Ikedachō

Located at the crossroads of central Shikoku on the banks of the Yoshino River and surrounded by lush green mountains, Ikeda has a long history serving as a commercial and travel hub for the region. For decades the products from the Iya Valley and outlying areas moved through here to markets elsewhere, travelling by boat down the river to Tokushima City and beyond, with the main cash crop traded out being tobacco. Reaching its heyday in the 1960s and 70s, Ikeda also became famed for its high school baseball team, and for anyone in Japan born before 1980, they will almost certainly have heard of how this obscure little town would repeatedly win and/or be the team to beat in the national championship.

Nowadays, Ikeda is a lot more subdued. The tobacco industry collapsed in the 1980s, and what was a large processing plant for the crop has now been rebuilt into the town's main shopping center. As the river has been dammed, boats no longer ply the route to Tokushima (though the lake created has a tranquil atmosphere), and its been decades since the local boys have won a baseball championship, and qualifies for the tournament very occasionally. The main shopping arcade which extends from the station is no longer bustling, and the large majority of shops and pubs there are either devoid of customers or simply closed up.

It remains the areas administrative center with banking, hospital, and various other residential services, and for the traveler it continues to be a transport hub for the region, though most people only pass through or just stock up on supplies here as the more remote valleys and mountain areas lack the stores Ikeda still has to offer (few that they may be compared to larger Shikoku towns).

Money and communications:

By train:

Awa-Ikeda Station is along the JR Dosan Line, which slices across the heart of Shikoku from Kubokawa and Kochi through the Oboke and Koboke gorges in the south to Tadotsu, Takamatsu and then Okayama in the north.

From Okayama, a stop on the San'yo Shinkansen, Awa-Ikeda can be reached on the hourly Nanpu limited express service (90 minutes; ¥3510).

The JR Tokushima Line also terminates here, the trip from Tokushima taking about 70 minutes on the Tsurugisan limited express service (¥3240), or two hours by local train (¥1580).

There is no charge for these trains with the Japan Rail Pass.

By bus:

From Osaka or Kobe, Hankyu Bus runs several a day from either city that go to the main Awa Ikeda Bus Terminal (阿波池田ＢＴ), located in the town center within the same parking lot as the Frespo shopping center (see "Buy"), and about a 3- or 4-minute walk to the train station. The trip to/from Osaka/Kobe takes about 4 hours and runs at about ¥4500. Discounts can be had if travelling round trip.

Long distance night buses from Tokyo stop at the Miyoshi Highway Bus Stop, which is located in neighboring Highashi Miyoshi-cho Town in the Mikamo district at the Yoshinogawa Service Area (aka "Highway Oasis") rest stop, about 15 minutes or so east of central Ikeda by car. This bus stop is called Miyoshi BS (三好ＢＳ) and is not a final destination, but rather a stop along the way with buses traveling between Tokyo and Kochi city. Tickets can be had for anywhere from ¥6000 to ¥12,000 (depending on day or seat style), and depart either direction around 9PM and arrive about 06:30. Online English language bookings can be found at the JR Bus Kanto website (though sometimes English bookings on the site can be tricky, so you may end up to calling their English operator or write by email).