[JAPAN 2015] Day 5: Okayama & Kurashiki

Today I would be making my way to Okayama and Kurashiki - the latter city has been likened to Venice due to its preserved canal system. The canal systems are not as extensive as, say, Venice's or Amsterdam's, but the traditional feel of Kurashiki canal was wonderfully preserved.




Woke up early on day five to make my way to Okayama, where I would be staying for one night. The hotel room was pretty great as it was within walking distance to the train station (10min walk probably?) and suited the needs of a single traveller. 

After checking in, I made my way directly to Kurashiki (a few stations away from Okayama stn.) which has been on my to-go list for a while now. The last time I went to Japan in 2014, we didn't have enough time to go to Kurashiki since we had a tour for the Akashi Kaikyo bridge so we had to forego the visit. I'm happy to finally made it to Kurashiki because the place is beautiful.


Typical business hotel room





Even the manhole cover for the FPS system is cute.

Happy Pudding! This was one of the must-try desserts according to Tripadvisor but I decided to walk around first to avoid the long queue.


Personally I thought the path to find the way to the Kurashiki canals weren't that straightforward lol, but I did have fun trying to figure out which alleyway to take in order to find it. Once you do get to the main canal street though, you can see why Kurashiki is often called the Venice of Japan.






Lunch with a view :D
Obligatory selfie

The lines for the unique-flavoured ice creams were pretty long... found one with less queue later on.
Queueing up for Happy Pudding.


Got my Happy Pudding! And check out the butt-shaped momo cup hahaha. Delicious! (The food bit, not the butt bit lol.)

Jeans-flavoured ice cream, anyone? (And no I didn't try this. I wan't going to be that adventurous.)











I loved how "dated" Kurashiki canal felt - the rest of the area is predictably modern, but the way they kept Kurashiki canal uniquely traditional was something to experience while you're there. Even the restaurants and stores kept to the traditional theme and it's something I've always loved about Japan - they will always look to the smallest details, from the boat canals to the eating cutleries. 

After the visit to Kurashiki, I went back to my hotel and decided to have an early stroll to Okayama Castle and its garden the next morning.

Go to Day 4 (Hakone) | Go to Day 6 (Okayama & Miyajima)
Japan 2015 Masterpost

0 comments: