Awa Odori Kaikan
A museum of the Awa Odori dance, with live troupes on its own stage year-round.
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Awa Odori Kaikan
SaveA museum of the Awa Odori dance, with live troupes on its own stage year-round.
The museum's drums can be beaten for real, a two-year-old's favorite, and every show has the audience up and dancing.
MoreWhat kind of place
The city of Tokushima opened this hall in July 1999 on the idea that you should be able to see Awa Odori any day of the year, not only during the August festival.
The second floor is a 250-seat theater built for the dance alone: the hall's own troupe performs there four times a day, and one of 33 well-known troupes takes the evening slot, a different one each night.
The fifth floor doubles as the base station of the Bizan ropeway, six minutes up to a summit view over the Tokushima plain and the Yoshino River, with Awaji Island in the distance.
Sources and evidence (23)
- The city of Tokushima runs this facility for exhibits and performances tied to Awa Odori, and it opened in July 1999.source
- Its guiding idea is Awa Odori you can enjoy any time.source
- The Awa Odori hall on the second floor is a theater built for watching the dance and nothing else, with 250 seats.source
- The famous troupes that dance the evening show belong to the Awa Odori Promotion Association and to the Tokushima branch of the Tokushima Prefecture Awa Odori Association.source
- The troupes for the 2026 Obon special performances are Hazuki-ren on August 12, Honma-ren on the 13th, Tensui-ren on the 14th, and Aoi-ren on the 15th.source
- The fifth floor is also the base station of the Awagin Bizan Ropeway, about six minutes to the summit station, where the view takes in the Tokushima plain facing the Kii Channel, the Yoshino River, and, in the distance, the Ohnaruto Bridge and Awaji Island.source
- The Bizan ropeway's gondolas were replaced for the first time in 25 years.source
- Arudeyo Tokushima, the prefectural products and tourism plaza on the first floor, is run by the Tokushima Prefecture Products Association and sells local crafts and specialties such as indigo-dyed goods, sudachi citrus, and sweets made with Naruto kintoki sweet potatoes.source
- Visitors watching from a wheelchair can sit in spots such as the left corner of the front row facing the stage.source
- The fourth floor has four activity rooms of various sizes available for a fee, used for dance practice as well as meetings and events.source
- The gallery space on the second floor can be rented for photo and art exhibitions, and lanterns bearing the names of the famous troupes hang along the windows.source
- Work on the building's decorative exterior lighting has some or all of the outside lights switched off, but the hall is operating normally.source
- The official website offers an English leaflet.source
- For a group's private special performance, you can choose to have the entire 40-minute show hosted in English.source
- The building has handrails, ramps, and tactile paving, per the prefecture's universal design map.source
- The other category on the prefecture's universal design map lists a nursing room, wheelchairs kept on hand to lend, service dogs allowed, and Western-style toilets.source
- Foreign-language signage and interpretation are registered in English, Chinese, and Korean on the prefecture's universal design map.source
- There is a simple nursing room with a lock on the door at the back of the fourth floor, according to a July 2025 account from a family with a 2-month-old.source
- Diapers can be changed in the multipurpose restroom on each floor, and an April 2024 account found the fourth floor quiet enough to nurse in peace.source
- You can take hot water for a bottle from the hot-water station on that same fourth floor, according to an April 2024 account and its photo caption.source
- Mama Papa Map lists one nursing room, one changing table, hot water, a baby chair inside the restroom, and a sink.source
- Staff will lead a wheelchair user through a staff corridor to the very front of the seating, according to that January 2019 report, which lines up with the official FAQ pointing to the front-row left corner.source
- Thirty-three famous troupes take turns performing the evening show, night after night, according to the city's official tourism site.source
With kidsThe part that matters
The Awa Odori festival takes over the city in August, but this hall puts the dance on stage all year round.
On the museum floor, children can strike the drums and bells themselves, and in every show the audience gets up and learns the steps.
A small nursing room that locks is at the back of the fourth floor, with hot water for a bottle from the station on the same floor, and the multipurpose restrooms have changing tables.
Do the museum floor first and then one of the four daytime shows, 40 minutes each: a family with a two-year-old went in that order and was done in about three hours.
