Page 216 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide: Japan

214  JAP AN REGION B Y REGION

Koraku-en Garden in Okayama, with carefully landscaped mounds and an artificial lake
w Inbe main sights are just over 1 km rental pad dleboats shaped like
(half a mile) east of the station. swans and teacups. More items
A highlight is the Koraku-en owned by the Ikeda clan,
Okayama prefecture. * 38,000. Garden, one of Japan’s “famous no tably armor, swords, pottery,
£ n in Inbe JR stn (0869) 64-1100. three” gardens. Com missioned lacquerware, and a collection of
_ Bizen-yaki Matsuri (Pottery Festival,
3rd weekend in Oct). by Lord Ikeda, it was completed Noh costumes, are on view at
in 1700. Though a classic stroll the Hayashibara Museum of
The home of Bizen pottery, garden, it was the first in Japan Art, just south of the castle.
Inbe has a huge range of shops, to use large expanses of lawn in To the northeast is the Orient
galleries, and kilns. Originating the overall design. The garden is Museum, tracing how Near-
in the Kamakura period, Bizen- divided into three sections and Eastern art reached and
ware is earthy, unglazed, features bamboo, pine, plum, influenced Japan via the Silk
and prized by tea-ceremony and cherry trees, along with tea Route. The nearby Okayama
enthusiasts. The Bizen Pottery bushes. The nearby castle is Prefectural Museum of Art
Traditional and Contemporary incorporated into the compo- has an interesting collection of
Art Museum, near the station, sition as “borrowed scenery,” mostly 20th-century Japanese
has modern pieces and superb a classic device in Japanese paintings and a few works by
examples from the Muromachi, gardens. Also included are older artists including the
Momoyama, and Edo periods. streams and a pond crossed 15th-century master Sesshu.
by an elegant red bridge.
P Bizen Pottery Museum Okayama Castle is nick- Y Koraku-en Garden
Tel (0869) 64-1400. Open 9:30am– named the “Crow’s Castle” due @ Koraku-en-mae stop.
5:30pm. Closed Mon. & to its black walls. Destroyed Open daily. &
in World War II, the exterior of E Okayama Castle
the 16th-century castle was Open daily. &
e Okayama faithfully reconstructed in 1966.
OkayamaThe interior has an authen tic P Hayashibara Museum of Art
Open Tue–Sun. &
period collection of palanquins,
Okayama prefecture. * 693,000. samurai helmets, swords, and P Orient Museum
k £ n outside JR stn (086) 222- the like. Visitor facilities include Tel (086) 232-3636. Open Tue–Sun. &
2912. _ Saidai-ji Eyo (3rd weekend an elevator to the top of the
in Feb). ∑ city.okayama.jp P Okayama Prefectural Museum
four-story keep, and in of Art
The former center of a domain the river below Tel (086) 225-4800. Open Tue–Sun. &
ruled by the feudal Ikeda fam ily, the castle,
Okayama today is a vibrant r Kurashiki
modern city, much visited
by Japan ese tou rists who Kurashika
come to marvel at the Seto Okayama prefecture. * 478,000.
Ohashi Bridge (see 193), £ n North building, 2nd Floor
connecting Okayama (1-7-2 Achi) (086) 424-1220.
with Shikoku, which is ∑ city.kurashiki.okayama.jp
over 13 km (8 miles)
long. Trains now reduce Civic pride and a strong
the crossing time, which preservation ethic have saved
used to take an hour by The reconstructed keep of Okayama castle, with its the Edo-period mercan tile
ferry, to 30 minutes. The striking black walls town of Kurashiki from the
For hotels and restaurants see pp304–5 and pp331–3

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Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Catalogue template “UK” LAYER
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Date 12th July 2013
Size 125mm x 217mm