My planned itinerary before actual departure was to spend one day in Okayama, and another in Kurashiki. For the former, the places I’d be checking out would include the Korakuen Garden, Okayama Castle, Yumeji Art Museum, Ishizekicho, and Tenmaya Mall. Most visitors seem to combine both places on a single day, on account that Kurashiki is just an 11-minute train ride away from Okayama. So, I decided to follow suit and keep just the two most important places to visit in Okayama — Korakuen and the Castle — and cover both spots in the morning, then spend the rest of the day in Kurashiki.
Getting to Okayama was fairly easy again: the opening hours of Korakuen were 9AM, so working backwards and taking into account the time it’d take to walk the 1.5km between Okayama Station and the garden, I took the 7:53AM Shinkansen out of Hiroshima — the ride was covered again by the JR Pass — and 34 minutes later, I was in the city.
Korakuen is Okayama’s main attraction and is considered one of Japan’s top three landscape gardens. The other two being Kenrokuen in Kanazawa (which we should be visiting in December), and Kairakuen in Mito. Past admission — ¥560/SGD7.20 for a combo ticket that includes admission to Okayama Castle just nearby — you go up a small slope and will be treated immediately to a jaw-dropping sight of how vast the garden is. It was slightly drizzling again during this morning visit, so I had to balance the umbrella with the Sony A73!
Summary: Korakuen truly is a must-visit spot, and ranks among the three most impressive gardens and parks I’ve checked out this trip. Allocate between an hour to one and a half hours for it.
My exploration of Okayama Castle continues in the next post!
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