Sources and evidence (8)
- Both the daytime and evening shows include a hands-on stretch where the audience tries Awa Odori right there in the hall.source
- The Awa Odori museum on the third floor covers the history and culture of the dance, lining up costumes, props, and instruments both old and new, and a renovation added hands-on booths.source
- The third-floor Awa Odori museum reopened on February 23, 2024 after a renovation built around digital technology, adding a virtual reality corner and game-style content where you dance and bang on the drums.source
- Three hours with a two-year-old. Do the museum first and touch the drums; on stage she recognized the instruments.source
- One ticket covers museum, show and ropeway. Forty queued 20 min before the 11:00 show, and everyone stands up to dance.source
- A mother with a two-year-old and an eight-year-old: Tokushima ramen, then a walk to the evening show. Both danced along.source
- In February the ropeway was shut. Low season is cheap and empty, but that happens. They missed the 2F and 3F displays.source
- On 12-15 Aug the usual program becomes special shows at 11:00, 13:00 and 15:00. Save your legs for the night streets.source
By age0-1 / 2-3 / 4-6
- Ages 0-1The second-floor Awa Odori Hall is a 250-seat hall built for watching the dance, and a baby takes in the drums and the dancing from a lap. On the third floor, the Awa Odori Museum lines up the instruments of past and present, and the drums can be beaten for real.At the back of the fourth floor there is a simple nursing space that locks, and hot water for formula comes from the pantry space on the same floor. Diaper changing is possible in the multipurpose restrooms on every floor; the accessible restroom has a baby shelf. The entrance is an automatic door 90 cm or wider with no step, and there is an elevator. The daytime show runs four times a day — 11:00, 14:00, 15:00 and 16:00 — for 40 minutes each, so you can pick the slot that suits.
- Ages 2-3The Awa Odori Museum on the third floor lines up the instruments of past and present, and the drums can be beaten for real — one record has a two-year-old completely absorbed in them. Both the daytime and the evening show have an audience participation corner, so the visit is not only sitting and watching.The daytime show costs 1,300 yen for adults and 700 yen for elementary and junior-high students. The Obon special performances (12 to 15 August in 2026) are priced separately: only children of 2 and under go free, and only watching from a lap; from age 3 the child ticket is 1,000 yen, and tickets go on sale 90 minutes before each performance. Last entry to the Awa Odori Museum is 16:45. One family with a two-year-eight-month-old spent about three hours here, museum and show together.
- Ages 4-6The third-floor museum was renewed with digital technology in February 2024, adding an Awa Odori VR corner and game-like content where you dance and beat the instruments. In the shows, the audience participation corner teaches the steps from the stage and everyone dances. The fifth floor of the same building is the base station of the Bizan ropeway; about six minutes up, the summit looks out over the Tokushima plain, the Yoshino River and, far off, the Onaruto Bridge and Awaji Island.Tickets for all three — the show, the Awa Odori Museum and the Bizan ropeway — are sold at the tourist information corner on the first floor. Reservations are taken only for groups of 20 or more, so individuals simply come for a show time (daytime 40 minutes; evening from 20:00, 50 minutes). The museum is 500 yen for adults and 300 yen for elementary and junior-high students; on the ropeway an elementary-school child pays 500 yen one way and 800 yen return. The building closes on the second Wednesday of February, June, September and December.
By weatherRain, heat, cold
- Rainy dayThe performances and the museum are in the same building, reachable by elevator; only the Mount Bizan ropeway leaving from the fifth floor may change its operation in sudden weather.
- Hot dayNot checked yet
- Cold dayNot checked yet
Time needed3 h
How was it with your kids?
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Family checks✓ easy for your family
- ElevatorElevator：with conditionsconditions
- Stroller OKStroller friendly：with conditionsconditions
- RentalStroller rental：not checked
- NursingNursing space：with conditionsconditions
- ChangingDiaper changing table：with conditionsconditions
- Family WCFamily restroom：with conditionsconditions
- Own foodOutside food allowed：not checked
- EnglishEnglish support：with conditionsconditions
Tap a mark for details
* Other not checked (8)
Diaper disposal bin, Kids' toilet seat & step stool, Child switch (rider swap), Official family-friendly certification, Best-fit ages (guide), Crowding (guide), Quietness (guide), Lost-child support
Green = we confirmed it. Gray = not checked yet. Gray with a line through = the place does not have it.
