Moopon

The Ohara Museum of Art was Japan's first museum of Western art. It is a private museum consisting of three adjacent buildings next to the canal and a separate building located in Ivy Square.

The Main Gallery building was constructed when the museum was founded, and features most of the museum's highlights. On display are masterpieces of Western art by Picasso, El Greco, Gauguin, Modigliani, Rodin, Klee, Pollock and Kandinsky among others. The artists in the collection span a wide variety of periods and nationalities.

it features a number of works by Japanese artists, and includes both oil paintings and sculptures. The Craft Art Gallery displays ceramics, woodblock prints, stencil dyeing, and other crafts. The Asiatic Art Gallery includes artifacts from Egypt and antiques from China.

The final building, the Kojima Museum, is located a five minute walk away in Ivy Square and is included in the admission fee. It is a gallery for Kojima Torajiro, a Japanese artist who painted in the Western style.

The main buildings of the Ohara Museum are located at the northern end of Kurashiki's historic canal area. The Kojima Museum is located about 200 meters away from the other buildings, just across the canal within Ivy Square.                                                     

Hours: 9:00 to 17:00 (last entry 16:30)
Closed: Mondays (unless Monday is a national holiday), December 26 to 31
Admission: 1300 yen (includes entrance to the Kojima Museum)
English audio guide available free of charge

Ivy Square is a complex of brick buildings covered in ivy.

This building houses cafes, shops, exhibition spaces, museums and a hotel. .

This is quite a pretty and interesting place to wander around.

The area was the site of the first modern cotton mill in Japan, and the brick buildings were originally built as part of the mill in 1889.

During the Edo Period (1603-1867), before the construction of the mill, the site was used as the office of the local magistrate, who exercised control of the city as a direct representative of the shogunate.

In building Japan's first modern cotton mill, the Kurashiki Bosekijo (Kurashiki spinning mill) company, also known as Kurabo, reaped the profits of introducing new industrial techniques to the country.

The company is still active today in the textile and various other industries.

Kurabo has built a memorial hall in one of the former cotton warehouses which traces the company's history to the present day.

A number of other museums are located within and around Ivy Square.


 

Momotaro Karakuri Museum

The story of Momotaro (Peach Boy) is one of the most famous legends in Japan, and it takes place in the region around Kurashiki. Although The Momotaro Museum is a museum dedicated to Momotaro, it is not just a museum of artifacts. While there are some old books and Momotaro artwork on display, the museum is also a fun display of optical illusions. The ticket salesperson will walk you through the first floor of the museum and show you the various tricks. It's fun and quite cute!
                                                    
Hours: 10:00 to 17:00 (extended hours during the summer) 
Closed: No closing days 
Admission: 600 yen(100yen for a 5 years old or less child)
No English Information

Korakuen is a beautiful landscape garden and Okayama's main attraction. Along with Kanazawa's Kenrokuen and Mito's Kairakuen, Korakuen is ranked as one of Japan's three best landscape gardens. It is located just beside Okayama Castle, which can be seen from the garden as "borrowed scenery".

The local feudal lord ordered the construction of Korakuen in 1687 as a place of entertainment for the ruling family and a location for receiving important guests. Occasionally, the public was permitted to enter the garden.
In 1884, a few years after the end of the feudal era, Korakuen became the property of Okayama Prefecture and was opened to the public. The garden suffered damage from floods in 1934 and bombing during the war, but it has always been restored to its original state thanks to the accurate records kept by the garden's designers.

Korakuen is a spacious garden that incorporates the typical features of a Japanese landscape garden, including a large pond, streams, walking paths and a hill that serves as a lookout point. Rather unique for a Japanese garden, however, are Korakuen's spacious lawns. Also found in the garden are groves of plum, cherry and maple trees, tea and rice fields, an archery range and a crane aviary.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Korakuen is about 1.5 kilometers or a 25-30 minute walk east of Okayama Station. Trams on the Higashiyama Line can be taken to Shiroshita stop (5 minutes, 100 yen, frequent departures) from where the garden's south gate can be reached in a 10-15 minute walk. Alternatively, a bus runs between Okayama Station and Korakuen-mae bus stop (20 minutes, 140 yen, every 15-25 minutes), which is located just beside the garden's main gate.

Note that there are two entrances to Korakuen: a main gate beside the Prefectural Museum and a south gate near the bridge that crosses to Okayama Castle.

  Hours: 7:30 to 18:00 (March 20 to September)
             8:00 to 17:00 (October to March 19)
Admission ends 15 minutes before closing time.
Closed: No closing days
Admission: 400 yen (Korakuen only)
                 560 yen (Korakuen and Okayama Castle; not available during special exhibitions at the castle)
Various other combination tickets are available

The Kibi Plain located outside central Okayama City was the center of the Kibi Kingdom, an ancient, powerful clan.  Historical attractions such as such as burial mounds and shrines are located on the plain.

The Kibi Kingdom is famous for the Legend of Prince Kititsuhiko.  Prince Kibitsuhiko is a prince from a rivaling clan (Yamato Clan).  He came to the kingdom to defeat an ogre.  From this legend, the famous folktale of Momotaro emerged.  Momotaro is a story of boy, born from a peach, who defeated a group of terrorizing ogres.  

Cyclists will be happy to learn a popular 17 kilometer long cycling route through the Kibi Plain between Bizen-Ichinomiya and Soja Stations. This route loosely follows the legend of Prince Kibitsuhiko and passes several important shrines, temples and burial mounds along the way. 

Though visitors can start the route from either side, the route is slightly easier to locate if begun from Bizen-Ichinomiya Station.  
A “mama chari” single speed bicycle can be rented rented at either station.  Users can return the bicycle at the other end or at Bitchu-Kokubunji Temple .                                   
                                                                    

Koikui Shrine (literally "carp eating shrine") is famous for the location where Prince Kibitsuhiko first subdued the ogre. After the ogre transformed and fled as a bird, the prince changed into a hawk to hunt him down. As a result, the ogre made the deadly mistake of changing into a carp, whereas the prince turned into a cormorant.                 
Koikui Shrine
Hours: Always open 
Closed: Opened all year round 
Admission: Free 

Tsukuriyama Kofun
The Kibi Plain is home to several burial mounds (kofun) which were constructed during the Kofun Period (300 to 538). Tsukuriyama Kofun is the largest in the region, and was the largest kofun in Japan at the time of its construction. On the top of the mound is a shrine visitors can visit. There is also a trail along the top of the kofun that offers beautiful views over the surrounding plains.                      

Bitchu-Kokubunji Temple founded in 741 is a 34 meter tall, five story pagoda. Near the temple is a bicycle shop rental shop where bicycles can be rented or returned.
Alternatively, there is a bus to Soja Station for visitors who do not wish to cycle the route’s last section (approximately 5 kilometers).

Bitchu-Kokubunji Temple
Hours: 7:30 to 17:00 
Closed: Opened all year round
Admission: Free