THE WEEKEND IS FULL OF EVENTS! The biggest is the Hana Haru Festa, of course, but there is an Urban Pet Festival and a Charity Music event that is running all weekend long as well. That means you can listen to music, watch Awa Odori, stuff your stomach, and pet puppies for two whole days!
Get sea bream at a Saturday seafood market. Sports fans can catch Vortis soccer and Tokushima University American football. I also have a flower guide with all the scoops for natural things to see over the next few weeks.
Have a Wander-ful spring weekend, everyone!
Sakura-Tai Festival 天然桜鯛祭り
April 21 (Sat.), 9:00-13:00. Place: JF Kita-Nada Fish Market 北灘さかな市 (Naruto-shi). Admission: Free.
Wild sea bream from the wild Naruto Strait…feisty fish means firm meat and great eating! Come and buy some at a special price straight from the harbor, and they’ll even fillet it for you right there. The first 1000 people get free fisherman’s soup. From 10:00, they’ll sell sushi with fish caught that morning. At 11:00, you can enjoy a maguro filleting show with a BIG KNIFE. Oh, speaking of knives, you can bring one and get it sharpened for just 500 yen, or buy a new one from the vendor. There will be an Enka performance at 11:30. Food booths will sell grilled salted sea bream, Tai-meshi (rice cooked with a whole fish), Sea bream with somen noodles, Saba sushi, and more!
MORE FLOWERS!!!!
April flowers bring…even more April flowers! It’s not all about sakura…here are some other colorful displays around the prefecture. (NOTE: The changing weather may affect blooming times. The dates shown are just general guidelines. Actual bloom peaks may be different. Many of the links below come from awanavi.jp )
SHIBA-ZAKURA (MOSS PHLOX) – Carpets of brilliant fuchsia flowers…need I say more? The season may be already coming to an end, but this weekend may be your last chance to catch this fantastic sight at places like Hirotana link in Mima City’s Wakimachi, Kamo Noson Park link in Higashi Miyoshi Town, and the walls of Takagai link in Misato in Yoshinogawa City.
FUJI (WISTERIA) Where there are overhead trellisses, there will be long strands of purple wisteria ready to greet you. Best seen in late April. Ishii Town’s Jifuku-ji Temple link and Fujii-dera Temple link are particularly famous, but Jinkou-ji Temple’s old towering tree link in Kamiyama Town is impressive too.
TSUTSUJI (AZALEAS) Notice hedges along major roads turning white, pink, and magenta? Those are azaleas, and although most urban folk are used to manicured bushes, these plants can grow wild to the size of trees. Golden Week should be late enough to catch them at their best. Check out Kamiyama Town’s Kamibun Hidden Flower Village link, Kamikatsu Town’s Ochiai Senbon Tsutsuji link, Suwa Shrine in Tokushima City link, Tsurugi Town’s Mountain Azalea Village Hagio link, and the Hiwasa Castle in Minami Town link are just a few of the best spots.
Hana Haru Festa はな・はる・フェスタ
April 21-22 (Sat.-Sun.), 10:00-17:00 and 18:00-21:00 on Sat. Place: Aibahama Park and Awa-Gin Hall 藍場浜公園、あわぎんホール (Tokushima-shi). Admission: Free.
This is the big event this weekend! Sooooo much happening all day and even into the evening! Here’s a run-down of all the happenings…
DANCE – You can watch Awa Odori all day long on Saturday and Sunday at the Aibahama Entrance outdoor stage and the Awa-Gin Hall indoor stage. Freestyle outdoor dancing, or carefully choreographed indoor dancing? You can see both!
MORE DANCE – This festival has lots of street dance too! There is a Fresh Dance Contest on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. at the Aibahama Main Stage. From 6:00 p.m., you can enjoy an evening of street dance at the Ryogoku Bridge Stage.
MUSIC – There is lots of great live music on Sunday. FM Tokushima will host a special concert at the Aibahama Main Stage from 1:00 p.m. with POLU, Yuka Ueno, Jaa Bourbonz, and Toshihide Baba. B-FM791 will have a live broadcast and music festa at the Shinmachi Bridge Stage from 11:00-16:00. Local singers and idol groups will entertain everyone. Need more music? Flower Spring Jazz@Riverside is on Saturday from 18:00-20:00. Enjoy some great live jazz along the river.
