Alex Quinn's Japan Journal

2/25/2006, Trip to Kurashiki

Lately, I've had a lot to think about.  Which grad school should I attend?  Which faculty there should I get acquaited with?  What should Akemi and I do?  So, I took the day to do some thinking by myself.  I like riding the trains, so I looked for a relatively inexpensive, non-stop train from Aioi to someplace pretty and quiet.

On the advice of a co-worker, I found myself on a train to Kurashiki.  Kurashiki is about 80 minutes west of Aioi, in southwest Okayama prefecture.  It faces the Seto Inland Sea and is built around the mouth of the Takahashi River.  It is especially known for peaches, muskat grapes, kibi dango (a kind of sweets), and a historical district.  It was really pretty, so I took a lot of pictures.  I don't ever want to forget places like this.

The train ride from Aioi to Kurashiki was very relaxing, as expected.  It stopped frequently, but it was non-stop and scenery in rural Okayama prefecture was gorgeous.  After about 80 minutes on the train, I finally arrived in Kurashiki.

Walking through the city, I saw these guys pruning trees.  On the whole, Japanese people take a lot better care of their trees than Americans.

Worker up in a tree.

After a little walk from the station, I found a little Japanese garden.  Nothing spectacular, but it was free and it was right there.  As in most gardens, there was a little covered area where you can take a rest in the shade and enjoy the scenery.

Looking around the garden.

Looking around the garden.

After a little walking, I ran into this historical area built up around a small river.  It's called the Bikan Historical Quarter.  Along the edge, there are merchant homes and storehouses which, according to a sign I read, date back to the Edo (1603-1867) and Meiji (1868-1912) periods.  They have been restored and the area is designated as an Important Preservation District For Historical Buildings.  The area seems to serve no purpose other than as a place for tourists to congregate and admire the buildings.  Still, it's a nice place to relax and walk around.

Likewise, this swan seems to serve no purpose other than to give tourists something to take pictures of.  That's typical in Japan.  These people like to take pictures, so if you're trying to bring in tourists, the thing to do is give them something to take pictures of.

I took this picture of the bird, eating the food that is apparently placed there by the touris bureau or somebody like that.

People playing with the bird.

Looking around the area.  The river was pretty, so I snapped a few pictures.

Looking down the river.

Looking down the river.

Looking down the river.

Around the town, you can find some old buildings which seem out of character for Japan.

This building has no roof.  I would expect to see something like this in Mexico or Central America, but not in Japan.

Here, I'm looking in the door at what's inside and the sky above.

On the recommendation of somebody in a tourist information booth at the station, I ventured to this shrine, Achi Shrine (Achi-jinja).

Walking up the stairs to Achi Shrine.

Half way up the stairs, I encountered this cage full of chickens.

Not really sure what they're doing, but given that this is a Shinto Shrine and Shinto people place special value in nature and certain animals, they are probably related like that.

Looking around the shrine.

Looking around the shrine.

This man, apparently the keeper of the shrine, is emptying the change that people tossed into the box today.

Looking inside the shrine.

After my trip to Kurashiki, I headed to Akemi's place in Osaka, about 2½ hours east of Kurashiki.

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