A Travel Guide to Okayama Korakuen: Stunning Scenery in Every Season

In spring, a wide variety of flowers bloom across Okayama Korakuen as if competing with one another.
In the plum grove, around 100 red and white plum trees reach their peak from early February to early March.
Cherry blossoms are best from late March to early April, and around 280 trees—mainly Somei Yoshino—color the garden in an elegant display.
The “cherry blossom tunnel” that appears in the Sakura Grove and the Horse Track is especially recommended, as you can stroll through a beautifully atmospheric scene.
Azaleas, peonies, and Japanese peonies also bloom one after another through late May.
In March, “Spring Japanese Hospitality” is held, where you can experience Japanese culture through garden tea gatherings and kyogen performances.
If the timing works out, try joining along with cherry-blossom viewing.

In summer, 3,000 Japanese irises reach their peak at Okayama Korakuen.
It’s the rainy season in June, but white and purple irises spread in vivid color across the flowerbeds.
At “Kayo-no-ike Pond,” the lotus “Itten Shikai,” with its large white blooms, floats across the water’s surface.
The cool scenery of water drawn from Sawa-no-ike Pond and flowing down as a waterfall is also beautiful.
Okayama Castle hosts “Summer Ujo Togenkyo,” while Okayama Korakuen hosts “Summer Genso Teien,” letting you enjoy a fantastically illuminated “famed garden” and “famed castle” across Tsukimi Bridge.

Okayama Korakuen is also a famous spot for autumn foliage.
The fall colors of Approx. 250 maple trees, as well as cherry and ginkgo trees, are best from mid-November to early December.
“Sen’iri-no-mori,” a grove of 100 maples, is a popular foliage spot.
“Sen’iri” is a metaphor meaning to dye deeply, expressing the deepening fall colors.
Be sure to enjoy the autumn leaves of Okayama Korakuen as seen from the main keep of Okayama Castle as well.

At Okayama Korakuen, where various flowers bloom throughout the year, you can still see beautiful blooms in winter.
Approx. 300 winter camellias and 170 sasanqua camellias add special color to the winter garden.
“Tanchō Crane Garden Walk,” where the garden’s red-crowned cranes are released onto the lawn, is another winter highlight.
Seeing the graceful cranes strolling through a beautiful Japanese garden is a must.
In February, the annual “Shibayaki” grass-burning event is held to encourage healthy spring growth and help with pest control.
Watching the wide lawns burn in sequence and turn black with the flames has become a seasonal tradition of early spring.

Enyo-tei, built first as the key building of Okayama Korakuen, served as the lord’s living quarters.
It is designed so that you can see all of the garden’s scenic views from Enyo-tei.
It was used for the lord’s rest and to entertain guests.
It is specially opened to the public only twice a year, allowing you to enjoy a picture-like view of the garden.

Renchi-ken is said to have been a favorite of the lords.
Built facing the pond, it offers one of the garden’s finest views, including the stone bridge over the water and a small island on the opposite shore.
It is one of the buildings that survived wartime damage, making it a rare and valuable structure that conveys what things were like at the time.

Yuishinzan is an Approx. 6-meter man-made hill built by the third lord of the Okayama Domain.
From the top, it’s a scenic viewpoint overlooking the entire garden.
The originally flat garden became a more three-dimensional garden with the construction of Yuishinzan.
It is designed so that you can see Yuishinzan whether you’re viewing the garden from above or strolling anywhere within it.

Ryuten is an unusual building with a water channel running through the center, letting you enjoy the flow of water.
It has a simple design because it was built with a focus on enjoying the garden views.
It was used as a resting place for the lords, and becomes even more atmospheric during the Japanese iris season.
On the south side of Ryuten, you can also enjoy colorful Japanese irises; with a pleasant breeze, it’s a great spot to take a break.

Next to Enyo-tei is Kayo-no-ike Pond, also introduced as a summer highlight.
The “Odachi-ishi” standing at the edge is striking: a massive granite rock was split into more than 90 pieces, transported, and reassembled into its original form as a garden stone.
In summer, the lotus “Itten Shikai” floats across the surface, becoming a seasonal tradition.
There is also an annual event where the garden opens at 4:00am so visitors can enjoy the lotus blossoms.
Along with watching the lotus flowers slowly bloom at dawn, you can also enjoy Japanese atmosphere such as koto performances.

Okayama Castle was built by the Sengoku-period warlord Ukita Hideie and completed in 1597. He built the main compound on a hill called Okayama and constructed the main keep with the Asahi River—whose course was altered—behind it.
At the same time, the castle town was developed by gathering merchants and artisans, and it became the center of today’s downtown; the construction of Okayama Castle laid the foundation for the place name and the city itself.
After the Battle of Sekigahara, Kobayakawa Hideaki, followed by the Ikeda clan, became the lords of the castle, continuing until the end of the Edo period.
The main keep has a rare shape, with the first floor forming an irregular pentagon, and it is known as “Ujo” (Crow Castle) because it is said that its walls were once covered with black lacquered boards.

Its predecessor was Tsuruyama Castle, built in 1441 by Yamana Tadamasa, but it was abandoned during the Onin and Bunmei wars.
Later, Mori Tadamasa—known as the younger brother of Mori Ranmaru, a close aide of Oda Nobunaga—renamed “Tsuruyama” to “Tsuyama” and began construction.
After 13 years of work starting in 1604, a grand castle was completed, becoming one of Japan’s Three Great Hirayama (hilltop) Castles.
Bicchu Yagura, said to have had a presence second only to the main keep and the largest turret of Tsuyama Castle, has been reconstructed as part of the 400th anniversary project.
Unusually for a turret, it has tatami-mat rooms, and because it was connected to the main hall by a corridor, it is also thought to have been used as part of the main hall.
From around the keep’s former site, you can overlook the city of Tsuyama.

There are 12 castles nationwide that still have an original main keep, including Bitchu Matsuyama Castle, but among mountain castles, only Bitchu Matsuyama Castle retains one.
In addition to the two-story main keep, parts of double turrets and earthen walls remain, and you can tour rooms inside designed for enduring a siege, as well as a large hall with an irori hearth.
Gagyu-zan, at an altitude of Approx. 480 m in the northern part of the city, is a collective name for four peaks—“Omatsuyama,” “Tenjin-no-maru,” “Komatsuyama,” and “Maeyama”—and the castle was built centered on these four peaks.
What remains today is the early modern castle section on “Komatsuyama” at an altitude of 430 m, which is a remodeled version of a medieval castle.

Shokudo Yamato has been run in Okayama across three generations since it first opened.
It’s a diner that serves Okayama’s local specialty, demi-katsu don.
The restaurant’s demi-katsu don won a Gold Award in the katsudon category at the 1st National Donburi Grand Prix, hosted by the National Donburi Federation.
It’s well known both within and beyond the region.

Karafuneya CAFE Sunste Okayama is operated by the long-established coffee and café chain Karafuneya Coffee Shop.
It’s known as a dessert café where you can enjoy a wide variety of parfaits, with 40+ types available at all times.
A signature item is the “Okayama-grown Muscat Milk Tea Tiramisu Parfait.”

Sanuki no Otoko Udon Nose Hokancho is a Sanuki udon specialty shop in Hokancho, Kita Ward, Okayama City.
It’s conveniently located a 5-minute walk from the west exit of JR Okayama Station, making it a good fit for everyday lunch or dining solo.
With a focus on chewy, smooth Sanuki udon, it’s popular with both locals and visitors.