Tokushima Prefecture

Tokushima Prefecture, on the eastern end of Japan's Shikoku Island, is linked by bridge to mainland Honshu. It's the traditional starting point of an island-wide pilgrimage route, which stretches 1,200km and encompasses 88 Buddhist temples (more than a quarter of them in Tokushima). The prefecture's remote Iya Valley, part of Tsurugisan Quasi-National Park, has steep gorges, river rapids and vine suspension bridges.