Worth a look before you go
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
Three hours with a two-year-old. Do the museum first and touch the drums; on stage she recognized the instruments.
Three days in Tokushima with a two-year-old: six places that actually worked
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
One ticket covers museum, show and ropeway. Forty queued 20 min before the 11:00 show, and everyone stands up to dance.
Rediscovering Kochi and Tokushima #8: Awa Odori Kaikan, and looking back
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
A mother with a two-year-old and an eight-year-old: Tokushima ramen, then a walk to the evening show. Both danced along.
March 2026, a mother and two daughters, Tokyo to Shikoku: day 1
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
In February the ropeway was shut. Low season is cheap and empty, but that happens. They missed the 2F and 3F displays.
A Tokushima trip, part 2
Japanese · opens translatedGuide
On 12-15 Aug the usual program becomes special shows at 11:00, 13:00 and 15:00. Save your legs for the night streets.
What do you do in the daytime during Awa Odori?
Awa Odori Kaikan · Links & reads ▾
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Where it is
2-20 Shinmachibashi, Tokushima-shi, Tokushima 770-0904source
Before you go
- Facility reservations are not accepted from August 11 through 15.source
- The Bizan ropeway carries up to 28 adults at a time.source
- The tourist information corner on the first floor sells tickets for the Awa Odori hall, the Awa Odori museum, and the Bizan ropeway.source
- Show a disability certificate, the original rather than a copy, or something such as a Mirairo ID, and both the daytime and evening Awa Odori performances and the Awa Odori museum are free for the holder plus one companion, while the Bizan ropeway is half price.source
- Performance details and ropeway service can change because of a sudden turn in the weather or other outside circumstances.source
More notes (5)
- Reservations are taken only for groups of 20 or more, so individuals and small parties just come in time for a performance.source
- Group reservations cannot be made by phone alone; you send a group reservation request form by email or fax, accepted from one year ahead until the day before on a first come, first served basis.source
- The hall holds up to 250 people, but group reservations are capped at 200 so that seats stay open for individual visitors.source
- Groups pay in cash or with travel agency coupons only, as credit cards, electronic payments, and bank transfers are not accepted.source
- The parking section of the city's official tourism site lists 26 spaces for cars up to 1.55 meters tall at 160 yen for under 30 minutes, 330 yen under an hour, 660 yen under two hours, and 990 yen under three hours, with large vehicles directed to the 13-space tour bus lot out front, which must be reserved.source
Basics
- Fee：There is no single admission price - four things are charged separately. The daytime performance is ¥1,300 for adults and ¥700 for elementary and junior-high students; the evening performance ¥1,600 and ¥800. The Awa Odori Museum on the 3rd floor is ¥500 general and ¥300 for elementary and junior-high students. The Bizan ropeway on the 5th floor is priced on its own: ¥900 one way and ¥1,500 return for age 12 and up, ¥500 and ¥800 for elementary-school children, and Tokushima residents aged 18 and under ride free. The Moraes Gallery on the 5th floor costs nothing. The Obon special performances on 12-15 August are ¥2,000 for adults (high school age and up) and ¥1,000 for children (junior high age and under) - only children aged 2 and under go free, and only on a lap, so a three-year-old still pays ¥1,000. With a disability certificate or the Mirairo ID app, the performances and the museum are free for the holder and one companion, and the ropeway is half price. Spending ¥3,000 or more at Arudeyo Tokushima on the first floor gives an hour of free parking.source23
- Hours：The daytime performance runs four times a day, every day, at 11:00, 14:00, 15:00 and 16:00, and lasts 40 minutes. The evening performance is once a day at 20:00 and lasts 50 minutes. Both change during Obon: on 11 August 2026 both were canceled, and from 12 to 15 August the daytime show became a special performance at 11:00, 13:00 and 15:00 with no evening show at all. The museum on the 3rd floor opens 9:00-17:00, last entry 16:45. The ropeway on the 5th floor runs 9:00-21:00 from 1 April to 31 October, 9:00-17:30 from 1 November to 31 March, and 6:00-17:30 on New Year's Day. The shop on the first floor opens 9:00-20:00. Closing days are the second Wednesday of February, June, September and December (the next day if that is a public holiday) and 28 December to 1 January - the ropeway keeps running over the new year. Performances and the ropeway can be changed or suspended at short notice in bad weather.source
- Time to allow：3 hsource