FOOD – Aibahama Park will become a food lover’s paradise! The Tokushima Gourmet Alley will have all kinds of meat, noodles, and sweets. This year is the 20th anniversary of the Akashi Straits Bridge opening, and special shops from Akashi and Kobe will add even more local street food to the mix. I recommend the Akashi-yaki, an eggy version of takoyaki that is eaten in a light stock. You can also go shopping for local products at the market street.
CRAFTS – Whether you make them or shop for them, this festival has you covered. Last weekend’s Creator’s Market makes another appearance with lots of great vendors selling retro accessories, clothing, candles, and the cult-level Shishamo Cat in front of the Awa-Gin Hall. You can also try traditional crafts like Otani pottery, indigo dyeing, Awa Odori bamboo dolls, washi paper, and glass craft.
Urban Pet Festival アーバン・ペット・フェスティバル
April 21-22 (Sat.-Sun.), 10:00-17:00. Place: Shinmachi Boardwalk 新町川ボードウォーク (Tokushima-shi). Admission: Free.
In conjunction with the Hana Haru Festa, discover everything you want to know about pets (and some things you never thought you needed to know). Since this year is the year of the dog, you can pet Akita dogs, and lots of puppies from the Animal Welfare Center, HEART Tokushima, and Philia Net. Learn about stray adoption, spaying/neutering, and caring for your pets responsibly. Pony rides for children at 10:00, 11:00, 13:00, 14:00 and 15:00 for 500 yen, and you can feed the ponies for 100 yen or take photos with them. Lots of booths will showcase pet food, pet fashion, accessories, pet massages, pet insurance, and even pet funerals. Cat lovers can also enjoy an entire zone of cat-related products. Food (for humans) will also be available. Pork skewers, fried chicken, cafe sweets, and special cat’s paw churros!
A weekend with charity and music ふれあい健康館共催チャリティーイベント
April 21-22, 11:00-19:30 on Saturday, and 9:30-15:30 on Sunday. Place: Fureai Kenkou-kan ふれあい健康館 (Tokushima-shi). Admission: Free.
Google Map link to Fureai Kenkoukan
This wonderful relaxing event is feel-good in so many ways. Nonstop entertainment all day on both days (Ingrid’s bar regular Kazu will play the Latin harp on Sunday at 13:30), and booths with health/beauty services. If you’re hungry, you can buy cotton candy, fried noodles, frankfurters, fried chicken, and popcorn. A portion of the proceeds and donations will help disaster recovery efforts.
J2 Soccer: Tokushima Vortis vs. Kamatamare Sanuki 徳島ヴォルティスvs. カマタマーレ讃岐
April 22 (Sun.), 14:00 Kick-off. Place: Otsuka Sports Park, Pocari Sweat Stadium 大塚スポーツパーク ポカリスエットスタジアム（Naruto-shi）. Admission: Adults 2500-4500 yen, children 500-2000 yen.
It’s an East Shikoku showdown, but the rivalry is friendly…and delicious! There will be special food booths from Kochi and Kagawa selling some great street food like meat skewers, mincemeat croquettes, yuzu beer, imo kenpi (candied French fries), and a special curry paella in honor of a Spanish player’s birthday. Win some great stuff at the halftime bingo game, take pictures with local and team mascots, and enjoy a warm spring afternoon with great J2 soccer!
Sudachi Bowl すだちボウル
April 22 (Sun.), pre-event 13:30-14:40, kick-off at 15:00. Place: Yoshino River Sports Area （South bank of river between two major bridges in the city) 徳島市民吉野川運動広場 (Tokushima-shi). Admission: FREE!
American football in Tokushima??? YES! The Tokushima University Pirates will play an exhibition game against the Chu-Shikoku Allsters community team. Anyone with a dream of trying the sport can hang out with the players before the game and try some skills games and flag football.
Wanderful Tokushima 