Spots in Okayama Area

  • Life Park Kurashiki Science Center
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    4.5
    14 Reviews
    Leisure / Hobbies
    Okayama Pref. Kurashikishi Fukudachou Koshinden 940
    Life Park Kurashiki Science Center is a multipurpose facility located in Koshinden, Fukuda-cho in the city of Kurashiki, just north of Mizushima Ryokuchi Fukuda Park. Kurashiki Science Center contains a planetarium that projects images of the entire sky, while the Kurashiki Archeological Center collects and exhibits artifacts dug up in the city. The Kurashiki Civic Learning Center is used for public lectures, while the Kurashiki Information and Learning Center and the Kurashiki Education Center offer classes and training in various fields.

    プラネタリウムがリニューアルをしたそうで、かなり集客アップしていると 新聞で読みました。 入場料が500円にアップしていますが、65歳以上は無料とのこと。 新しくなって見ごたえがあると友人とその孫が言ってました。 私たちは4月に一度行きましたが、月曜日は休館日でした。 平日は、午後の上映しかしていないようなので、 次回はきちんと調べてから伺います。

  • Okayama Kinshu Kaikan
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    3.5
    17 Reviews
    Travel / Tourism
    Okayama Okayama-shi Kita-ku Marunouchi 1-1-15
    This wooden, western-style building was built in 1923. It was originally built as a temperance center, to help rehabilitate those whose lives had been damaged by alcohol. It was used in a variety of temperance related activities. Despite its wooden structure, it survived the bombing of Okayama, and is now a registered Cultural Property with the Agency for Cultural Affairs. The first floor is a religious bookstore and a retro cafe. The second floor and third floor hold rental offices and meeting rooms.

    There is a retro building beside Nishite Yagura scaffold. This used to be an office of anti-smoking movement. It was built in Taisho Time, about 100 years ago. Now it is a coffee shop.

  • RSK Rose Garden
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    4.0
    15 Reviews
    Leisure / Hobbies
    Okayama Pref. Okayamashi Kita-ku Natsukawa 1592-1
    RSK Rose Garden is a botanical garden located along Prefectural Route 73 in Natsukawa, Kita Ward, in the city of Okayama. The main attraction is 15,000 rosebushes of 450 varieties that bloom from mid May to mid-June and from mid-October to late November, but visitors can also admire plum blossoms, cherry blossoms, peonies, and wildflowers that bloom over the course of the four seasons. There is a restaurant in the garden, Shogin-an, which serves soba noodles made with 100% buckwheat flour.

    広い園内に色とりどりの薔薇が満開に咲いています。ベンチが至る所にあり、ゆっくり眺めれました。暑い日でしたが、木陰で休んでいると、風と共に薔薇の香が漂って何とも言えない心地良さでした。

  • Shingon Sect Bekkaku Honzan Yugasan Rendaiji Temple
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    4.0
    16 Reviews
    Travel / Tourism
    Okayama Pref. Kurashikishi Kojimayuga 2855
    This temple is located in the Kojima Yuga area of Kurashiki City. It was built in 733 by Gyoki with the 11-headed Kanzeon Bodhisattva as its principal image. It is believed to by the sacred mountain for the mixing of Buddhism and Shinto that is adjacent to the Yugasan Shrine known as the head temple for warding off evil.

    躁本殿に日本一とか書かれた厄除け大不動が鎮座しています。大きさと、ギラギラ輝く背後の火炎に圧倒されます。宝物館では円山応挙の絵を含め、多くの襖絵や壁絵が展示されています。飾られた生け花も見事です。

