JR Pass Destination: Okayama

Things seemed to come in threes on this week long shinkansen trip.

My fifth stop was Okayama,  the sister city to my home town, San Jose, CA, U.S.A. and it was for me a single night stop in between Hiroshima and Nara.

On my first night, a very kind husband and wife couple, who I met quite randomly upon my arrival, took me out for a night of Izakaya food/drinks and cake. How amazing are these people!?

My Okayama hosts for the night, Taka and Sayaka (2010 P. Lydon)

That night in the izakaya, I was again amazed at the kindness of the people in Okayama overall, and the connection that a room full of random people (some were obviously regulars) had with eachother. As my hosts, Taka and Sayaka, mentioned, this place is a typical “old style” Japanese food pub where most tables are communal and everyone just sits down, eats, drinks, and makes friends. It was an excellent experience!

A local food/pub (aka Izakaya) in Okayama, Japan (2010 P. Lydon)

"Instant Izakaya Friends" in Okayama, Japan

The next morning I wandered around the train station to scout out some breakfast, and I came upon the Okayama NHK television studio. Curious, I walked in quietly and watched as they were preparing for a broadcast. Within a few minutes I was approached by a smiling on-air personality, Yusuke Naito. He showed me a bit of the studio and told me to come back to watch the broadcast. I happily accepted.

Okayama NHK Broadcast

Me and the most beautiful man and woman in Okayama, the NHK news anchors

A worthwhile few hours, but my aim for the day was breakfast and then a walk around Okayama’s famous Koraku-en gardens. So I headed out to find the next bus to the castle/garden area, a short trip north of Okayama station.

While I was at it, I quickly noticed that the trains and buses here are much more of an adventure than those in Tokyo/Yokohama, or even any of the other places I visited. No “romanji” to help you here! I’d usually just go for it (and most likely get lost), but since I was short on time I asked for help and was pointed to the correct bus, fare amount, and time.

Transit Map on a bus in Okayama, Japan (2010 P. Lydon)

I made it out on the rather soggy day to see a splendid Okayama Castle and Koraku-en. The castle was immaculate, although that is possible because it was reconstructed after being annihilated in a WWII bombing raid.

The Koraku-en gardens were quite large, very well taken care of, and an amazingly peaceful place to walk, sit, relax amidst the city. Park-goers on this particular day included a handful of foreign tourists with cameras in hand, hundreds of school children running around and giggling in groups, and a good number of folks who seemed more like locals. The latter could be found walking at a casual place and enjoying the (relative) peace of the place.

Korakuen in Okayama, Japan (2010 P. Lydon)

The day had to come to an end, however, as I had a few trains ahead of me in order to make it to Nara. That’s next up.