Brad Templeton's Photography
West Honshu

West Honshu

To tour western Honshu, we got a room in a Ryokan right at the train station in Okayama. Normally tourists don't spend much time there, so the place was cheap, and just a short walk from the Shinkansen. With our rail pass, we were able to use it as a base to explore the area. 22 minutes to Hameji and the castle. 45 minutes to Hiroshima. 10 minutes to Kurashiki. An hour to Kyoto if we hadn't already been there. Well worth it to avoid packing and repacking.

In addition, the Okamisan (matron) of the Ryokan was happy to guide us to restaurants, walking us all the way there in spite of our insisting we just needed it pointed out on the map. We had the local Sushi and it was just delicious. Even the cheap late night restaurant, while not stellar, was quite decent for 11pm.

Okayama also has one of the "three great" gardens of Japan, and in this case they actually list the three so it's not an idiom.

(I've decided to list the three great sets of three of Japan, which are of course the three most scenic places, the three finest gardens, and the set of the great sets of three itself.)

There are also panoramas of Himeji and the garden in Okayama.

A painter paints one of the old houses on the canal in Kurashiki
(768 x 1024 - 150K)
A painter paints one of the old houses on the canal in Kurashiki
A solo red tree in Kraku-en Garden, Okayama
(1280 x 960 - 145K)
A solo red tree in Kraku-en Garden, Okayama
The view of Himeji Castle, judged the best still-original castle in Japan
(1280 x 853 - 125K)
The view of Himeji Castle, judged the best still-original castle in Japan
Another view of Himeji.  This one you can climb inside.  A woman at the gate offered free tours in English.  We met up with some other people from San Francisco who do Thanksgiving Tourism (it's cheap) and took the tour.
(1280 x 853 - 159K)
Another view of Himeji. This one you can climb inside. A woman at the gate offered free tours in English. We met up with some other people from San Francisco who do Thanksgiving Tourism (it's cheap) and took the tour.
From the top of Himeji Castle, you can see the Shaci-gawara fish which, they claim, would hopefully spout water in a fire.   Somehow I doubt they really thought that, but they look cool.
(1280 x 853 - 179K)
From the top of Himeji Castle, you can see the Shaci-gawara fish which, they claim, would hopefully spout water in a fire. Somehow I doubt they really thought that, but they look cool.
Kurashiki's main tourist attraction is not the old downtown, but its Denmark-Land.  The Japanese love theme parks that recreate foreign places.  I didn't get to the one that has the Canadian village
(1280 x 853 - 95K)
Kurashiki's main tourist attraction is not the old downtown, but its Denmark-Land. The Japanese love theme parks that recreate foreign places. I didn't get to the one that has the Canadian village
Along the canal in Kurashiki
(1280 x 853 - 160K)
Along the canal in Kurashiki
More of the canal in Kurashiki
(1280 x 853 - 144K)
More of the canal in Kurashiki
A pretty canal, though that's about all.  The rest is souvenir shops.
(1280 x 853 - 142K)
A pretty canal, though that's about all. The rest is souvenir shops.
Koi in the canal
(1280 x 853 - 61K)
Koi in the canal
It looks like an impossibly thin building in Okayama, but it's really triangular.
(683 x 1024 - 74K)
It looks like an impossibly thin building in Okayama, but it's really triangular.
Okayama castle (the black castle, to contrast white Himeji)  from Koraku-en garden
(1280 x 853 - 161K)
Okayama castle (the black castle, to contrast white Himeji) from Koraku-en garden
Another view of the castle from the garden
(1280 x 853 - 118K)
Another view of the castle from the garden
Pretty trees in the autumn garden
(683 x 1024 - 157K)
Pretty trees in the autumn garden
Workers rake the ponds in the garden
(1280 x 853 - 169K)
Workers rake the ponds in the garden
Bamboo forest in Koraku-en
(1280 x 853 - 231K)
Bamboo forest in Koraku-en
A pond with bridge and fields of plants in Koraku-en
(1280 x 853 - 153K)
A pond with bridge and fields of plants in Koraku-en

Lost in Japan Index

Modern Kyoto | Old Kyoto | Nara | Driving to Mie | Leonid Meteor Storm
Miyajima | Hiroshima | West Honshu | Takayama | Tsukiji Fish Market
Ginza | Modern Tokyo | Tokyo (Misc) | Bridges of Tokyo 12 | Tokyo-above