From Miyajima, we hop on a few local trains and make our way to Kojima, Okayama. From Kojima Station we take a taxi to the sea where I booked a Japanese inn or ryokan for the night. All the rooms face the Seto Inland Sea. What makes it an Inland Sea, you say? Well, it gets this name as it is situated between the main island of Honshu and the smallest of the four major islands, Shikoku. It spans from the the northeastern part of Kyushu to Osaka Bay and has thousands of islands of varying sizes scattered throughout.
We spend one night here and wake up to a beautiful sunrise over the islands dotting the Inland Sea.
After breakfast we catch a commuter train from Kojima back to Okayama City. Outside the station is a statue of Momotaro. There is a Japanese folktale, that originated in Okayama, about an old couple without children who found a baby in a giant peach. They raised the baby as their own and gave him the name Momotaro, momo being the Japanese word for peach. When he grew older he went on a quest to defeat demons on a distant island and a dog, a monkey and a bird joined him on the way. This particular morning a brave pigeon also joined their party.
From the station we head to the big draw of Okayama City, its castle. It’s about a 25 minute walk and pretty much a straight line down the center of the city. There are trams that run throughout the city, but as the weather was nice, we went by foot. We pass Okayama Shrine, it’s little charms like this that make walking through any Japanese city, really, such a treat.
Right next to Okayama Castle is Korakuen. As to not be confused with the park of the same name in Tokyo, you may often see it referred to as Okayama Korakuen. Here we take a break for some matcha and momo flavored soft serve ice cream. Early blossoms are just starting to pop up here and there.
Walking through the park leads to a bridge that goes right to Okayama Castle. Due to its black color it is often called the “Crow Castle”, which Matsumoto Castle in Nagano is also called, I guess Okayama can’t catch a break with original names. It is adorned with both golden fish gargoyles and peaches.
Okayama was a nice little stop in the middle of our trip out west. I recommend it as a nice place to stay for a weekend by the sea. In the city the castle and Japanese garden are worth a visit even as a day trip if you are in the area. But for us, we didn’t stay too long, because our last stop of our four-day trip was waiting only an hour away. At about midday we jumped on a shinkansen to Kyoto.
One thought on “Okayama”
Loved the photo of the “Crow Castle.” What are the wheel shaped structures below it?
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