Awa Odori is Japan’s biggest Bon dance festival: four August nights when troupes of dancers fill Tokushima’s streets. Miss the dates and you can still see it — the Kaikan stages performances year-round, and the Bizan ropeway leaves from its top floor for the view over the city.
- Festival dates: 12–15 August every year, in Tokushima citySource: Tokushima City / Awa Odori official
- Well over a million spectators each AugustSource: JNTO / Tokushima City
- Daily stage performances at the Kaikan; the Bizan Ropeway boards from the 5th floorSource: Awa Odori Kaikan official
Photos: Awa Odori dancers — Yevtushuk Victor via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Awa Odori Kaikan stage — Mason tang photography via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Mount Bizan above the hall — Kyle_TK via FIND/47, CC BY 4.0
Getting there
About 10 minutes on foot from JR Tokushima Station, at the foot of Mount Bizan.
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Data: GBIF occurrence records for Tokushima (GADM JPN.40_1), year 2024, as compiled on NihongoHub Wildlife.
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