Awa Odori (Aug 12–15)
Tokushima City fills with 100,000+ dancers and roughly 1.3 million spectators each year — the world's largest traditional Japanese dance festival.
Open in Maps ↗Prefecture profile · 都道府県
Tokushima 徳島県
Home of Awa Odori — Japan's biggest dance festival, drawing 1.3 million spectators every August — plus the Naruto whirlpools, the indigo (ai) dye tradition, sudachi citrus (90% of Japan's supply), and the Nichia–Otsuka twin engines of a surprisingly tech-heavy economy.
Capital
Tokushima City
Population
720,000
Area
4,147 km²
Region
Shikoku
History
Awa Odori, the four-day dance festival held every August 12–15 in Tokushima City, has been performed continuously since the 16th century. It draws roughly 1.3 million spectators each year — the largest dance festival in Japan and arguably the most-attended single cultural event in the country.
Tokushima's wealth in the Edo period came from ai (indigo) dye, produced from the Yoshino River floodplain. The Hanshōfū house in Aizumi-chō remains the largest surviving indigo-merchant residence — Tokushima indigo dyed Edo's military uniforms and is still used by craft denim and shibori artists today.
In 1993, Nichia Corporation engineer Shuji Nakamura developed the first practical blue LED — the breakthrough that enabled white-LED lighting. Nakamura received the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics; Nichia remains headquartered in the small Anan City and is now the world's largest LED manufacturer.
Economy & business
Tokushima's prefectural GDP is around ¥3.2 trillion (US$22 billion). Pharmaceuticals and consumer health (Otsuka Pharmaceutical, founded here) plus optoelectronics (Nichia Corporation) anchor an unusually research-intensive small-prefecture economy; specialty agriculture (sudachi citrus, sweet potatoes, lotus root) and the high-density indigo and washi craft cluster round it out.
Key industries
Pharmaceuticals & consumer health
Otsuka Holdings — Pocari Sweat, Calorie Mate, Abilify — was founded in Naruto in 1921 and remains headquartered in the prefecture.
Optoelectronics
Nichia Corporation in Anan City is the world's largest LED manufacturer; co-founder/engineer Shuji Nakamura won the 2014 Nobel Prize for the blue LED.
Specialty agriculture
Roughly 95% of Japan's sudachi citrus is grown in Tokushima. Other specialties: Naruto sweet potato, lotus root, wakame seaweed harvested from the Naruto strait.
Indigo & traditional crafts
Awa-ai indigo dye (a designated traditional craft) and Awa-shōji washi paper continue under family-run workshops in Aizumi and Yoshinogawa.
Fisheries
Naruto wakame and Naruto-tai (sea bream) — the strong tidal current in the Naruto strait gives the fish dense, firm flesh prized in Kansai sushi counters.
Notable companies
Otsuka Holdings (Pocari Sweat, Calorie Mate)Nichia Corporation (LEDs)Awa BankJustis (Awa-ai indigo workshops co-op)Tokushima ShimbunNaruto Industrial Tourism Co-op
Trade partners
South KoreaChinaTaiwanUnited StatesVietnam
Tourism highlights
Naruto whirlpools
Tidal whirlpools up to 20 m across in the Naruto strait, viewable from a glass-floored walkway under the Ōnaruto Bridge or by tour boat.
Open in Maps ↗Iya Valley & Kazurabashi vine bridges
Hidden mountain valley with hand-woven vine suspension bridges (rebuilt every three years) — once a refuge of defeated Heike samurai.
Open in Maps ↗Ōtsuka Museum of Art (Naruto)
Full-scale ceramic-tile reproductions of more than 1,000 Western masterworks (Sistine Chapel ceiling, Last Supper, Mona Lisa) — guaranteed never to fade. Bizarre and weirdly affecting.
Open in Maps ↗Mount Tsurugi
Shikoku's second-highest peak (1,955 m); the easy summit walk has views across the entire mountainous spine of the island.
Open in Maps ↗Awa Indigo Museum (Aizumi)
Working dye vats and the 19th-century Okumura indigo-merchant residence.
Open in Maps ↗Did you know
Shuji Nakamura developed the blue LED at Nichia in Anan, Tokushima — the missing piece that made white LED lighting possible. He won the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics while Nichia paid him roughly ¥20,000 for the patent (he later sued and settled for ¥840 million).
Otsuka's Pocari Sweat — invented in Naruto in 1980 by a researcher rehydrating after IV-drip surgery — has since been delivered to the International Space Station and was the first commercial product launched to the Moon by a private mission (SLIM, 2024).
About 95% of Japan's sudachi citrus is grown in Tokushima — the green lime-like fruit served alongside grilled fish in any decent washoku restaurant almost certainly came from this prefecture.
About Tokushima — Frequently asked
What is the capital of Tokushima?
The capital of Tokushima is Tokushima City.
What region of Japan is Tokushima in?
Tokushima is part of the Shikoku region of Japan.
What are Tokushima's main industries?
Tokushima's key industries include Pharmaceuticals & consumer health, Optoelectronics, Specialty agriculture, Indigo & traditional crafts.
What are the top tourist attractions in Tokushima?
Top attractions in Tokushima include Awa Odori (Aug 12–15), Naruto whirlpools, Iya Valley & Kazurabashi vine bridges, Ōtsuka Museum of Art (Naruto).
What major companies are based in Tokushima?
Notable companies headquartered in Tokushima include Otsuka Holdings (Pocari Sweat, Calorie Mate), Nichia Corporation (LEDs), Awa Bank, Justis (Awa-ai indigo workshops co-op), Tokushima Shimbun.
Map
Scroll to zoom, drag to pan, tap a prefecture to open its chapter.