Overview for the day
- Arrival at Hiroshima airport
- Express bus, then transfer to train for Okayama city
- Exploring Okayama city center
- Lunch at AEON shopping mall
- Stroll down Asahi river
- Explore Okayama castle grounds
and Korakuen(rescheduled to following morning due to lack of time)
Ruined plans
Even before the trip even started, things were already not going
as planned.
Now something to note about me: I am extremely anal when it
comes to making travel plans. How anal you ask? The itinerary that I craft and
take along with me can be up to 30 pages long. Yes, 30 pages. Including
ticketing information, telephone numbers, opening hours and even printed out
Google maps. Essentially, a binded book.
If only I was this dedicated in preparing notes for my exams back when I was in
university.
What’s the point you may ask, of a thirty-paged itinerary? I
have no idea. With on-the-go WiFi easily available these days, and considering
things rarely go as planned, having such a detailed itinerary is meaningless.
Yet every time I embark on a trip, I feel compelled to prepare one. I guess
it’s like a security blanket. Something to fall back on when I find myself
bored or completely lost and stranded. Though that has rarely happened. So once
again, pointless. I’m illogical sometimes.
Anyway, back to our Okayama-Shikoku trip.
Like I said, things took a dramatic turn, before we even
left Singapore. Our flight into Osaka with Scoot was canceled because of
typhoon Jebi that hit in early September, leaving KIX in shambles. I was
crushed. My itinerary had to be completely overhauled now that we had to fly in
from another airport, and there goes hours spent researching and coming up with
plans out the window. And when you have invested that much time and effort into
planning, having to redo it all can be a serious morale killer.
But thankfully, my dear travel buddy shook me out of my
overly dramatic misery and brought me back to my senses. In the midst of
rebooking accommodation and very begrudgingly making new plans, she assured me,
we will have a wonderful holiday.
Arrival in Okayama
Though things still got off to a rough start when we landed
in Hiroshima, because the weather was dreadful. Rain and moody clouds.
Nevertheless we pressed on. From Hiroshima airport, the
first stop was Okayama, first by express bus to Fukuyama station, before
transferring to the local train.
By the time we checked into hotel, it was past lunch time,
so we grabbed a quick bite at the nearby AEON shopping mall. Even food court styled food in Japan tastes amazing.
After lunch it was time to explore. We wanted to drop by the
famed Okayama Korakuen (Japanese landscape garden), but it was close to 6pm by
then. The garden opens from 7.30am-6.00pm in the spring to summer months, and
from 8.00am to 5.00pm in autumn and winter. We decided to visit the garden the
following morning, and instead, just walk around and explore the town for the
evening. There was a river flowing through the town, which we took a stroll
down.
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| The park outside our hotel |
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| Stroll down Asahi River |
We skirted the perimeters of the garden, and caught a
glimpse of Okayama Castle (岡山城, Okayamajo) peeking through the trees.
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| Okayama Castle 岡山城 |
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| Why are my Instagram hashtags and blog posts titled chasing kitties you ask? |
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| Hmmmm.. I wonder. |
It’s possible to purchase tickets to enter the castle for a
view of the interiors, but we decided to give it a miss this time.
Adults: 300 yen
Closed: December 29 to 31
Admission: 9:00 to 17:30 (entry until 17:00)
* Do note that combined Okayama Castle and Korakuen Garden tickets are available at 560 yen
Admission: 9:00 to 17:30 (entry until 17:00)
* Do note that combined Okayama Castle and Korakuen Garden tickets are available at 560 yen
And despite me bitching about the rain, it does have its
benefits. In this case, it made for lovely misty photos.
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| Soft drizzles and misty mountains |
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| Dusk sets in |
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| Okayama traffic |
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| And of course, legendary Japanese vending machines |
The next morning, we woke up early (by my standards lol,
which is like 8am) to check out the Korakuen before we headed towards Kurashiki
for the day.
Unfortunately, it was still raining at this juncture, so
between holding an umbrella and fiddling with my camera, the number of photos I
managed to take was fairly limited.
Korakuen (後楽園, Kōrakuen) in Okayama
Adults: 400 yen
Closed: No closing days
Admission: 07:00 to 18:00 (March-September), 8:00 to 17:00 (October-March)
Admission: 07:00 to 18:00 (March-September), 8:00 to 17:00 (October-March)
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| Another blustery morning |
The Korakuen seems to be a safe haven for birds, because we saw so many! Both inside the park itself, and within its vicinity.
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| I believe this is some kind of egret |
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| Sparrows huddled up in the rain |
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| A bird photographer 伯父さん was trying hard to capture a shot of this little guy |
Another good thing about rainy days though: the lack of
crowds.
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| Emptiness |
I hate crowds. Hate it within a vengeance.
No matter how beautiful a scene, if it’s packed to the brim
with people jostling each other and talking loudly, the place loses its sense
of enchantment. In a city, where all the chatter and boisterousness adds to the
sense of liveliness, it’s acceptable. But in nature or any other scenic
landscape, it just cheapens the place.
Thankfully, the rain kept the crowds at bay, and we could
casually stroll around the place in relative serenity.
And for any one wondering, both the park and the castle are within walking distance of the main Okayama train station. It's roughly a 30min or 2km walk. If that's a stretch, there's always the option to go by tram.
That’s it for Okayama city! Onward to Kurashiki!