- Booking：Individuals and small parties cannot book - you simply turn up in time for a performance. Reservations are only taken for groups of 20 or more, and those go by written request sent by email or fax, not by phone; they are accepted from a year ahead until the day before, first come first served. The hall seats 250 but group bookings are capped at 200 so that walk-in visitors keep seats. Facility bookings were not accepted at all for 11-15 August. Groups pay in cash or with travel-agency vouchers only.source23
Basics in detail (26)
Getting there
- The address is 2-20 Shinmachibashi, Tokushima City, Tokushima 770-0904, with phone 088-611-1611 and fax 088-611-1612.source
- The parking lot carries the wheelchair symbol, and the facility takes part in the parking permit program, per the prefecture's universal design map.source
- The hall's parking lot holds 26 cars and only takes vehicles up to 1.55 meters tall, a little over 5 feet, according to a visit from around January 2017.source
Hours and closures
- The daytime show is danced by the hall's own troupe, Awa no Kaze, four times a day at 11:00, 14:00, 15:00, and 16:00, and runs 40 minutes.source
- The evening show brings in one of the famous troupes, a different one each night, once a day from 20:00, and runs 50 minutes.source
- On August 11, 2026, both the daytime and the evening show are canceled.source
- From August 12 through 15, 2026, the daytime program becomes special performances at 11:00, 13:00, and 15:00, and the evening show is canceled.source
- Each 2026 Obon special performance runs 50 minutes at 11:00, 13:00, and 15:00, with tickets going on sale 90 minutes before each one.source
- The Moraes gallery is open 9:00 to 17:00 and follows the closing days of the Awagin Bizan Ropeway.source
- The Bizan ropeway runs 9:00 to 21:00 from April 1 through October 31, 9:00 to 17:30 from November 1 through March 31, and 6:00 to 17:30 on New Year's Day.source
- The hall closes on the second Wednesday of February, June, September, and December, or the following day when that Wednesday is a holiday.source
- It also closes from December 28 through January 1, although the Awagin Bizan Ropeway keeps running through that period.source
- The Awagin Bizan Ropeway is the one part of the complex left out of the year-end and New Year closure.source
- The next closing day is Wednesday, September 9, 2026.source
- Arudeyo Tokushima is open 9:00 to 20:00, shortening to 9:00 to 18:00 from December 21 to 27 and January 2 to 11, and inquiries go to the Tokushima prefectural industry internationalization support organization at 088-622-8231.source
- The fifth-floor Moraes gallery had been closed for the LED landscape lighting project and reopened on August 1, 2026.source
Fees
- Daytime admission is 1,300 yen for adults and 700 yen for elementary and junior high students.source
- Evening admission is 1,600 yen for adults and 800 yen for elementary and junior high students.source
- Tickets for the 2026 Obon special performances carry a numbered entry order and cost 2,000 yen for adults, high school age and up, and 1,000 yen for children through junior high.source
- At the 2026 Obon special performances, only children two and under go free, and only on a lap, so a child from age three through preschool pays the 1,000 yen child price.source
- Under group rates, one preschool child per adult is free, and each additional one is charged the elementary school rate.source
- The Awa Odori museum is open 9:00 to 17:00 with last entry at 16:45, and admission is 500 yen for adults and 300 yen for elementary and junior high students.source
- The Moraes gallery on the fifth floor, called Saudade, is a permanent display on Wenceslau de Moraes, the Portuguese writer who loved Tokushima, with about 40 items including a timeline, a replica of his statue, and photo panels, plus some 30 books, and admission is free.source
- Ropeway fares are 900 yen one way and 1,500 yen round trip for adults, meaning junior high age and up, and 500 yen one way and 800 yen round trip for elementary students, and questions go to 088-652-3617, a different number from the hall's.source
- The Bizan ropeway is free for Tokushima City residents aged 18 and under.source
- Spend 3,000 yen or more at Arudeyo Tokushima and you get one free hour at the hall's parking lot, the Bizan parking lot, or the Shinmachi underground parking lot.source
Once you've decided
evidence & sources (9)
- Public agency: Stroller friendly, Diaper changing table, Nursing space
- mamamap.jp: Diaper changing table, Nursing space, Family restroom
- wheelog.com: Stroller friendly, Family restroom, Steps & slope caution
- Official: Indoor / outdoor, English support, Stroller access notes
- ameblo.jp: Diaper changing table, Stroller access notes
- Official: Steps & slope caution, Stroller access notes
- barrier-free.net: Elevator
- funfun-tokushima.jp: Stroller access notes
The city of Tokushima opened the building in 1999, and its second-floor hall seats 250 people for nothing but Awa Odori. The resident troupe dances by day; in the evening one of the city's famous troupes takes the stage, in rotation. The third floor holds costumes, props and the drums and flutes of past and present, with hands-on booths. A ropeway leaves the fifth floor for Mount Bizan, six minutes up, with the Yoshino river and Awaji island in view.
