Tokushima

Tokushima sits at the eastern edge of Shikoku, where the Naruto Strait’s violent whirlpool currents produce some of Japan’s finest madai. The Kii Channel delivers ika, aji, and katsuo, while the prefecture’s iconic sudachi citrus appears as a garnish on nearly every counter. What makes Tokushima’s sushi scene remarkable is the concentration of chefs who trained at top Tokyo and Osaka establishments — Ginza’s Karaku, Tokyo’s Aozora — then returned to build intimate counters serving local fish at a fraction of metropolitan prices.