Jōraku-ji is temple No. 14 on the Shikoku Pilgrimage, or Henro. It stands in the hills on the south side of the Tokushima rift valley, just outside the city of Tokushima. What to see This temple has one of the most unusual courtyards of the pilgrimage. It was built on a tilted outcrop of mudstone,…
Dainichi-ji is temple No. 13 on the Shikoku Pilgrimage, or Henro. It’s located between the hill on which Ichinomiya Castle stood, and the Akui River, a tributary of the Yoshino River in Tokushima city. Temples No. 4 and No. 28 are also called Dainichi-ji. What to see The temple stands across a busy, narrow road…
Shōsan-ji is temple No. 12 on the Shikoku pilgrimage, or Henro. Located at 800 m up a mountain, it’s the second highest temple on the pilgrimage, and it’s known as a nansho, or ‘difficult place’, with a lot of up and down along the way. On a clear day, you can see all the way…
Fujii-dera is Temple 11 on the Shikoku pilgrimage, or Henro. It stands in a side valley off the Yoshino River rift valley. It takes its name from the wisteria that grows there. Of the 88 sacred sites in Shikoku, it’s the only one where the character for ‘temple’ is read “dera” instead of “ji”. What…
Kirihata-ji is temple No. 10 on the Shikoku pilgrimage, or Henro. It’s located high on the southern side of the Sanuki Mountains facing the Yoshino River in the Tokushima rift valley. The main gate is a considerable distance from the valley bottom, and the main temple compound is higher still. What to see The single-storey…
Ryōzen-ji is temple No. 1 on the Shikoku Pilgrimage, stands near the foot of the Sanuki Mountains in the Tokushima rift valley.
The great Yoshino River rises in Kōchi and flows into the sea in Tokushima city.
Located on a calm, flat stretch of the Yoshino River, the charming town of Wakimachi was a centre for indigo dyeing during the Edo and Meiji periods.
Learn how to make tasty soba noodles in the depths of Iya Valley.
Tsurugi Shrine is a Shintō shrine complex distributed over Mt. Tsurugi.