Wonderful Okayama-Kurashiki-Naoshima 1 Night 2 Day Backpacking Trip Part 1

March 2020 · 4 min read

In this post I'd like to show you my trip to Okayama Prefecture. Have you ever heard of it?

Okayama prefecture is the biggest city in the Chugoku region of Japan, and it is the center of a transportation hub. Okayama has historical sightseeing spots, cultural activities and magnificent natural places waiting to be explored.

How To Get To Okayama

There are many ways to get there including by car, bullet train or bus. For tourist who can't drive a car, the easy way is to take the bullet train or bus. The bullet train is definitely faster than the bus but is also a bit more expensive. If you have the Japan Rail Pass you can save even more money. The Japan Rail Pass is limited to temporary visitors staying in Japan 15-90 days for sightseeing. This time I took the express bus from Osaka to Okayama, which takes about 3 hours. I chose the bus because it is the cheapest and most convenient way. I took the bus around 7 a.m. Ryobi Express bus has free wifi and a charger at every seat. That' great!!

I arrived at Okayama Station. Okayama is peaceful and not busy. People always take the bus, train or electric tram here. It's the opposite of Osaka, which is crowded and busy.

I had a lot of stuff so I headed to drop off my luggage at the hotel first so I could travel light.

After dropping off my luggage at the hotel, I decided to go to Kurashiki, and took the train about 15-20 minutes there.

Kurashiki

Kurashiki is a charming merchant town along a beautiful canal with willow trees, and is well known for making denim jeans in Japan.

I walked through the shopping district to Kurashiki Bikan Historial Quarter. While walking I smelled some delicious Japanese sweets from Ebisu Manju (えびす饅頭), the smell of Ebisu Manju was inviting me to taste it. Haha!

Of course I did! This sweet is called Ebisu Manju, like the shop's name. It's made of red beans covered with soft wheat.

Kurashiki has museums, art gallaries, cafes, shops and restaurants in traditional houses. I stopped at a cute masking tape shop that sells a popular souvenir from Kurashiki. These masking tapes are made from Japanese paper, with more than 350 designs to choose from.

It seems there was an event today in the Kurashiki Bikan Historial Quarter. I saw photographers setting up and looking for good locations to get great shots. I heard that Miss Universe and some famous Japanese female athletes are going to participate in this event. They are going to wear denim costumes and walk around Kurashiki Canal.

The Traditional Boat Tour of Kurashiki Canal is a favorite of tourists that I highly recommend. I spent about 3-4 hours here and then moved to Okayama city. I was hoping to visit Okayama Castle and Korakuen Garden.

Unfortunately, it was too late. Okayama Castle was closed, So I just took photos outside of the castle with the light up.

Okayama Castle or Crow Castle was built in Azuchi-Momoyama Period in 1957 and after it was destroyed in World War 2, it was reconstructed in 1966. The Korakuen Garden is located across the river.