  • Roadside Station Miyama Park
    Transportation
    Okayama Pref. Tamanoshi Tai 2-4464
    This roadside station is located along National Route 30 in the Tai area of Tamano City. It has a direct sales corner selling agricultural goods such as local vegetables and rice and fresh fish, and a cafe that offers items including rice bowls using grilled conger eel. In addition, besides the English garden “Miyama British Garden” inside the spacious park, there is a walking and play zone where you can enjoy nature throughout the four seasons starting with the approximately 7,000 cherry trees.
  • Sakushu Castle East Mansion
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    3.5
    15 Reviews
    Travel / Tourism
    Okayama Tsuyama-shi Nakanocho 19
    A 10-minute drive from Tsuyama Interchange on the Chugoku Expressway. This free to access service area is a restored Edo period townhouse with eye-catching classic white walls and a fire lookout tower. Built in 1993 the original townhouse on this site was used for educational services in roles including a primary school, the Okayama Prefectural Tsuyama Handicraft Vocational School, a secondary school, and a preschool. It's a two-story wood constructed building with plastered Namako patterned walls, latticed windows, and a roasted cedar exterior. The interior reproduces the elegance of an Edo period townhouse. Behind the house is the Danjiri Exhibition Hall in which four Danjiri portable shrines that have been designated Cultural Properties of the Prefecture are displayed.

    駐車場と建物の北側に数台のだんじりが展示してあります。凝った彫刻で立派です。建物自体は広い畳敷きの立派なもので、ふすまがきれいです。

  • Mitsui Outlet Park Kurashiki
    Shopping
    Okayama Pref. Kurashikishi Kotobukichou 12-3
    Located approximately a three-minute walk from the north exit of JR Kurashiki Station, it is one of the largest outlet malls in the Chugoku region. It is conveniently close to the Kurashiki Interchange. The open two-story building has about 120 shops including fashion, sundries and sports equipment stores. There are also stroller rentals, nursing rooms, diaper changing rooms and children's rooms, making it a shopping mall for the whole family to enjoy all day long.
  • Kumayama English Garden
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    3.5
    15 Reviews
    Travel / Tourism
    Okayama Pref. Akaiwashi Tonodani 170-1
    A highly unique English garden created on the grounds of a closed elementary school located a 20-minute drive from the Sanyo Interchange on the Sanyo Expressway. The garden was designed by English gardener and researcher Kay Yamada. The old school building is used as a multipurpose hall for parties and events, and as a greenhouse where rare plants are kept. The garden holds ceramics classes, aromatherapy experiences, flower arranging classes, and more. There's also a cafe where you can enjoy a break while taking in a view of the garden's seasonal flowers and plants.

    花がメインです。 イベントもやれるようです。 無料開放してました。 バラの花等が好きな人には良いと思います。

  • Hiruzen Bear Valley Ski Resort
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    3.5
    14 Reviews
    Leisure / Hobbies
    Okayama Pref. Maniwashi Hiruzenhonkayabe 644-105
    This ski resort is located along Prefectural Route 58 in the Hiruzen Honkayabe area of Maniwa City. Besides four kinds of courses, a snowboard park and kids park, there is a center house with facilities such as restaurants and shops. In addition, there is also a ski school recognized by the Ski Association of Japan.

    2019年は暖冬で一度も行けなかったので約2年ぶりに再訪しました。 新雪でふかふかの雪に加え、ほとんど客がいないガラガラのスキー場で周りをあまり気にせずスキーを楽しむことが出来ました。

  • Old Samurai Manor
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    3.5
    14 Reviews
    Travel / Tourism
    Okayama Maniwa-shi Katsuyama 651
    This gallery is about a 10-minute walk from JR Chugoku-Katsuyama Station. It uses the well-preserved manor of Watanabe Tobe, a retainer who served Miura Akitsugu. This upper class warrior's home has been here for some 200 years, and is also known as Watanabe-tei. Beyond the Nagayamon gate you'll find the main hall and earthen-walled warehouses. In 1986, the warehouses were renovated to repair deterioration with age and now one is used as a gallery. It displays armor, clothing, old documents, and other materials related to the samurai family.

