance or Bizan on the final day.
Oboke Station-area and Kazurabashi-area accommodation are apart; check driving times using your address. This course uses a hire car. Without one, separately plan visit order around buses, accommodation shuttles and JR connections.
- Ikawa-Ikeda IC and National Route 32 → Oboke tourist-information facility car park
Drive to the Oboke tourist-information facility via National Route 32 towards Kochi from Ikawa-Ikeda IC. Address: 1553-1 Kamimyo, Yamashirocho, Miyoshi City; ordinary-car capacity 52. Check drives from the collection office/accommodation using their actual addresses. Information/shop areas open 09:00–17:00, closing Tuesdays in December–February, or the following day if Tuesday is a public holiday. Rest Area Oboke and Lapis Oboke · 道の駅大歩危
Miyoshi Tourism Association Oboke information and accessOboke facility hours, closures and tourist information
- Oboke tourist-information facility → Gorge views, tourist information and the same car park
See Oboke Gorge and the Yoshino River, then use the information area for tomorrow’s bridge access and local roads. Browse local goods, return to the car park and drive to your booked western accommodation. The default visit covers free information/shop areas and gorge views, excluding paid yokai/stone museum entry or a boat ride. For the museum, check current admission and last entry on site against your accommodation deadline.
Miyoshi Tourism Association Oboke information and accessOboke facility hours, closures and tourist informationShikoku roadside-station official gorge views and facilities guide
Day 2 · Kazurabashi, then the same accommodation
Explore the pedestrian bridge and return to the same car park.
- Western accommodation → Yumebutai car park and Iya Kazurabashi entrance
Ordinary-car parking costs JPY 500 per vehicle, separate from bridge admission; reservations are not accepted. Walk through Yumebutai towards Iya Kazurabashi after parking. Check the car-park-to-bridge walk and drive from your accommodation separately.
- Iya Kazurabashi entrance → Bridge and Yumebutai car park
Buy a ticket and cross the bridge. Admission for junior-high pupils and older: JPY 550 each. Open April–June 08:00–18:00, July–August 07:30–18:30, September–March 08:00–17:00; bad weather may alter operations. Return to your car park afterwards.
- Yumebutai car park → Western accommodation
Retrace your route to Yumebutai car park and drive to your accommodation. Allow separate time for the drive and car-park-to-bridge walk. The officially stated 5 minutes refers to the bus-stop-to-bridge walk.
Day 3 · Via Wakimachi to accommodation in Tokushima
Walk Wakimachi’s streets past old houses with udatsu firebreaks. Visiting inside the Yoshida residence is a separate choice.
- Western accommodation → Wakimachi Udatsu streets
After parking, walk towards the Yoshida residence, explore the streets and eat at an open restaurant. The street walk is included; the residence interior is optional at JPY 510 per adult, last admission 16:30. Airando Udatsu opens 09:00–17:30, closes 27 December–1 January and has 39 passenger-car spaces. When leaving western accommodation, navigate to Wakimachi using its actual address and check parking fees/availability. The prefectural guide’s 1 hour 5 minutes from Tokushima City does not describe this western-start journey.
Airando Udatsu location and operationYoshida residence fees and hoursDistinguish passenger-car and tourist-coach parking
- Wakimachi Udatsu streets → Accommodation in Tokushima
After the walk, return to the car park and drive to Tokushima’s return office. Return before your booked deadline, then move to city accommodation for two nights. When choosing accommodation, check whether the office-to-hotel journey is walkable or needs other transport.
Return the car in Tokushima after Wakimachi. Check parking, travel, return and office-to-accommodation time using actual addresses and your contract.
Day 4 · Scheduled return buses to Naruto
Look down over the Naruto Strait from Uzu-no-Michi’s walkway. Take return buses to Naruto Park timed around the tidal currents.
- Tokushima accommodation and Tokushima Station → Naruto Park bus stop
Take a Naruto Park-bound bus from stand 16 in front of Tokushima Station. Adult fare: JPY 870 one way or JPY 1,740 return. Choose both buses around your date’s tidal-current table and Uzu-no-Michi’s last admission. Allow extra time to walk from your accommodation and wait for the bus.
