We couldn’t wait to try the food in Tokushima prefecture! One of our favourite things to do when visiting a new prefecture in Japan is to discover and try all the local specialities. It’s one of the best things about travelling in Japan and if you watch our YouTube videos you will know how much we love eating our way around each prefecture.
We received many recommendations from our viewers on YouTube about what foods we should try while in Tokushima prefecture and we slowly made our way through the list as we spent 2 weeks travelling around the prefecture in our camper van.
Below we will share the top foods that you can’t miss while visiting Tokushima prefecture.
1. Tokushima Ramen
There are 2 famous shops which were recommended to us numerous times and both are in Tokushima city. The first shop is called Inotani ramen which has a slightly spicy broth made of niboshi, soya sauce and pork.
It’s possible to customise how much meat and chukamen noodles (thicker than normal noodles) you add to your bowl while placing your order at the vending machine inside the restaurant. The standard order arrives without an egg but you can choose to add an egg which we highly recommend since it’s typical to eat egg with Tokushima ramen.
The other famous shop located in Tokushima city is called Todai Ramen and it’s known for its stronger and richer taste.
2. Waterfall Rice Cake
Taki no yakimochi or waterfall rice cake is a traditional sweet from Tokushima city which has a 400-year old history. It’s basically a grilled mochi filled with anko which is a sweet bean paste. Water from a local waterfall is used to make the mochi and the best place to try this specialty is at the famous cafe called Wadanoya.
3. Naruto Kintoki
There is a special type of sweet potato grown in sandy soils in the Nuruto area of Tokushima. When baked, the potatoes have a beautifully soft texture similar to baked chestnuts. They are the perfect snack if you are feeling hungry while wandering the streets. We found a vendor selling baked Naruto Kintoki out of the back of his car in one of the undercover shopping arcades in Tokushima city.
4. Fish Katsu
When people hear the word “katsu” they usually immediately think of normal pork katsu. However, located in Tokushima city there is a famous shop called Sugiyama-kamabokoten selling delicious fish katsu. For only ¥100 you can get a large piece of fish katsu to take away.
5. Awa Odori Chicken
Awa Odori chicken is a special type of chicken only found in Tokushima prefecture. It has red streaks through it and it is usually more sweet and rich in flavour and chewy in texture than regular chicken. The name Awa Odori was given to the chicken since the feathers used during the Awa Odori dance festival resemble the long feathers found on this type of chicken.
6. Dekomawashi Skewer
Dekomawashi Skewer is a traditional snack from The Iya Valley and is a wooden skewer consisting of goushiimo potato (from The Iya Valley), iwadofu (a type of tofu) and konnyaku (devil’s tongue). It’s covered in a sweet glaze and barbecued before being sold for ¥300. We found a few stalls selling Dekomawashi skewers at the entrance to Iya-no-kazura Bashi.
7. Sudachi
Sudachi is a small round green citrus fruit resembling a lime which is from Tokushima prefecture. 98% of the sudachi fruit grown in Japan are from Tokushima and you can find sudachi flavoured foods everywhere you go. We tried a delicious sudachi flavored soda in Tokushima city and also enjoyed sudachi flavoured liquor. Sudachi can also sometimes be found in noodle shops as a topping.