| Stroller friendly | Yes | The entrance is a step-free automatic door at least 90 cm wide, and a wheelchair-accessible elevator takes you to the upper floors. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | maps.pref.tokushima.lg.jpwheelog.com |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diaper changing table | Yes | You can change diapers in the multipurpose accessible restrooms on each floor. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | mamamap.jpmaps.pref.tokushima.lg.jpameblo.jp |
| Nursing space | Yes | A simple lockable nursing space at the back of the 4th floor; hot water is available from the water station on the same floor. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | mamamap.jpmaps.pref.tokushima.lg.jp |
| Family restroom | Yes | Multipurpose accessible restrooms with a wheelchair-friendly sink and a baby changing sheet. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | maps.pref.tokushima.lg.jpwheelog.commamamap.jp |
| Diaper disposal bin | Not checked yet | ||||
| Kids' toilet seat & step stool | Not checked yet | ||||
| Elevator | Yes | A wheelchair-accessible elevator at least 80 cm wide, with handrails and voice guidance. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | maps.pref.tokushima.lg.jpbarrier-free.net |
| Indoor / outdoor | Indoor | The hall, the museum, the gallery and the shop are all inside one building. The ropeway that starts on the 5th floor goes outdoors, and it can stop at short notice in bad weather. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | awaodori-kaikan.jp |
| Outside food allowed | Not checked yet | ||||
| English support | English menu & signs | An English leaflet is available, and signs inside are in English, Chinese and Korean. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | awaodori-kaikan.jpmaps.pref.tokushima.lg.jp |
| Steps & slope caution | Barrier-free | Step-free entrance, with ramps, handrails and tactile paving inside. Wheelchair users are guided through a staff corridor to the front row of the hall. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | maps.pref.tokushima.lg.jpwheelog.comawaodori-kaikan.jp |
| Child switch (rider swap) | Not checked yet | ||||
| Stroller access notesExtra info — guide only | Yes | Three wheelchairs are lent inside the building - ask a member of staff. Wheelchair users watch the show from the front-row corner on the left of the seating, depending on how many need the space. Tickets for the hall, the museum and the ropeway are all sold at the tourist information counter on the first floor. Spending ¥3,000 or more at Arudeyo Tokushima gives an hour of free parking at the Awa Odori Kaikan parking lot, Bizan Parking or the Shinmachi underground parking garage. The hall's own parking lot takes 26 cars — passenger cars up to 1.55 m tall only (¥160 for under 30 minutes). | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | awaodori-kaikan.jpawaodori-kaikan.jpfunfun-tokushima.jpameblo.jp |
| Official family-friendly certificationExtra info — guide only | Not checked yet | ||||
| Best-fit ages (guide)Extra info — guide only | Not checked yet | ||||
| Crowding (guide)Extra info — guide only | Not checked yet | ||||
| Quietness (guide)Extra info — guide only | Not checked yet | ||||
| Lost-child supportExtra info — guide only | Not checked yet |
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