    勝山に残る唯一の武家屋敷。このあたりの高台は武家屋敷のあったところで、渡辺家は家老の次の位の家柄とのこと。家柄を反映して、門構えが立派です。入館料200円で邸内見学させていただきました。門構えや玄関、客間が最も広くて立派につくってあり、家族が暮らす座敷などは奥の方。部屋と部屋の間に廊下などはない。体面を重んじる武士の家らしいつくり。

  • Hiruzen-Kogen Heights Cycling Route
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    4.5
    11 Reviews
    Travel / Tourism
    Okayama Maniwa-shi Hiruzen
    This biking and walking trail is in the Hiruzen area of Maniwa City. With a total length of 30 kilometers, it seems to wrap around Mt. Hiruzen. The scenery is spectacular, with views of the Hiruzen Three Peaks, Mt. Daisen, and more, for an easy taste of nature. There are bicycle rental offices, and you can even try a tandem bicycle for two limited to the Hiruzen Heights Bicycle Trail. The Roadside Station Hiruzen Kogen also offers children's bicycle rentals, so it's recommended for families.

    I liked the course so much that I did it twice. Landscape changes so its more interesting. You go through hills, pastures, fields and down the river. There are many flowers on the way. Take good...

  • Gion Shrine
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    4.0
    13 Reviews
    Travel / Tourism
    Okayama Kurashiki-shi Shimotsui 1-13-16
    A six-minute drive from the Kojima Interchange on the Seto Chuo Expressway. Perched on a hill on the western side of Shimotsui Port, this shrine is on the grounds of the former Nagahama Castle. It was founded during the Muromachi period as Nagahama-miya Shrine to house the local tutelary god of the castle but then in the Edo period the god Gion Okami was transferred to the shrine and the name of the shrine changed to Gion Shrine. As a guardian of the sea, Kitamaebune shipping route sailors donated the tamagaki fence that surrounds the shrine as a prayer for safety and it bears the names of the sailors. The grounds of the shrine offer a great view point of both the Seto Ohashi Bridge and the port. Around here, you will find many monuments engraved with poems about Shimotsui and Setouchi composed by poets and novelists who visited this town.

    須佐之男命を祭神とする古式に則る神社。境内には昭和天皇を始めとする歌碑句碑がたくさんある。瀬戸大橋と瀬戸内海の眺めは絶景。

  • Nishie Residence
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    4.5
    11 Reviews
    Travel / Tourism
    Okayama Takahashi-shi Nariwacho Sakamoto 1604
    This important historical and cultural building left from the height of the Edo period is about a 25-minute drive from Nimi Interchange off the Chugoku Expressway. In the Edo period, the Nishie house fell under direct control of the government and became an official location for the local government representative. The structure retains its condition from the Meiji period. After the family lost their positions, they took up work in iron oxide dye (or red ocher) making for paints and pigments, with apparently great success. In addition to experiencing the novel forms, fresh color, and original melanterite designs, you can try red ocher dyeing yourself.

    You will be excited to find the residence is the origin of Bengara ,a kind of red color painted in Imari Porcelain which is very famous to export to Europe in 19 century. Ukiyoe was painted the paper...

  • Former Residence of Mitsukuri Genpo
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    3.5
    13 Reviews
    Travel / Tourism
    Okayama Tsuyama-shi Nishishinmachi 6
    A 10-minute drive from the Tsuyama Interchange on the Chugoku Expressway. The former home of late Edo period Western Scholar Mitsukuri Genpo where he lived until age 13, located within the Joto Townscape Historical Preservation District along the former Izumo Highway. In 1976 the main building, kitchen, courtyard, and water wall were faithfully restored to how they would have been during the late Edo-period and the house was designated a National Historic Site as a prime example of Edo-period form. The house and grounds are free to enter and Mitsukuri's family tree is on display in the storehouse.

    平日だったためか、津山観光センターに車を置くことができ(駐車無料)、重要伝統的建物群保存地区の津山市城東地区へ徒歩で向かった。ここと隣の「津山洋学資料館」はセットで訪問されることをお勧めする。 当方は箕作を「みつくり」と読むことも知らなかった。西洋医学を日本に伝えた重要人物がここ津山にいたとは。まさか「美作」の字源? この旧家も無料で開放されており、庭も含め大変端正に手入れがなされていた。訪問者に...

