Naruto City

鳴門市

Naruto a city with a population of about 55,000 is located at the eastern end of Shikoku and the north-eastern end of Tokushima prefecture, on the western side of the Naruto Straits, from which the city takes its name. The site below Naruto Bridge is famous for its whirlpools (Naruto no Uzushio). To the west of the city are the temples Ryōzen-ji and Gokuraku-ji, the first two of a total of 88 stations on the “Shikoku Buddhist Pilgrimage Route”. It is also home to the German House of Naruto, a venue dedicated to fostering German-Japanese friendship, and an exhibition on the history of the “Bandō Prisoner of War Camp”, where Beethoven’s 9th Symphony was performed for the first time in Japan.