Korakuen or Kurashiki

Looking for opinions on visiting Okayama Korakuen in October. My party includes me (an architect) and my mother (landscape architect). Originally I was drawn to visiting Korakuen since it is one of the three great gardens in Japan. However, the more I look at it in pictures the less convinced I am about visiting it especially since it will be in October and it seems that it is probably better to visit it during Sakura season or Wisteria season. My current itinerary involves a visit to Adachi Museum of Art in the morning and then a train ride to Okayama. I don't think it is feasible to visit both Kurashiki and Korakuen/ Okayama Castle before stuff closes at 5 pm. I either need to go from Adachi to Okayama (then potentially view Kurashiki after 5) or Adachi to Kurashiki leisurely enjoy what Kurashiki has to offer then continue to Okayama. My gut tells me visiting Kurashiki makes more sense (we will see a couple nice small gardens there at Ohara Museum and Ohara Residence). We are also visiting other notable gardens on our trip (Kenroku-en, Ritsurin, Adachi, and gardens in Kyoto/ Nara). Am I missing out on Korakuen? It seems like a lot of grass. Is it worth visiting the Korakuen/ Okayama Castle area after 5? Perhaps there are still some nice views even if we can't enter the garden/ castle.

There are apparently some people who really love Korakuen, but I am not one of them, and I’ve seen posts from some other people who also don’t find it worthy of being designated as one of the three best landscape gardens in Japan. I really love Kenrokuen, Adachi, Ritsurin Koen, and some gardens in Kyoto and Uji, but I’m sorry to say that I am kind of lukewarm about Korakuen. if you ask me, you’d be better off going to Kurashiki. Korakuen does have wide expanses of grass, but I’m not sure that will even be green in October. I’ve never been there during Sakura, but they do have a nice small plum grove (but that is a February thing).

I don’t seen any point at all in going to the Korakuen/Castle area after 5 p.m.

My current favorite place in Okayama is Kibitsu Shrine (about 15 minutes from Okayama Station by local train). If you have time, it’s worth a visit. The trains don’t run all that often, so you have to time your arrival and departure times somewhat carefully.
https://www.kibitujinja.com/en/

? Can you stay overnight in Kurashiki, and pop by Korakuen the next morning?

? Can you stay overnight in Kurashiki, and pop by Korakuen the next morning?

Winter Visitor I am staying in Okayama that night, but heading to Naoshima first thing ... This particular day in my trip is somewhat uneventful, but also serves as a keystone to make every other day work much more efficiently. I think Adachi will be a great highlight and I think Kurashiki has enough to offer to make a nice afternoon ... it also looks like I can probably make it to the shrine Kim mentioned since it is open until 6.

Kurashiki. Korakuen felt like a vast expanse of grass to me for the most part (I visited in early May, maybe that was not the prime season).

The article I wrote about Korakuen (please read it in the translator) https://kidoairaku.club/press/crafts/%e5%90%8d%e5%ba%ad%e5%9c%92%e3%82...
Personally, I like Kurashiki better than Korakuen, but you will probably enjoy Korakuen as well since there are many events.
https://okayama-korakuen.jp/ibento/kaisaibi/2024_10/index.html
It might be a good idea to go on the opening day of Enyotei.
https://okayama-korakuen.jp/ibento/kaisaibi/2024_10/2436.html

Going to Kibitsu Jinja after Adachi and Kurashiki might be too rushed. It takes a while to get there (besides the train ride you have to walk about 10 minutes), and unless the trains are perfectly timed you will be getting back to Okayama pretty late. And it will be getting dark. I think that as an architect you might find the structures there pretty interesting, but you don’t want to cut your time too short in Kurashiki. On my last visit to Kurashiki I wished I had allowed myself more time there. I don’t know that I would recommend going to the shrine instead of Kurashiki. Both are really interesting, but Kurashiki is more varied. (It will also be more crowded, but in October shouldn’t be too bad.)

You can get to Kibitsu Station faster from Kurashiki if you don’t go to Okayama first, but I don’t know if there is any place where you could stow luggage. The station is a very small local one (I don’t remember seeing any lockers there), and the shrine doesn’t seem to be set up for that kind of thing. For some reason it has never gotten on the radar screen for foreign tourists. Most of them go to Koraken…

Going to Kibitsu Jinja after Adachi and Kurashiki might be too rushed. It takes a while to get there (besides the train ride you have to walk about 10 minutes), and unless the trains are perfectly timed you will be getting back to Okayama pretty late. And it will be getting dark. I think that as an architect you might find the structures there pretty interesting, but you don’t want to cut your time too short in Kurashiki. On my last visit to Kurashiki I wished I had allowed myself more time there. I don’t know that I would recommend going to the shrine instead of Kurashiki. Both are really interesting, but Kurashiki is more varied. (It will also be more crowded, but in October shouldn’t be too bad.)

