Anan, Hiwasa (Minami Town) Travel Guides

Anan and Hiyorisa are home to tourist attractions such as Oshima Island, Yasaka Shrine, and Kenzan, tourist events such as the Gion Festival, Awa Odori Dance, and Sagicho, and local delicacies such as Tokushima Ramen, tarai udon, and fish cutlets.

Anan City is an area located in the southeastern part of Tokushima Prefecture. It is the eastern municipality of Shikoku. It faces the Kii Channel and the Pacific Ocean, and is designated as the Muroto Anan Coast National Park. It is the mouth of the Nagawa River, the longest river in the prefecture, and the Kuwano River runs through the city.

The Tomioka and Tachibana districts, which are castle towns located in the east of Tokushima Prefecture, have different urban areas. The most common industry is the bamboo industry, and the city boasts the largest production of bamboo shoots in Japan.

During the Edo period (1603-1867), they were used by the Kyoto-Osaka area. The city is highly productive in the mining industry, and is home to the Wakasugiyama Ruins, the only cinnabar mining site in the country during the Kofun period (burial mounds).

Today, the town is a famous domestic producer of fluorescent paints and light-emitting diodes, and is also known as "Anan, the City of Light" because it is the first town in Shikoku where the sun rises.

Hiyorisa Town is famous for its beaches at Ohama, sea turtles landing and laying eggs, and Yakuo-ji Temple, which is a temple to ward off bad luck. In fact, 90% of the town is actually inland, and all of the coastal areas are steeply sloped due to the mountains.

The city is flanked by Mt. Okage and Mt. Tamaguriko, and a river flows into the sea to divide the mountainous area. The rivers flow into the sea, and the space between the rivers is where people used to live, and there are many legends about this topographical aspect.

Hiyohisa is also an old town with a long history, and like other old towns in the prefecture, it has various legends about the contributions of Kobo Daishi.

There are also numerous legends about the battles of the Genpei clan and the fallen warriors of the Heike clan. According to the town history, there are also a great many stories of tengu and raccoon dogs that were active in the mountains, and there are also a great many legends about the deeds of the Chosokabe clan as if they were evil people.

Many of these legends are collected in the "History of Hiyorisa Town" and "Hiyorisa no Mukashi Banashi", a collection of stories told by the elderly people's club.