- Naruto Park bus stop → Uzu-no-Michi entrance and viewing facility
Walk about 5 minutes from the stop, buy the JPY 510 adult ticket and view the strait. First check your date’s tidal-current table and seasonal last admission (March–September 17:30, October–February 16:30), then choose buses.
Check fees and closuresDirections to the entranceCurrent table for your visiting date
- Uzu-no-Michi and Naruto Park stop → Tokushima Station and accommodation
After visiting, take a Tokushima Station-bound bus from Naruto Park and return to the same accommodation. If eating lunch in the park, fit it around your return bus. If no shops are open, eat near the station. Choose the return service before sightseeing.
Day 5 · One city attraction before departure
Choose either an Awa Odori performance or Bizan’s views around departure. Leave enough time afterwards to return to your accommodation and boarding point.
- Accommodation in Tokushima → Awa Odori Kaikan hall or Bizan summit station
If arrival fits a daytime session at 11:00, 14:00, 15:00 or 16:00, choose one second-floor show: JPY 1,300 per adult, 40 minutes. Ordinary sessions are unavailable on closing days and 11–15 August. For views instead, choose a Bizan return ropeway journey from the same building’s fifth floor: JPY 1,500 per adult, about 6 minutes, normally from 09:00. Choose only one around departure; the subtotal includes only that choice.
Kaikan performance/ropeway fares and servicesOfficial fare table
- Your chosen facility and Tokushima accommodation → Your actual departure boarding point
Subtract show/ropeway waits, accommodation return and boarding margin from the time remaining before departure.
Included items: The subtotal includes JPY 550 for Kazurabashi, JPY 510 for Uzu-no-Michi and JPY 1,740 for return buses to Naruto, plus either the JPY 1,300 final-day daytime show or JPY 1,500 Bizan visit.
Extra costs: Flights, accommodation, meals, airport/onward-city travel, accommodation↔boarding-point access and luggage storage cost extra. Hire, insurance, fuel, expressway tolls and parking are excluded. Optional Yoshida residence interior adds JPY 510. Yumebutai parking is separately JPY 500 per vehicle.
Yumebutai parking is separately JPY 500 per vehicle; optional Yoshida residence interior adds JPY 510 per adult. Day-one Oboke visits only free areas, excluding the paid museum/boat. Choose either the show or Bizan on the final day.
Official fare tableKaikan performance/ropeway fares and servicesCheck fees and closuresFares and paymentFees and seasonal hoursYoshida residence fees and hoursParking fees and useOboke facility hours, closures and tourist informationShikoku roadside-station official gorge views and facilities guide
Before departure, on-the-day checks and FAQs
Does the west-first course before Naruto include the boat?
Day one visits the Oboke information facility and gorge views, excluding a paid boat trip. To add it, separately check operation and timing and add JPY 1,800 per adult. Course 3-night B includes a boat visit.
Oboke facility hours, closures and tourist informationShikoku roadside-station official gorge views and facilities guideBoat operator’s fares and boarding guide
Does the final-day subtotal include both the performance and Bizan?
Course 4-night B’s JPY 4,100 chooses the daytime show; JPY 4,300 chooses the return Bizan ride. Neither includes both. Choose one around departure, then collect luggage and reach the actual boarding point.
Official fare tableKaikan performance/ropeway fares and services
Official sources and check dates
- Kaikan performance/ropeway fares and services ·
- Check fees and closures ·
- Directions to the entrance ·
- Current table for your visiting date ·
- Fees and seasonal hours ·
- Parking fees and use ·
- Boat operator’s fares and boarding guide ·
- Airando Udatsu location and operation ·
- Yoshida residence fees and hours ·
- Distinguish passenger-car and tourist-coach parking ·
- October weekday timetable ·
- Holiday timetable ·
- Fares and payment ·
- Official fare table ·
- Miyoshi Tourism Association Oboke information and access ·
- Oboke facility hours, closures and tourist information ·
- Shikoku roadside-station official gorge views and facilities guide ·
- JR Shikoku October 2026 pass-revision notice ·