Location: Okayama
Top Things to do in Okayama
The 10 Best Things to do Good for Kids in Okayama, Chugoku
Okayama (岡山市, Okayama-shi, Japanese: [okaꜜjama]) is the capital city of Okayama Prefecture in the Chūgoku region of Japan. The city was founded on June 1, 1889.
Restaurants in Okayama
1. Okayama Korakuen Garden
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,709 reviews
In 1687, daimyo (feudal lord) Ikeda Tsunamasa ordered his vassal Tsuda Nagatada to begin the construction of a new garden. The groundwork took 13 years until 1700, but since then the garden has retained most of its original appearance across the Edo period (1603-1868) until the present day. The garden was used as a retreat for the daimyos as well as a place for entertaining their guests, although people of the fiefdom too could visit it on certain occasions. As time went by, successive daimyos slightly modified the garden adding and removing hills, lawns, ponds and buildings, but the initial concept of Korakuen as a wide, bright space offering beautiful inner and outer vistas remained constant and unaltered. In 1884, the ownership of Korakuen was transferred to Okayama Prefecture and the garden was opened to the general public: since then it is carefully managed as a historical cultural asset to be passed down to future generations.
Reviewed By 798ellenr - Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Canada
We stopped here on a day trip from Kyoto to Hiroshima on the Shinkansen. It is one of the three great Japanese strolling gardens and even in the rain it was magnificent with its plum blossoms, lake, rice fields, camellia garden and more. We saw Geisha strolling and a view of the adjacent castle.It was magical!
2. Handayama Botany
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 48 reviews
Reviewed By 298philipc
This is an easy place to visit from Okayama station by bus 77 from platform 13 for 150 yen. Bus journey is about 15-20 mins and its a short 5 min walk to the garden entrance. We did not take the train as it runs every 30 mins just like the bus and you have to walk ca 15-20 mins from the station to the garden. There are paved roads in the garden to walk, plenty of birds of various species, and definitely a place for spring sakura (cherry blossom) visit. This place seemed not to have a lot of visitors which is a shame as its well maintained, trees labeled with species name. There is no cafe or a place to eat inside. We found a very nice cafe called Canal cafe ca 50 m from the return bust stop by accident and had a very good lunch - highly unexpected and delightful with a friendly owner ( studied in NY and runs a real estate business) and his dad helping out.
3. Saijo Inari
4. Nishigawa Canal Park
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 126 reviews
Reviewed By geelongexpat - Chatan-cho, Japan
Interesting walkway through the city. The garden along the canal is pretty. There are lots of statues and quirks along the way. You can also dart off to a restaurant or convenience store as well.
5. AEON MALL Mall Okayama
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 432 reviews
Reviewed By TheDoor_isopen - Tuggeranong, Australia
I had to get directions from Tourist Information for this mall as it wasn't well signposted. You can however, walk through the myriad of tunnels to it from Okayama Station. There's a Tokyo Hands and Aeon Style store and many other chain stores. There are a lot of "beauty" and clothing shops and a comprehensive world wide supermarket, wine shop and information centre. It's one of the biggest malls I've seen so far in Japan. It can be a bit overwhelming.
6. Okayama Electric Tramway - Tram System
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 303 reviews
Reviewed By PandaHouston - Houston, United States
We came to Okayama for the day and combined it with a visit to Kurashiki which I highly recommend. While trying to visit Okayama Castle and Korakuen Garden, we took the tram from the Okayama Train Station to ease up on all the walking. One of the cars we got in was named Tama, a cat, and it was super cute. Even the inside was decorated with her likeness. The ride costs 100 yen per person and it is a cheap and easy way to move around Okayama. And who knows, you might end up on a super cute tram.
7. Ikeda Zoo
8. Sun Station Terrace Okayama
9. Momotaro Statue
Overall Ratings
3.5 based on 298 reviews
Reviewed By jesdaap - Bangkok, Thailand
It is very impressive that officials involved in Okayama's tourism are aware of Momotaro who was the protagonist of the Japanese folk tale : the boy who was born from an peach and lived with poor grandparents who didn't have their own child in a remote village and traveled with friends(dog, monkey and pheasant) to defeat the demons, brought the treasure home and made the grandparents well-being better with gratitude. . Travelers who come to Okayama by train will meet Momotaro as soon as they leave the station building. When they receive more information about Momotaro, the impression will increase and was known why Okayama people love Momotaro and created Momotaro symbols throughout the city.
10. Okayama Airport Observation Deck
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