🌞 The Sunny Kingdom - Okayama Summer Limited 2-Day Itinerary

Okayama is known as the "Sunny Kingdom" for having the least annual rainfall in the country, and it's also renowned as the "Fruit Kingdom" for its sweet peaches🍑 (highly recommended!) and grapes🍇. As one of the transit points in Tottori Prefecture, here are two recommended routes for eating and playing. Day1: ✈️Morning, Afternoon at "Korakuen": The century-old tram right outside the hotel is very retro, only costing 200 yen. Ride it to "Jōka", then walk over six hundred meters, passing through the Tsurumi Bridge to arrive at Korakuen. There's a French 🦊 pure coffee shop in front of the Tsurumi Bridge, and the coffee tastes great. Korakuen, over 300 years old, is called one of Japan's three great gardens, featuring no moss or sand scenery, but instead lawns, rice fields, lotus flowers, and woods. 🍳 Breakfast: Found a very cute 🥯 bagel shop named Stand near Okayama JR Station. It opens at 8 am, where you can choose the type of 🥯 and fillings. If you have a small appetite, you can opt for half a bagel. They make it in a SUBWAY style with coffee sets and also sell some scones. 🍕 Dinner: Recently, it's been challenging to find a place to eat in Japan. This time, I went to ask about a barbecue restaurant as soon as it opened, but it was still fully booked. I chose an Italian restaurant near Asahikawa River, and the steak was very satisfying, melting in your mouth. Day2: It only takes a dozen minutes on the JR from Okayama to Kurashiki, where there's a picturesque area like a water town in Jiangnan, and Mitsui outlets for shopping. After exiting the JR station, it feels a lot like Karuizawa, where you can see several "cardboard buildings" . Walking to the scenic area, the alleys here have preserved old houses from the Edo period, and the whole way is lined with specialty shops, denim, cotton products, Bizen pottery, and dining. 🥟 Denim-colored Buns: They look special and taste like normal meat buns, which are quite good. ☕️ Coffee: The "Charcoal Coffee Samimura" recommended online was closed, so I switched to YAMAU coffee stand, an Italian coffee shop with only the owner working. The pour-over was made with a Clever Dripper, and the taste was good. 🍷 Wine: Ivy square hotel, built from an old factory and connected to a memorial hall, has a wine shop in the square area. You can spend 700 yen to taste three types of wine. I chose three types of white wine, and there was an old man playing the piano. It was a great experience! 👕 Cotton Products: The quality is good, with different price points. Bought a T-shirt as a souvenir. 🍶 Bizen Pottery: The prices vary greatly, from dozens to hundreds of yen. There are three colors, but I didn't find any that fully satisfied me, so I didn't buy any. #Okayama #Kurashiki #JapanTravelGuide #ChugokuRegion #NationalDayWorthwhileEatingAndShoppingGuide