The famous Peeing Boy Statue

Tokushima Prefecture is known for its beautiful nature, and if you'd like to explore some of the more untouched areas of Japan then a visit to this island won't let you down. One of the most popular places for tourists is the Iya valley, a place written 祖谷 in Japanese and, because of the kanji characters normally being read as So and Ya, often mistakenly gets read by outsiders as Soya. In Iya valley you can find steep mountains and deep gorges with rough nature and marvellous views ideal for anybody who likes to be surrounded by nature.

Tokushima Prefecture is situated on the Shikoku island, and as many rural areas in Japan the small prefecture is struggling with a decreasing number of people who can sustain the local community. I recently had the pleasure to travel around Tokushima (you can also check out my post about my visit to the Iya Valley or an abandoned school made cafe) and in this post I'll introduce the village of Nagoro, a place where the vast majority of the inhabitants are dolls.