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Okayama is the capital of Okayama Prefecture in Japan's Chūgoku region, famous for Kōraku-en, one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan, and for the black Okayama Castle, nicknamed Crow Castle. Its top sights are the garden and castle, the Hayashibara and Yumeji art museums, and the ancient Kibitsu and Kibitsuhiko shrines below Mount Kibi no Nakayama.
Ukita Hideie completed the castle, traditionally dated to 1597, and laid out a castle town beside the Asahi River. The Ikeda clan later ruled the domain, and lord Ikeda Tsunamasa finished Kōraku-en in 1700. Air raids on 29 June 1945 burned much of the city and the castle keep, which was rebuilt in 1966.
With about 700,000 people, Okayama became a designated city in 2009. The San'yō Shinkansen reached it in 1972 and the Seto-Ōhashi Bridge has linked it with Shikoku since 1988. The city is popularly tied to the Momotarō folk tale, and its local dishes include barazushi and kibi dango sweets.
Okayama Castle is the black-walled castle of Okayama, Japan, nicknamed Crow Castle in contrast to the white Himeji Castle. Its keep, completed in 1597 by Ukita Hideie, burned in the air raids of 1945 and was rebuilt in concrete in 1966, while two surviving turrets are Important Cultural Properties.
Kōraku-en is the daimyō garden of Okayama, Japan, and one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan with Kenroku-en and Kairaku-en. Begun in 1687 for lord Ikeda Tsunamasa and completed in 1700, it lies on an island in the Asahi River by the castle and opened to the public in 1884.
Hayashibara Museum of Art stands by the inner moat of Okayama Castle in Okayama, Japan, where the audience hall of the castle's second bailey once stood. Opened in 1964 with the collection of Ichiro Hayashibara, it holds Ikeda clan Noh costumes and the National Treasure sword signed Yoshifusa.
Yumeji Art Museum in Okayama, Japan, is devoted to the poet and artist Yumeji Takehisa, active in the early 1900s and known for his paintings of Japanese beauties. Its main building near Kōraku-en opened in 1984, a century after his birth, and shows 100 works while rotating some 2,000 more.
Kibitsu Shrine is the first shrine of old Bitchū Province, at the northwestern foot of Mount Kibi no Nakayama in Okayama, Japan. Its main hall, rebuilt by Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, is a National Treasure and the only example of the kibitsu-zukuri style, and its Narukama rite is famous.
Kibitsuhiko Shrine is the ichinomiya of old Bizen Province, at the northeastern foot of Mount Kibi no Nakayama in Okayama, Japan, near Bizen-Ichinomiya Station. It enshrines Kibitsuhiko-no-mikoto, conqueror of the Kibi kingdom, and holds its main festival on the third weekend of October.
Mount Kibi no Nakayama is a 175 m sacred hill in western Okayama, Japan, worshipped since ancient times on the border of old Bizen and Bitchū provinces. Kibitsu and Kibitsuhiko shrines sit at its foot, its peaks hold iwakura sacred rocks, and a mound is held to be the tomb of Kibitsuhiko.
Handayama Botanical Garden is a hillside botanical garden overlooking Okayama, Japan, founded in 1953 by the city waterworks and reopened under its present name in 1964. Its 110,000 m2 hold 150,000 plants of 3,200 species, with fine camellias and maples, and an ancient burial mound near the top.
Okayama Orient Museum is a city museum of ancient Near Eastern and Islamic art in Kita-ku, Okayama, Japan, opened in 1979 with a gift of 1,947 works gathered under Shinjirō Yasuhara. Its nearly 5,000 items span Roman, Byzantine and Sassanian works and include a winged Assyrian relief from Nimrud.
Okayama Prefectural Museum stands in the outer garden of Kōraku-en in Okayama, Japan, opened in 1971 to show heritage from prehistory onwards, including the ancient Kibi kingdom. Its National Treasure is a red-laced yoroi armour, and it fully reopened in April 2023 after renovation.
Okayama Prefectural Museum of Art opened in 1988 in central Okayama, Japan, near Kōraku-en and Okayama Castle, in a building by architect Shin'ichi Okada. Its some 5,000 works focus on artists linked to Okayama, among them Sesshū, Miyamoto Musashi and Yasuo Kuniyoshi, plus Bizen ware.
Okayama Symphony Hall is the concert hall of Okayama, Japan, opened in 1991 with 2,001 seats and designed by architect Yoshinobu Ashihara, with acoustics by Nagata Acoustics. It is home to the Okayama Philharmonic Orchestra, a short walk from the city centre and the Asahi River.
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