  • Bizen Municipal Hinase Sports Park
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    3.5
    6 Reviews
    Leisure / Hobbies
    Okayama Pref. Bizenshi Hinasechousougo 380-36
    This park is located in the Sogo area of Hinase Town, Bizen City. In addition to the gymnasium with an arena and training gym, it has sports facilities such as a baseball field, tennis court, archery field, multipurpose field and ground golf course, and a children’s space with large playground equipment.

    そこまで、広い公園ではありませんでした。 季節の花々も、ありました。 よく、整備されていましたので、気持ちよく過ごせました。 また、行きたいです。

  • Bengarakan
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    4.0
    5 Reviews
    Leisure / Hobbies
    Okayama Pref. Takahashishi Nariwachoufukiya
    "A 40-minute drive from the Niimi Interchange on the Chugoku Expressway. A museum operating out of a renovated Meiji period ferric oxide (known by the Dutch-derived term ""bengara"" in Japanese) factory in Fukiya Furusato Village. Fukiya Furusato Village was designated a National Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings in 1977 and it was ferric oxide production which created the village's foundation. The museum presents how the factory made ferric oxide, which was developed as a red pigment. The elegant museum building's walls are painted with ferric oxide paint; inside visitors can get a taste of the village's heyday when ferric oxide production was at its height and experience the quiet passage of time through the surrounding old townscape."

    ベンガラを精製しているいわば工場群といったところです。とは言え当時のこと随分と人力が必要のようです。駐車場も広いので行き易いと思います。

  • Miyama British Garden
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    3.5
    13 Reviews
    Travel / Tourism
    Okayama Pref. Tamanoshi Tai 2-4470 Roadside Station Inside Miyama Park
    This garden is located inside Miyama Park along National Route 30 in Tai, Tamano City. It opened in 2000 as a commemoration project for the 60th anniversary of Tamano becoming a city. Designed by the British garden technician Peter Thurman with the concept of a traditional British garden in the 20th century, it is possible to enjoy the four seasons in the garden with its eight separate gardens each with different themes.

    たまたま行った日が、高校生のイベントをしている日だったのでいつも以上にいろいろとデコられていてかわいらしかったです。

  • Nishinoya Mimasaka Store
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    3.0
    14 Reviews
    Transportation
    Okayama Pref. Mimasakashi Nyuta 145-1
    This restaurant is located along the Izumo Highway in Nyuta, Mimasaka City. Besides restaurants and a parlor offering local cuisine such as the Okayama specialty of matsuri-zushi (scattered sushi), special chanpon (hearty noodle dish with pork, seafood and vegetables), set meals, rice bowls, noodle dishes, seasonal courses and hot pots, there is also a souvenir corner that sells Okayama specialty products.

    岡山美作の西の屋美作店さんへ訪問。 昼食でカツ丼を食べました。 なかなか美味しかったです。 また、行きたいです。

  • Uno Minato
    Transportation
    Okayama Tamano-shi Chikko 1-3
  • Takahashi City Local Museum
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    3.5
    13 Reviews
    Travel / Tourism
    Okayama Takahashi-shi Mukocho 21
    This museum is about a 10-minute walk from JR Bitchu-Takahashi Station. The main building was the old Takahashi Combined Elementary and Higher Elementary School, which was built in 1904, and is now a designated municipal Important Cultural Property. It was preserved as an important representative of early Meiji architecture in 1972. Inside, it holds a collection of over 3,000 pieces of daily life items gathered with help from residents, and range from the Edo period through the early Showa eras. They offer a tangible sense of history. The ceiling of the meeting hall, with its Momoyama-style double-height stepped construction, offers a grand sense of the Meiji period.

    説明書からですが、明治37年旧高梁尋常高等小学校として造られた明治洋風様式の建物です。現在は市の重要文化財として指定され、地元の諸道具などが展示しています。

Okayama Areas

around-area-map

Overshadowed by Hiroshima to the west and the Kansai region to the east, Okayama is an easy spot to miss but a nature-rich gem where the Seto Inland Sea laps at its toes and peach and grape farms complete its interior. One of Japan’s Three Great Gardens, Koraku-en in Okayama city is well worth a visit before progressing to Kurashiki, where preserved wooden Edo buildings line the picturesque canal.

Okayama Photo Album

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