Okayama and Kurashiki

Okayama is the capital of the prefecture of the same name, located between Osaka and Hiroshima on the Sanyo shinkansen line. It is also the main rail junction for Shikoku, for Matsue and the Sea of Japan coast, and for the art islands of the Inland Sea. The city grew up along the Asahi River, where Okayama Castle, with its dark walls, stands, and across the water is Korakuen, one of Japan’s three most celebrated gardens.

The region is linked to the legend of Momotaro, the boy born from a peach who, with the help of a dog, a monkey and a pheasant, defeats an ogre. Statues of the hero appear at the station, and Kibitsu Shrine, in the west of the city, honors the prince whom tradition associates with the story. The surrounding Kibi Plain has ancient burial mounds, temples and a cycling route through rice fields.

Kurashiki is about 15 minutes by train to the west. The Bikan district, the historic center, preserves a canal lined with willows and white-walled warehouses with black tile bands, from the time when the city was a rice and cotton trading post governed directly by the shogunate. There is also the Ohara Museum of Art, the first museum in Japan dedicated to Western art.

Okayama and Kurashiki are visited together in one or two days, and serve as bases for Naoshima via Uno Port and for Bitchu-Matsuyama Castle, on a mountain to the north. The region is known for white peaches and grapes, and Kojima, south of Kurashiki, for jeans.

This destination brings together 2 cities: Okayama, Kurashiki.