Itineraries

The Setouchi Central Route With Travel Blogger Kelley Ferro

Recommended Length: 3 Days

Highlights

Day 1: Tokushima

Day 2: Ehime-Kagawa

Day 3: Tokushima

Before & After

When heading to Oboke Gorge and Iya Valley it’s easiest to travel by car. Rental car services are available close to Tokushima JR Station, or alternatively you can also go by taxi from the Oboke JR Station.

From the city of Tokushima you can travel by JR train to Okayama and then transfer to the Shinkansen. There are numerous bus services traveling directly to Osaka and Kobe. Tokushima airport is also close, and a convenient way to quickly travel to major destinations.

Join high profile travel blogger Kelley Ferro as she discovers the rich culture, amazing nature, and pure fun awaiting on Shikoku island, the center of Setouchi.

Day 3: Tokushima

Otsuka Museum of Art

Imagine going to an art venue where you can see over a 1000 masterpieces by the world’s most celebrated artists. Impossible you might think. But believe it or not, the Otsuka Museum in Awajishima’s Naruto Park provides exactly that. Within the walls of their nearly 30,000 square meter exhibition space you can see the best of Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Vermeer, and many many more. There’s even Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” as it appears on the ceiling at Milan’s Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie’s. Of course none of these works are the originals, but rather high quality replicas using the latest technologies to print directly onto ceramic boards at their original dimensions. Regardless of authenticity, what Otsuka Museum offers is an entire art education in one building. With a restaurant, cafe, and museum shop on site, you’ll find everything you need to keep the art lover inside you more than satisfied.

Whirlpool sightseeing boat

Interested in getting up close and personal with a phenomenon of nature? Then a visit to the whirlpools of the Naruto Straits will suit you perfectly. Beneath the Onaruto Bridge connecting Tokushima and Awaji-island churn some of the world’s largest naturally occurring whirlpools, sometimes reaching a diameter of 30 meters when tidal flows prove favorable. Regular sightseeing boats depart from either shore, making it easy to get mere meters away from this swirling water. What could be better? Possibly the sightseeing boat AQUA EDDY, with its underwater observation room set a meter below the the surface. From this perspective, you’ll not only getting close to the whirlpool, you actually get inside it — something to tell your friends about for sure.

Isso (Indigo Dye Workshop)

The rich color gained from dyeing with indigo, commonly known as “JAPAN BLUE,” remains deeply woven into the fabric of Japanese culture. And nowhere proves the fact better than Tokushima, the purported origin of indigo dyeing in Japan — and coincidentally, the greatest producer of Sukumo, the essential ingredient of this distinctive color. Intrigued? Then you simply must visit “ISSO” a Indigo dyeing Atelier in Tokushima that preserves traditional dyeing methods, and uses only natural materials. Every Sunday you can participate in an indigo dyeing workshop for a hands-on experience with the methods and high-grade natural dyes used by the artists of ISSO. There are options to dye handkerchiefs, scarves, or a table runners, or alternatively you can bring along your own materials and imbue it with that distinctive JAPAN BLUE look.

Video and Photographs by Kelley Ferro Productions
https://www.kelleyferro.com/top-5-adventures-in-setouchi-japan/