Naruto City

No timetable: a button calls the ferry.

Shimada Ferry, Doura to Shimada

01 ／ Wanwan Kite (わんわん凧)

The round giant kite "wanwan" is saidto take its look from a bowl of mochi.

It is said that in June of the 5th year of Genroku (1692), during the raising ceremony for the rebuilt Renge-ji temple in Okazaki village, a master carpenter flew a round kite, and this was the origin of the Naruto giant kite. The city explains that the pattern, red around the edge with the middle left white, took its hint from mochi served in a red-lacquered bowl to celebrate.

1692 (Genroku 5)
24 m diameter (a record from the peak years)
City-designated Intangible Folk Cultural Property

02 ／ Fukunaga Residence (福永家住宅)

Beside the house lies an irihama-stylesalt field, designated with the grounds.

The Fukunaga family, in the Naruto Salt Field Park on Takashima, ran a salt-making business for generations. Six buildings, including the main house (1828), are a nationally designated Important Cultural Property, and an irihama-style salt field adjoins the north of the estate. It is not open at all times; it opens to the public twice a year, in spring and autumn.

Main house: 1828
6 buildings
Important Cultural Property (1976)

03 ／ Doitsu-bashi Bridge (ドイツ橋)

Design and construction alikewere done by interned German soldiers.

In the Taisho era, German soldiers held at the Bando prisoner-of-war camp in Ohasa built a stone arch bridge using European techniques. It stands in the grounds of Oasahiko Shrine and is a prefectural historic site. A two-arch spectacles bridge (Megane-bashi) was built at about the same time.

Designed and built by German soldiers
Prefectural Historic Site (2004)
Megane-bashi (spectacles bridge)

Living here

125 minutes to Osaka, 85 to Sannomiya.

about 50,000 people

In 1947 the four towns and villages of Muya (撫養), Satoura (里浦), Naruto and Seto (瀬戸) merged to form Nannan City (鳴南市), which was renamed Naruto City two months later. It then took in Otsu (大津) village, Kitanada (北灘) village and Ohasa (大麻) town to reach its present area. The gateway is Naruto Station, and highway buses stop at "Kosoku Naruto".

People living here: 54,622people
Area: 135.66km²
Households: 22,472households
Rent (average for rentals): 37,072yen
Healthcare: 7 hospitals ／ 48 clinics

Area and habitable land at the same scalee-Stat B1101 / B1103

Children waiting for childcare: —19 nurseries and similar
Home purchase subsidy: —
Average annual temperature: —

These 3 items are waiting on a nationwide data source. We do not fill them with estimates.

ACCESS

Where you can go from here.

Naruto City in Japan34.173°N 134.609°E

to OsakaHighway bus125min
to SannomiyaHighway bus85min

Travel times follow 徳島バス『高速バス徳島－大阪梅田・なんば・USJ（大阪線）』の2026年10月1日〜10月31日の運行カレンダー（PDF・2026/8/24 更新）と、同『徳島－高速舞子・三宮・新神戸（神戸線）』の時刻表（最終改定日 R5.10.1）。大阪線の10月のPDFを画像で見て、下り（大阪→徳島方面）のうち便106・107（徳島バス）に平日のみ・土日祝のみの色は付いていない (checked 2026-09-30). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 5 municipalities across 1 prefectures.

Territory of Naruto City

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

13.4km

Tokushima Prefecture: 板野町, 松茂町, 藍住町, 北島町
Kagawa Prefecture: 東かがわ市

Naruto City isthis kind of town.

01The Shimada Ferry is one of the ferries run by Naruto City, linking Doura (堂浦) and Shimada (島田) on Shimadajima island on an irregular schedule. It does not run when there are no passengers, and if it does not come on time, you press the button at the landing.
02The round giant kite "wanwan kite", said to date from a raising ceremony in 1692 (Genroku 5), is a city-designated intangible folk cultural property, and the Fukunaga Residence (a salt-maker's house) is a nationally designated Important Cultural Property.
03The area overlooking the whirlpools of the Naruto Strait is the nationally designated Place of Scenic Beauty "Naruto", and the official tourism site also introduces the Otsuka Museum of Art and the German House, linked to Beethoven's Ninth.

See the town as it is now.

Instagram@narutocity_official ↗

Source: Wikidata (P2002, P2003, P2013, P2397)

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Naruto City official site ↗Wikipedia ↗