Page 255 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Japan

forging of cutlery, and shops
selling knives line the street
in front of Kochi Castle, built
in 1603. However, most of the
castle build ings were rebuilt
between 1729 and 1753
following a fire. A startlingly
long sword, over 5 ft (1.5 m )
in length, is among the
weapons on display in the
castle. Look out of the
windows on the top floors
for breathtaking views.
At Katsurahama, a white-
sand beach area in the
southern part of the city, AWA-ODORI DANCING
the Sakamoto Ryoma
Museum is devoted to the Tokushima’s celebrations for O-Bon, the festival of the
Tosa patriot admired for his dead on August 12–15, are the liveliest in Japan. Special
part in the overthrow of the dances, called Awa-Odori, are meant to welcome
shogunate and restoration ancestral spirits on their yearly visit to the land of the
of the emperor in the 1860s. living. Nicknamed “the fool’s dance” because the refrain
He was assassinated in 1867. “you’re a fool whether you dance or not, so you might as
Most Japanese visitors make well dance” is sung, the Awa-Odori allegedly originated
a point of paying homage when rice wine was passed out to the townspeople of
to a bronze statue of the Tokushima to celebrate completion of a castle.
man looming over the beach.
From Kochi, take a day trip to of Shikoku from the Kansai
Cape Muroto at the southeast region of Honshu and is the
Did You Know? tip of Shikoku or Cape Ashizuri traditional point of entry
for those who set out to
to the south west. Both have
views of the Pacific Ocean and duplicate Kukai’s pilgrimage
The anime character some unusual rock formations. (p258). The old name of the
Naruto Uzumaki, province, Awa, gives its name
an adolescent ninja, Kochi Castle to the town’s Awa-Odori
takes his name from " ⌂ 1-2-1 Marunouchi celebration in mid-August,
the whirlpools.
# 9am–5pm daily a dancing festival that is
¢ Dec 26–Jan 1 broadcast nationwide.
South of Tokushima, the
Sakamoto Ryoma Museum Anan Coast is known for its
" ⌂ 830 Urado-shiroyama charming fishing villages,
# 9am–5pm daily pleasant beaches, and the
sea turtles that lay and hatch
eggs during the summer
7 months (June to August).
Tokushima
徳島 HIDDEN GEM
Chiiori House
! D5 ⌂ Tokushima
Prefecture k £ n In Dating from around
front of Tokushima Stn; 1720, this house in
www. discovertokushima. Tokushima province
is typical of old Iya
net/en
construction, with
The city of Tokushima forms its wooden floors and
the gateway into the island irori (floor hearths).
The beams and rafters
are black from centuries
of fires burning in the
The churning waters of the floor hearths (www.
Naruto Whirlpools under the chiiori.org).
Onaruto Suspension Bridge
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