OKAYAMA, KURASHIKI 17 May

 Packed bags for transfer to Kurashiki and took a backpack for trip on shinkansen (bullet train) to Okayama where we put our packs in lockers for the day.  Nobu told us the story of Peachy Boy (Momotara)  who was found inside a peach and had heroic adventures.  Okayama is famed for its peaches and muscat grapes.

Peachy boy = Momotaro

Our ensuing visit to Korakuen Japanese Gardens involved a very pleasant stroll culminating in a delicious lunch.  The information below is extracted from the web:
In 1687, Ikeda Tsunamasa, daimyo (feudal lord) ordered his vassal Tsuda Nagatada to begin construction of Okayama Korakuen. It was completed in 1700, and it has retained its original appearance from the Edo Period up to the present day...
The garden was used as a place for entertaining important guests and also as a retreat for daimyo, although regular folk could also visit on certain days. In 1884, ownership was transferred to Okayama Prefecture and the garden was opened to the public. The garden suffered severe damage during the floods of 1934 and during World War II bombing in 1945, but has been restored based on Edo Period paintings and diagrams...(It)is managed as a historical cultural asset to be passed to future generations.

Nobuko explains garden layout

Cranes have been reintroduced and are breeding

Rice fields were spread throughout the original garden.

Wedding

Ryuten Rest House escaped damage in World War 2.  

Stone bridge and Renchi-ken Rest House not damaged in war.  Boat in foreground

 

Enyo-tei House

Used as a place to receive the daimyo (Japanese feudal lord) when he visited Korakuen, this house was burnt to the ground in World War II.  In 1960 it was restored.

Entrance to Shinto Shrine - pity about the toilet sign!

First course

Lovely lunch followed by a tour of the cafe building.

 Back to Okayama Station for a short train ride to Kurashiki, a walk to our hotel, Royal Art, and a stroll by ourselves along the nearby canal.

Lift shaft of Royal Art Hotel

Which tap to use??

This small statue outside a Buddhist temple has a cap and bib, a reference to miscarriage.

In the afternoon we visited Ohara Museum of Art in Kurashiki.

Garden in Ohara Galley

No photographs were allowed inside the gallery which featured Western art including:

Aman-Jean, Edomond-Francois　"Hair" Aman-Jean, Edomond-Francois　"Festival of Venis " Bourdelle, Emile-Antoine　"Beethoven" Cezanne, Paul　"Landscape" Claus, Emile　"February" Corot, Jean-Baptiste-Camille　"Landscape of La Ferte-Milon " Cottet, Charles　"Old Horse " Courbet, Gustave　"Autumn Sea " Degas, Edgar　"Three Dancers in Red Costume" Delvin, Jean　"Carriage and Pair " Denis, Maurice　"Wave" El Greco　"Annunciation" Frederic, Leon　"All Things Return to the Death, but God's Love Creates Again " Gauguin, Paul　"｢Te Nave Nave Fenua " Manet, Edouard　"Woman Wearing a Hat with Silk Gauze" Millet, Jean-Francois　"Cliff of Greville" Monet, Claude　"Waterlilies" Monet, Claude　"Haystacks" Moreau, Gustave　"Le Cantique des Cantiques(Hymn) " Pissarro, Camille　"Apple Picking " Pissarro, Camille　"Inner Court of Maison Rondest, Pontoise " Le Sidaner, Henri　"Small Table in Evening Dusk "
I particularly liked the El Greco and the Rodin statues outside. John the Baptist

The Burgesses of Calais