Kurashiki City borders the Seto Inland Sea in the Chugoku region and is located in the southern part of Okayama Prefecture, west of Okayama City. It is designated as a core city and boasts the third largest total population in the Chugoku region.
Kurashiki City is formed by diverse areas with different characteristics, including the Kurashiki Bikan Historical Area with its beautiful white-painted walls along the Kurashiki River, Kojima, a mecca for clothing production, school uniforms, and jeans, Mizushima, where you can visit one of Japan's leading factory complexes and enjoy night views of factories, and Tamashima, where foreign trade and a bullet train station are located. Tamashima is home to overseas trade and a Shinkansen station.
The Kurashiki area is the center of tourism. In the Edo period (1603-1867), the town flourished as a territory directly under the control of the shogunate. The Bikan Historical Quarter, with its beautiful white-walled streets, includes the Ohara Museum of Art, Kurashiki Folk Art Museum, Kurashiki Ivy Square, and the Kurashiki Archaeology Museum. Hommachi Street and Higashimachi Street offer a serene atmosphere where visitors can enjoy the scenery as it was in the past.
There are also other hot spots such as the Yumiko Igarashi Museum of Art and Mushibunko, making Kurashiki a sightseeing spot where you will discover something new every time you come.
Kojima is known as the birthplace of domestic jeans. Kojima developed as a textile town during the Meiji Era (1868-1912). Kojima Jeans Street has many stores selling jeans, and you can experience making your own original jeans.
The former Nozaki Family Residence, located at the entrance of Jeans Street, is a nationally designated important cultural asset where visitors can learn about Takezaemon Nozaki, who once prospered as a salt producer. Visitors can also try their hand at salt making, and it is recommended to visit the area in conjunction with the salt making experience.
A little further away, at the foot of the Seto-ohashi Bridge, is the Shimotsui area where Washuzan Observatory is located, and the Shimotsui octopus is a must-try local delicacy. It is also a good idea to go see the dried octopus that has become a winter tradition in this area.
The Mizushima area, which has developed as an industrial town, is one of the leading waterfront industrial areas in Japan, known as the Mizushima Industrial Complex. The recommended way to enjoy the area is, of course, to experience industrial tourism. You can tour the factories of Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, Asahi Kasei Corporation, JFE Steel Corporation, and others.
The night view of factories from Washuzan Skyline, which has been selected as one of the 100 best night views, is also worth seeing.
The area, with its rows of willow trees swaying in the wind, white walls and sea cucumber walls casting a beautiful contrast and casting shadows on the Kurashiki River, retains much of its traditional Japanese architectural beauty. There are many cultural facilities such as the Ohara Museum of Art, which has a collection of world-famous paintings, a folk art museum, and an archaeology museum....»
Okayama prefecture has one of the highest amount of octopus catch in Japan. The octopus from Shimotsui, Kurashiki in Setonaikai Sea where the sea current is fast is said to be tasty with its firm flesh and unique texture. It is of high quality. Takomeshi, a specialty of Kurashiki, is a dish of octopus cut in small pieces and cooked together with rice. The fragrant of the sea spreads in your mouth....»
Eating fresh shako (mantis shrimp) from the Setonaikai Sea as sashimi (raw). Shako becomes thinner and thinner as time passes after it dies as it produces an enzyme that melts its flesh. Being able to eat it raw means it is very fresh. It is tasty with soy sauce, but is even better with sudachi citron....»
This udon noodles is 2cm wide and 1m long, with springy texture that fills your stomach. It is a specialty of Tamashima which ascetic monks of Entsuji preferred to eat. The year when Entsuji was built is unclear, but it was rebuilt by a zen priest called Tokuou Ryokou in 1698 during the Edo period, and changed its name to the current name during the Shotoku years between 1711 and 1716. During the ...»
Bukkake udon is a dish of boiled udon noodles topped with various ingredients and seasonings and a little bit of だしsoup poured over. The noodles and soup can be served hot or cold, and have more ingredients and various seasonings compared to those of other prefectures. It is said that each household has its own bukkake udon. The soup has a strong taste, particularly with a sweet taste, which is in...»
Fry soft conger-eel, specialty of Tamano city, mix with rice cooked with cereals, and fry together with sweet and salty kabayaki sauce. It is exceptionally delicious when you eat it together with a softly boiled onsen egg on top of it. It is a taste that is addictive. Conger-eels contain a lot of vitamin A and vitamin E, which are good for healthy skin. Moreover, it has less than half of the fat o...»