Discover 11 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Okayama (Japan). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Kōraku-en, Okayama Castle, and Kibitsuhiko Shrine. Also, be sure to include Kibitsu Shrine in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Okayama (Okayama).
Table of Contents
Kōraku-en
Also known as: 後楽園
Edo period gardens dating from 1700. Kōraku-en is a Japanese garden located in Okayama, Okayama Prefecture. It is one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan, along with Kenroku-en and Kairaku-en. Korakuen was built in 1700 by Ikeda Tsunamasa, lord of Okayama. The garden reached its modern form in 1863.[1]
Address: 1-5 Korakuen, 703-8257 Okayama
Okayama Castle
Also known as: 岡山城
Historic castle site framed by gardens. Okayama Castle is a Japanese castle in the city of Okayama in Okayama Prefecture in Japan. The main tower was completed in 1597, destroyed in 1945 and replicated in concrete in 1966. Two of the watch towers survived the bombing of 1945 and are now listed by the national Agency for Cultural Affairs as Important Cultural Properties.
In stark contrast to the white "Egret Castle" of neighboring Himeji, Okayama Castle has a black exterior, earning it the nickname Crow Castle (烏城, U-jō) or "castle of the black bird". (The black castle of Matsumoto in Nagano is also known as "Crow Castle", but it is karasu-jō in Japanese.)
Today, only a few parts of Okayama Castle's roof (including the fish-shaped-gargoyles) are gilded, but prior to the Battle of Sekigahara the main keep also featured gilded roof tiles, earning it the nickname Golden Crow Castle (金烏城, Kin U-jō).[2]
Address: 2-3-1 Marunouchi, 700-0823 Okayama
Kibitsuhiko Shrine
Also known as: 吉備津彦神社
Shinto shrine in Okayama, Japan. Kibitsuhiko Shrine, is a Japanese Shinto shrine in Okayama, Okayama in the Chūgoku region of the island of Honshu.[3]
Address: 1043 Ichinomiya, 701-1211 Okayama
Kibitsu Shrine
Also known as: 吉備津神社
Shinto shrine in Okayama, Japan. Kibitsu Shrine, is a Shinto shrine in Okayama, Okayama Prefecture, Japan. The Honden-Haiden is a National Treasure and the sole exemplar of the kibitsu-zukuri style of architecture, although the Soshidō of Hokekyō-ji is now believed to have been modeled thereon.[4]
Address: 931 Kibitsu, Kita-ku, 701-1341 Okayama
Okayama Prefectural Museum of Art
Also known as: 岡山県立美術館
Museum in Okayama, Japan. The Okayama Prefectural Museum of Art is located in Okayama, Okayama Prefecture, Japan. It is one of Japan's many museums which are supported by a prefecture.
The museum, by architects Okada & Associates, opened in 1988 and has a collection of around two thousand works.[5]
Address: Okayama, 8-48 Tenjin-chō, Kita-ku
Okayama Orient Museum
Also known as: 岡山市立オリエント美術館
Museum in Okayama, Japan. Okayama Orient Museum is a museum of Ancient Near Eastern, Roman provincial, Byzantine, Sassanian, and Islamic Art in Okayama, Okayama Prefecture, Japan. As of 2007 there were some 4,852 items, including winged Assyrian reliefs. The museum is a prize-winning design by Okada & Associates.[6]
Address: Okayama, 9-31 Tenjin-chō
Yumeji Art Museum
Also known as: 夢二郷土美術館
Museum dedicated to Takehisa Yumeji. Yumeji Art Museum is an art museum in Okayama Prefecture split between the Honkan in Okayama and the Yumeji Seika and Shonen Sanso built in Setouchi, the birthplace of Yumeji Takehisa, a poet and artist who was active in the early 1900s.[7]
Address: 2 Chome-1-３２ Hama, Naka-ku, Okayama-shi, 703-8256 Okayama
Hayashibara Museum of Art
Also known as: 林原美術館
Museum in Okayama, Japan. The Hayashibara Museum of Art is an art museum owned by the Hayashibara Group, and located at 2-7-15 Marunouchi, Kita-ku, Okayama, the site of a former guesthouse beside the inner moat of Okayama Castle. Its 6,832 square meter interior was designed by Kunio Maekawa.
The owner of the collection was Ichiro Hayashibara, and the museum was opened in 1964, to honor his final wishes to display his collection to the public after his death. The museum owns approximately 10,000 artifacts from Hayashibara's personal collection, including swords, armor, and pottery collected by Mr. Hayashibara, and Noh costumes, furniture, paintings, and Japanese lacquer from the Ikeda clan. The museum itself has limited space, so exhibits are rotated four to five times per year.[8]
Address: 2-7-15 Marunouchi, Kita-ku, 700-0823 Okayama
Kita-ku
Also known as: 北区
Kita-ku is one of four wards of Okayama, Okayama Prefecture, Japan. The ward has an area of 451.03 km² and a population of 295,312. The population density is 655 per square kilometer. The name means "North Ward."
The wards of Okayama were established when Okayama became a city designated by government ordinance on April 1, 2009.
The city has its municipal headquarters in kita-ku.
The South Korean government maintains the Korea Education Institution (Korean: 오카야마한국교육원, Japanese: 岡山韓国教育院) in Kita-ku.[9]
Takamatsu Castle
Also known as: 高松城
Takamatsu Castle of Bitchū Province was a Japanese castle in what is today the city of Okayama in Okayama Prefecture. Like most Japanese castles, it was built in the late 16th century, during the Azuchi–Momoyama period.[10]
Address: 558-2 Takamatsu Kita-ku, Okayama
Okayama Symphony Hall
Also known as: 岡山シンフォニーホール
Concert hall in Okayama, Japan. Okayama Symphony Hall is a concert hall in Okayama, Okayama, Japan. It opened in 1991 and seats 2,001. Yoshinobu Ashihara was the architect, with acoustical design by Nagata Acoustics.[11]
Address: Okayama, 1-5-1 Omote-chō, Kita-ku