You can get to Kibitsu Station faster from Kurashiki if you don’t go to Okayama first, but I don’t know if there is any place where you could stow luggage. The station is a very small local one (I don’t remember seeing any lockers there), and the shrine doesn’t seem to be set up for that kind of thing. For some reason it has never gotten on the radar screen for foreign tourists. Most of them go to Koraken…

Odd question to ask - but what do you want to get out of your visit?

This significantly changes what I'd suggest to you depending on what you hope to achieve.

For me - the Adachi Museum of Art is an art museum first with what I consider "live" garden paintings that can be seen from the building itself.

Note that it's not possible to walk in the garden - think of it as more borrowed scenery. A garden in the general vicinity which I like more is Yuushein. I've got an old post speaking about it here:

https://www.japan-guide.com/community/mfedley/report-3284

Korakuen in Okayama is what's considered a strolling garden with strong highlights of "borrowed scenery". There is a lot of grass and it looks quite brutalist in winter when the grass turns all gray.

https://www.japan-guide.com/community/mfedley/report-1407

Kurashiki is known for it's canals and can be quite pretty at night - but I do find that Okayama/Kurashiki are not that special.

https://www.japan-guide.com/community/mfedley/report-1414

If you had to strong arm me into the most important gardens in Japan from an architectural perspective - it would be Shugakuin Villla and Katsura Imperial Villa in Kyoto.

https://www.japan-guide.com/community/mfedley/report-3383

Kim … yes I am considering whether or not Kibitsu is worth the hassle. The long hallway there is nice Architecturally speaking. We will only have 28L backpacks with us so not the worst if we have to carry them. I am leaving it as an option and I know that if I leave Kurashiki at 4:00 PM I can get there by 5:15. Time may be better spent just wandering around Kurashiki and we can play it by ear … My current plan in Kurashiki (assuming an arrival around 1:50) O’Hara museum of art 2:00 - 3:00 (this might be longer depending how we feel, but my impression is that it is a fairly small museum. 15-25 minutes Gangukan toy museum (just for the quirkiness/ maybe find a gift for my nieces/ nephew) 30 minutes O’Hara residence. A boat ride would be nice, but not necessary. Food options will likely be closed from 2:00 - 5:00 so I will have to make do with a light Konbini lunch before train in Yasugi.


Mfedley … I suppose your question is tough to answer. Just to clarify our trip to Adachi is already set. We have already arranged our flight from Tokyo to Yonago and we are going out of our way specifically to see the Garden. I do understand it is a museum with a garden that you can not walk around and that as you go through the museum there is art displayed on the wall and the windows to the garden frame “pieces of art” our main interest is the garden, but we also love art too.


I think Kurashiki has plenty to offer that we will both appreciate: traditional architecture, a nice museum (with a garden), a nice traditional residence with a garden, picturesque canal.

To me Korakuen seems more like a park or arboretum as supposed to a garden with landscape architecture design elements like what you see at Kenroku-en, Ritsurin and Adachi. This is a kind of bad example, but if someone was looking to see a nice garden in New York City I wouldn’t tell them to go to Central Park I would tell them to go to Brooklyn Botanical Garden … if you catch my drift. Central Park is nice, but a lot of it is large areas of grass and walking paths … it is a better place for people that live in New York to ‘escape the city’.

As I mentioned previously this specific day is a day that makes our lives on other days easier. We wanted to visit Adachi, but it is out of the way and we were planning to go to the Art Islands regardless. By flying from Tokyo to Yonago we are able to visit Adachi and we end up saving a lot of time on trains since we will be working our way back to Tokyo before departure as supposed to working our way to Naoshima (or Adachi for that matter) and then all the way back to Tokyo. Originally I had tried to plan a loop that stopped in Kanazawa after Adachi/ Matsue, but traveling from Matsue to Kanazawa takes way too long even though it looks like a logical route on a map. Since most other days will include a lot of walking (7-10 miles) it is fine if this day ends up just being Adachi and Kurashiki. …. Can find someplace for a nice dinner in Okayama and maybe do some shopping in the evening.

I would definitely pick Kurashiki for its uniqueness. Korakuen, itself, doesn't stand out that much in my memory but I do have a fond memory of crossing the bridge from Korakuen to Okayama Castle.

