Okayama & Kurashiki

Day 1: Okayama

We started our weekend trip going to Okayama. Okayama Castle (岡山城) is also known as "Crow Castle" because it has a black exterior quite opposite that of the "Egret Castle," Himeji Castle. Okayama Castle was destroyed in World War II and has since been reconstructed. Inside the castle there is a pottery class, a souvenir shop, and a small restaurant where we ate lunch.

Right next to the garden is the Okayama Korakuen Japanese Garden. It is considered one of the three great gardens of Japan. The garden was built about 300 years ago. It was one of the biggest gardens we have visited, and we enjoyed taking a nice stroll around it. It would be even more beautiful to visit during the springtime.

  

Day 2: Kurashiki

The next day we caught a train to Kurashiki. Usually, we use Google Maps to figure out what train we need to take. This time Google recommended a train at a certain platform and listed the normal ticket price. The train looked different from the others that we had taken, but when we boarded no one asked for a special ticket so we assumed we could use it like any other train. We were wrong. Once the train was moving an employee came by and asked for a ticket. She did not speak English and we did not have a ticket. The train was France-themed and had books and old artifacts like record players and old telephones. Eventually an English-speaking employee came by and they were kind enough to let us get off at the next stop, which was our destination, without paying an extra fee. Apparently, we had boarded a tourist train called "La Malle de Bois" which means wooden suitcase in French. The train connects Okayama Station to Uno Port, running only once a day. Luckily, the train stops at Kurashiki station before heading to Uno Port. Otherwise, we would have ended up somewhere much farther away! #thanksgooglemaps.

    

After our exciting adventure on our train mishap, we made it to Kurashiki. Kurashiki has a preserved canal that dates back to the Edo Period. You can walk around the canal and see museums, boutiques and cafes. There is also a denim area that has many shops selling famous Japanese denim, which was a concept we were unfamiliar with. There are boats rides you can take on the canal. We saw a bride and groom with some of their groomsmen taking one of these rides. The area was filled with Japanese and foreign tourists alike walking around. There were various restaurants that offered scrumptious food. One popular item was takotamago (タコ卵) which is a quail egg stuffed into the head of a skewered octopus. We were both so stuffed after eating lunch that we did not try takotamago but it's on our list of foods to try in the future.