| Okayama Pop. 627 thousand |
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Explanation of Signs - Scenic tourist destination: the number
of star (from 1 to 4 ) corresponds
to the
degree of excellence of the location.- Tourist destination with historic heritages
and/or cultural assets: the number
of star
(from 1 to 4) corresponds to the importance
of respective location. - Grade of YH facility. 3-star is for the
standard grade, and 4-star is for the
highest
grade. |
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 Okayama is a town well known as the home
of 'Korakuen Garden', one of the three major
landscaped gardens in Japan, and is a hub
for those bound for the Shikoku Island or
the San-in region. Among the tourist attractions
besides the symbolic Okayama Castle, there
are: the Prefectural Art Museum with its
finest collections of antiques from Japan
and other Oriental countries, or the Municipal
Museum of Oriental Arts where the relics
of the ancient Oriental civilization can
be appreciated. The Seto O-hashi Bridge traverses
over the Seto Inland Sea toward the Shikoku
Island.[Access from major cities] Train / - Hakata St.(Fukuoka) <Shinkansen, Hikari> 1hr55min.(442km)  Okayama St. - Hiroshima St. <Hikari> 40min. Okayama St. - Shin Osaka St.<Hikari> 45min.(180km) Okayama St.- Kyoto St. <Hikari> 1hr10min. (219km) Okayama St. - Nagoya St. <Hikari> 2hr (367km) Okayama St. - Tokyo St. <Hikari> 3hr55min.(733km) Okayama St.Airplane / - Haneda Apt.(Tokyo) 1hr15min. Okayama Apt. - Shin Chitose Apt. (Sapporo) 2hr Okayama Apt. - Okayama Apt. <bus> 32min. Okayama St. Bus Center.Long distance bus / - Hakata St. Kotu Center <bus> 8hr45min.(night bus) Okayama St.- Sannomiya (Kobe) <bus> 2hr40min. Okayama St. - Nanba Kosoku Bus Terminal (Osaka) <bus> 3hr30min. Okayama St.- Nagoya St. <bus> 8hr30min.(night bus) Okayama St. - Shinjuku St. Nishiguchi (Tokyo) <bus> 11hr50min.(night bus) Okayama St.[Food] Chirashi-zushi (a variety of 'sashimi' on top of vinegared rice) prepared with fish from the Seto Inland Sea is one of the specialties. Muscat grapes and peach are the special products of Okayama. [Festival] Saidaiji Eyo: 3rd Sat. of Feb. - a festival with more than 460 years of history. [YH in the area] Okayamaken Seinen Kaikan YH tel 086-252-0651[Tips on sightseeing] At least a half-day is necessary for sightseeing. A tour bus visiting the tourist attractions in the town, including Okayama Castle, Korakuen Garden and Kurashiki runs regularly. |
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| Main Route from Okayama to Shin Osaka | ||
| Shodoshima Shodoshima ranks second in terms of the size of islands floating in the Seto Inland Sea. The island's climate is warm where olive, a tree hardly seen in the Japanese vegetation, grows. Kanka-kei, the best observatory in the Seto Inland Sea, is accessible either by ropeway or bus. There are a number of sands of the bathing beaches with clear water on the island. A day or two will be necessary for sightseeing. Tour buses depart either from Tonosho-ko or Sakate-ko, regularly. A beautiful view of the eastern half of the Inland Sea can be enjoyed on a way to Kobe or Osaka by boat. [Access] Okayama St. <bus> 35min. Shin-Okayama-ko <ferry> 1hr10min.
Tonosho-ko.[YH in the area] Shodoshima Olive YH tel 0879-82-6161Himeji Himeji Castle is the oldest among the Japanese castles existing to date, with beautiful 5-storied tower rising high into the sky. This, dubbed as "the Castle of White Heron", is symbolic of the Japanese history regarding the castles. The architecture is inscribed on the UNESCO's world heritage list. 3 hours to a half-day will be necessary for sightseeing inthe town. Tour buses visiting places of interests run regularly. [Access] Okayama St. <Shinkansen, Kodama> 30min. Himeji St. <walk> 15min.[YH in the area] YH Jyo-unji tel 07932-4-0030Kobe
[Access] - Okayama St. <Shinkansen, Hikari> 40min. Shin Kobe St.- Shin-Osaka St. <Hikari> 15min. Shin Kobe St. - Umeda St.(Osaka) <private, Hanshin Dentetsu express> 30min. Sannomiya St.[YH in the area] Kobe Kitano YH tel 078-221-4712Kobe Tarumi YH tel 078-707-2133 |