Another option is to spend the day around Matsue/ Yonago area and take the train to Okayama in the evening … the gardens mfedley mentioned do look interesting and Shimane Museum of Art, Matsue Castle, and Shoji Ueda museum look at least mildly interesting … but everything is fairly spread out not sure how much could really be accomplished on public transportation and while I hate spending 2.5 hours in the middle of the day on a train getting to Okayama earlier is less stressful.

I have not been to Shoji Ueda museum, but I would pick Kurashiki over the other two attractions you mentioned.

However, I am not a huge fan of museums in general, and with the eye of an architect you might find Matsue's museum of art more interesting than I did. The building is huge, but I found it quite empty, with a lack of English signage. On the other hand, I loved the gardens of the Adachi museum! I spent hours in there (I was also very lucky that the temporary exhibition suited my limited artistic interests).

Personally, Kurashiki is mainly a "popular for women" tourist destination , because it has art museums, cafes, and tasteful variety stores.
Of course, the scenery that has remained since ancient times is also good.
By the way, in New York, I like art as much as I went to MOMA, the Guggenheim Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. (I especially like contemporary art.)

The Ohara Museum of Art is known as a museum with a rich collection because the president of Kurabo asked a Japanese painter who was studying in France to select his paintings.
The Kogei-kan (Craft Center) exhibits works by famous Japanese "Mingei artists”.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mingei
The garden of the Ohara Museum of Art is filled with lotuses, so summer may be the best time (it is quite small).
I also like the coffee shop called El Greco next to the Ohara Museum of Art. (The exterior is entwined with ivy and it has a long wooden table.)

If you like "Mingei" artists, I also recommend the Kurashiki Folkcraft Hall.
https://kurashiki-mingeikan.com/index.html
I like "Mingei", so I also like the Japanese Folk Crafts Museum.
If you are not so interested, I don't mind if it's just the craft center of the Ohara Museum of Art.

I also went to the Japan Folk Toy Museum because I like Folk Toys, but I was a little scared by the large number. The museum shop is complete (I bought not only dolls but also Japanese paper envelopes), so it might be good to go to the free shop only.

Kurashiki likes the main street (Bikan Area), but I also recommend the street near Achi Shrine (Hommachi main street).
The buildings are good, such as Miyake Shoten and Mushi Bunko, but there are many stores with good taste.
https://miyakesshouten.com/
https://mushi-bunko.com/

I have used masking tape when I drew a map by hand.
It was originally a protective tape, but a company called Kamoi in Kurashiki began to incorporate it into their art.
I once bought a piece of masking tape art at Miyake Shoten.
https://www.masking-tape

I've never been there, but another store of Miyake Shoten seems to have a good atmosphere.
It may be difficult to access here.
https://miyakeshouten-sakazu.com/
You can see the Bikan Area from the third floor here.
https://genjuro.jp/

I've been to Kibitsu-jinja Shrine once, but the access is inconvenient, so I think you can remove it if you don't have much time.

The Utagawa Kuniyoshi museum I found on Google Maps also looks good.
It's an ukiyoe artist I've seen in exhibitions before and I've come to like.
Especially a picture of a cat and a goldfish
https://maps.app.goo.gl/41FreeG7A1pSoPzf6

haro1210 thank you so much for your comprehensive information ... very useful as are all your replies to my questions have been ... I did find this line funny though "Personally, Kurashiki is mainly a "popular for women" tourist destination , because it has art museums, cafes, and tasteful variety stores." ... I kind of understand this sentiment from my experience with Japan/ Japanese friends, but from a western perspective this notion is kind of funny ... as a male I don't see why Kurashiki wouldn't be popular among men as well.

New York has some great museums ... if you ever return I personally like The Cooper Hewitt museum it is a museum focused on design ... it might depend on whatever they are exhibiting. The MoMA and Guggenheim are great as is the Metropolitan (although it is overwhelmingly large). If you ever come to Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Museum of Art is very good. The Barnes Foundation has what some might consider the best most comprehensive collection of Impressionist Art in the world (including France the Musee D'Orsay has the largest collection of impressionism). There is also The Rodin Museum and soon we will have The Calder Museum. The Calder family is from Philadelphia and Alexander Calder's grandfather (also named Alexander Calder) is the sculptor of the statue of Benjamin Franklin that sits on top of Philadelphia City Hall in the center of the city. Outside of New York there is a sculpture park called Storm King that is a great day trip. In Maryland (just outside of Washington D.C.) there is a sculpture park/ museum called Glenstone, which is also a great day trip. The Smithsonian museums in Washington D.C. are nice although I personally don't particularly like going to Washington D.C. even though it is close.