Gourmet Flyer As of this writing, Kurashiki is still relatively unknown to most tourists, especially to the international travelers from the Western world. This makes it a perfect destination if you want to escape from the hustles and bustles of Osaka for a day of peaceful and relaxing exploration in a village-like environment with historical backdrops. The area worth seeing is rather small, so a day trip is definitely enough. In fact, I think you even have time to swing by the Okayama Castle on your way back. So, I am also including that as an optional side trip.
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Getting There
From Shin Osaka Station take the shinkansen to Okayama. The fastest Nozomi train takes about 45 minutes. From there take the JR Sanyo local train to Kurashiki. Departures are quite frequent during the day and you’ll most likely be able to board one within 10 – 15 minutes. Upon arrival at the station, go downstairs to the underground pedestrian walkways and follow signs to the “Bikan Historical Area” exit. You’ll then walk along the main highway Kurashikichuo-dori for about 10 minutes.
NOTE: I do NOT recommend taking the shinkansen to Shin-Kurashiki. Firstly, this route is only served by the Kodama trains with very limited frequency, and it also takes much longer. But more importantly, that station is far from where we want to explore and you need to take another train or a taxi to get to the final destination, which is not efficient, and really defeats the purpose of taking a shinkansen.
Bikan Historical Quarter
The Japanese Kanji characters of Kurashiki (倉敷) roughly mean a town or village of warehouses, which was what the city actually was dating back to the Edo Period. Much of the Edo era architecture is still preserved and there are plenty of authentic ancient buildings.
One of the main streets is Honmachi Dori which is lined by those white-walled traditional houses that have been converted into shops, small museums, cafés, and restaurants. One of most prominent products displayed and sold is locally produced denim, also known as “sailcloth”. The jeans in the stores here are all handmade locally using their own denim — a one-of-its-kind that you cannot find anywhere else.
There are several small museums that you can explore, some of which are free. For example, the Kurashiki Monogatarikan (shown above) is a local museum which was once the Higashi-Ohashi residence in the Edo Period. A more famous destination is the Ohara Museum of Art (admission ¥2,000) which exhibits Western masterpieces by legendary artists such as Picasso and Renoir. My wife and I didn’t go there because we were more in the mood of immersing ourselves in Japanese culture and a captivating environment rather than to see Picasso and companions.
Canal Area
The canal area is without a doubt the centerpiece of the attraction. White-walled traditional buildings line both sides of the waterway while weeping willows hang gracefully over the water. Its quaint and picturesque landscape offers some of the most charming and romantic backdrops for portrait photography and is an immensely popular spot for wedding pictures.
If you are lucky enough to be here during cherry blossom season, you’ll find the scenery and atmosphere greatly enhanced by the blooming Sakura flowers.
What is going to be a most memorable and romantic experience is a Private Kimono Photo Walk. Imagine yourself dressed up in a traditional Japanese kimono and stroll around the quaint and most charming Bikan Historical Quarter. You will be led by a private professional English-speaking guide who knows every twist and turn of every street and alley in the area. In additional, your guide will even take pictures for you along the way.
Boat Ride
What you see here at the historical center is a preserved section of the old canal system which was originally built for boats known as gabbards to transport rice to the seaport. Now you can relive the experience by getting on one of the 20-minute “traditional boat tours” (¥700).
Note that tickets to these boat rides sell out very fast in the morning. My wife and I got there around 10:30am on a weekday in the slow season and the earliest tickets available were for the 3:00pm tour. Tickets for the entire day sold out soon afterwards. If you really want to get on one of those boats, my strong recommendation is to purchase the tickets as soon as you arrive, before you do anything else! The ticket booth is located inside the Tourist Information Office on the opposite side of the canal from the dock.
You get to wear one of those cool Asian conical hats known as kasa and relive a re-creation of a past era. Moreover, you also get to see the area from a different perspective from the water. Whether it is the flowering branches that you brush by, the weeping willows that you sail under, or the ancient stone bridges that you pass from below, it is a scene to behold and a moment to remember.
Lunch
Many of the smaller restaurants are located along Honmachi Dori, the shopping street that I mentioned earlier. On both sides of the canals are some of the larger (and probably more expensive) restaurants that offer a variety of delicious Japanese cuisines. My wife and I went to this amazing restaurant called Kiyū-tei (directions) that is housed in a charming and rustic building with a small courtyard (shown above).
My wife had a dish of grilled Bisei pork marinated in honey, shio-koji Perilla, and ginger sauce and that was out of this World. The meat was tender and carried a medley of unique flavors that harmoniously blended together to produce a most delicious taste.
I opted for the traditional omuhayashi which was a Japanese chicken fried rice dish topped with a soft, very moist, and fluffy omelet. It was accompanied by a rich demiglace that had a hint of wine. This, too, was amazing. I highly recommend this restaurant but note that they had a long waitlist when we were there, and I saw them eventually turning away customers.
Optional Side Trip
Depending on how long you like to linger there to soak up every ounce of the enchanting scenery and mesmerizing atmosphere, you realistically have time to swing by the Okayama Castle on your way back to Osaka. After you’ve taken the local train back to JR Okayama Station, catch the streetcar (tram) heading towards the Higashiyama direction and get off at Shiroshita. From there it is about a ten-minute walk.
The castle is unique in its appearance due to special construction materials. Its tenshu is covered with black clapboards, earning it the nickname of “crow castle”. The grounds span a large area of about 35 acres which include a sprawling garden with spectacular landscapes. The structure is also rich in history. Completed in 1597, it was one of the country’s original samurai era castles.
Note that they close at 5:30pm and to worth the trip there, you should allow at least two to three hours to fully explore the place. Therefore, you probably need to wrap up your day trip to Kurashiki shortly after lunch to give you enough time to visit the castle before returning to Osaka.
