Sunday, July 20, 2025

Kicking the bucket...list: Day 10 - Rain dancing in Tokushima

 

A garden in the rain

The weather had been very cooperative for the first nine days of my visit, but that would change on the morning of Day 10. I awoke not to a downpour but to a steady precipitation that would last until the late afternoon. The view as I looked out of my room at The Agnes アグネスホテル徳島


My plan was to stay four nights in Tokushima 徳島, a city of 245,000, meaning I would have three full days to explore the area. I decided to hold off on the two day trips I had planned, and use this rainy day to see what the city itself had to offer visitors. And so after breakfast I set off in the rain to visit Tokushima Chūō-kōen 徳島中央公園, the city's central park:



The park sits on the site where Tokushima-jō Castle 徳島城 used to stand, though only a few ruins remain today:



The park's highlight is the Senshūkaku-teien garden 千秋閣庭園, a 16th-century beauty featuring rock bridges and ponds, where wild birds take refuge from the weather. The garden would also enter the record books as being the first place where I was asked by the ticket seller if I was old enough for the senior discount, as opposed to the usual scenario where I request the discount when getting ready to pay the entrance fee. For the record I wasn't old enough yet, but the fact my appearance suggested it was plausible was a little sobering: 




The building in the back is the Tokushima Castle Museum 徳島城博物館. Visiting it would have been an ideal rainy day activity...except it was closed for renovations:








A statue of Hachisuka Iemasa 蜂須賀家政, the first of the daimyō 大名 of the clan that lived in Tokushima Castle for 280 years, starting in 1586. The castle was destroyed in 1896:


An 8620 series steam locomotive that serviced the towns of Tokushima Prefecture 徳島県 from 1923 until 1969:


As I left the park the path I was on took me past the rear of Tokushima Station 徳島駅: 


Waiting at a train crosssing:


A small covered shopping arcade 商店街 tucked between a pair of hotels. There wasn't much there but it was a respite from the rain:


Had the weather been better I might've ascended to the top of the 280 meter/919 foot-high Bizan 眉山 for the panoramic views looking down on Tokushima. But as you can see in this photo the top of the mountain was obscured by clouds:


Taking a coffee break in the amico shopping mall アミコ専門店街:


For lunch I had the "Tokushima rāmen + gyōza" set 徳島ラーメン+餃子定食 in the Tokushima Station Bar Alley 徳島駅バル横丁, a food street of sorts located downstairs in the Clement Plaza building, under the train station:


amico, as seen across the street from the station building: 


An older building seen on the way to my next destination: 


And that destination was the Awa Odori Kaikan 阿波おどり会館, a museum devoted to the city's famed annual Awa-odori Matsuri 阿波踊り festival and dance. Located at the base of Bizan, the complex houses a souvenir shop on the first floor and the ropeway to the top of Bizan on the fifth floor (which I didn't take because of the inclement weather):


The third floor is home to a museum devoted to the history of the dance



Dancers from Tokushima have traveled to many countries to promote the festival. This photo may have been taken in front of the Fu-ren Temple 福仁宫 in Taoyuan 桃園, Taiwan:  



Held annually on August 11-15 the festival attracts more than a million visitors every year:






A visit to the gift shop on the ground floor:



The Awa Odori Hall on the second floor stages five live dance performances daily:






Some of the dances were interactive: 


The grand champion audience member turned out to be a Ms. Lee from Taiwan:



A post-show snack of Taki no Yaki-mochi and hot green tea 滝の焼餅とお茶 from a small counter in the back of the gift shop:


Here's a video from last year's edition of the festival:


A shy cat at the Tenjin Shrine 徳島眉山天神神社 next door to the Awa-odori Kaikan. I read that there's a hiking trail to the top of Bizan that starts from behind the shrine, but obviously this was a day ill-suited for even a short hike up: 



Walking south around the base of Bizan took me to Zuigan-ji 瑞巌寺, a Buddhist temple constructed in the Momoyama 桃山 style in 1614: 


The reason for visiting the temple was to see the garden there. Expecting to be greeted with sights like a pond filled with carp, a waterfall, and rocky paths across mossy lawns leading up to a red pagoda (not to mention an image of the Virgin Mary engraved on one of the Edo-period 江戸時代 lamps, during a time when Christianity was outlawed), I was instead faced with a sign informing one and all that the garden was permanently closed due to damage from wild boars. Thanks to that boorish behavior, this was only the only photo I could get from the outside:


With nothing else to to do at the temple I wandered uphill, attracted by the sight of a collection of old-looking graves:



It was just me and the ravenous mosquitoes: 


A small jinja 神社 I passed on the way back to the train station area:


A decorative clock I also walked by, but could find nothing about it later online: 


By this stage much of the cloud cover had lifted from Bizan but I decided I would go up there by car on another day, as the forecast called for better weather during the remainder of my stay in Tokushima:


Crossing over the Shinmachi River 新町川:


Even Japanese people don't eat Japanese food all the time - I went to the Masala Indian Restaurant インド料理マサラ in the Tokushima Station Bar Alley for dinner: 


Back in my hotel room I relaxed with an Awa Bancha Ale (purchased in the afternoon at the Awa-odori Kaikan's gift shop) while watching the Hokkaidō Nippon Ham Fighters 北海道日本ハムファイターズ-Hanshin Tigers 阪神タイガース game on TV. The contest ended in a 1-0 victory for Ōsaka's 大阪 favorite team. This was on the day that Yomiuri Giants' 読売ジャイアンツ legend Shigeo Nagashima 長嶋茂雄 died at the age of 89:

Though it had rained most of the day, by the time I headed out for dinner the clouds had disappeared, with the sun finally making an appearance. And our closest star would stay out (nights excluded) for the remainder of my time in Tokushima, as the following day I would embark on foot on a mini spiritual pilgrimage.

I hope you'll join me!