Mabi is an area in the northwestern part of Kurashiki City, stretching along the Oda River.

The place name comes from the Nara-period scholar Kibi no Makibi, and the area retains a long history, including Yata Otsuka Burial Mound, which has one of the largest stone burial chambers in Japan. It is also the town where author Seishi Yokomizo, creator of the famous detective Kosuke Kindaichi, evacuated during the war; his evacuation home still stands. The area is also known for bamboo, and bamboo shoots come into season in spring.

During the heavy rains of July 2018, levees along the Oda River and other waterways burst, flooding a wide area of the town and causing extensive damage.

Tamashima is an area in the western part of Kurashiki City.
It was Tamashima City until it merged with Kurashiki City and Kojima City in 1967.

During the Edo period, it flourished as a port of call for Kitamaebune trading ships, and traces of the prosperous merchant town once called “Naniwa of the West” remain in its historic district. The shopping streets retain Showa-era scenery and have also served as film locations. There are many places steeped in history, including Entsu-ji Temple, where the Zen monk Ryokan trained, and Haguro Shrine, which has watched over the port town.

Funao is an area in western Kurashiki City, along the Takahashi River.

Known as a growing area for Muscat of Alexandria grapes, it has greenhouses lined along the mountain slopes where grapes are cultivated. Sweet peas are also widely grown. Ichinokuchi Sluice Gate, the starting point of the Takase-doshi waterway that carried goods to Tamashima Port during the Edo period, also remains here.

Kurashiki encompasses the city center, from JR Kurashiki Station to the Bikan Historical Area, and the surrounding areas.

It once prospered as a port, and after becoming a shogunate-controlled territory during the Edo period, it developed as a distribution hub for goods. Along the Kurashiki River, streetscapes remain where white-walled residences harmonize with Western-style buildings.

The Tatetsuki Site, dating back about 1,800 years, remains in the Sh庄 area in the northeast. Chayamachi in the southeast is the hometown of Isosaki Minki, who invented the flower mat “Kinkanen” in the Meiji period, and has a memorial museum. In Nishi-Achi in the west stands Henjo-in Temple, said to have been founded in the Heian period.

Mizushima is an area in southern Kurashiki City, facing the Seto Inland Sea.

The Mizushima Industrial Complex, one of Japan’s leading industrial zones, spreads across the area, and its night views, created by the lights of the factories, have been recognized as a Japan Night View Heritage site.

Kojima is an area in southeastern Kurashiki City, facing the Seto Inland Sea.
It was Kojima City until it merged with Kurashiki City and Tamashima City in 1967.

This town has continued to produce textile goods such as school uniforms and jeans, and is known as the birthplace of domestically made jeans. From Washuzan Hill, you can look out over the Seto-Ohashi Bridge and the islands of the Seto Inland Sea. The area is rich in sights connected with the sea and history, including the streets of Shimotsui, which prospered as a port of call for Kitamaebune trading ships, and Mt. Yuga, known for the “two-shrine pilgrimage” with Kotohira-gu Shrine.

Kurashiki City, spread around the mouth of the Takahashi River, is the most populous city in the river basin.
It was formed in 1967 through the merger of Kurashiki, Kojima, and Tamashima, and later Funao Town and Mabi Town were added.

Distinctive cultures and industries have taken root in each area, including the Bikan Historical Area with its white-walled streets, the Mizushima Industrial Complex, one of Japan’s leading industrial zones, Kojima, the textile town, and Tamashima, which retains the atmosphere of a port town.

Ibara City is in southwestern Okayama Prefecture, bordering Hiroshima Prefecture.

The central urban area spreads across the Oda River basin and is surrounded by mountains. The city has a long history as a textile-producing area and is known for denim production. Bisei Town calls itself “the town of astronomy” and enacted Japan’s first light pollution prevention ordinance in 1989. It is also said to be the birthplace of the children’s song “Chinese Lullaby.”

Soja City is a town north of Kurashiki City, spreading across the area where the Takahashi River emerges onto the plain.

It is said to have been the center of the ancient Kibi Kingdom, and burial mounds of various sizes and the five-story pagoda of Bichu Kokubun-ji Temple remain amid the rural scenery of Kibiji. The ruins of Kinojo Castle, the setting of the legend of Ura, said to have inspired the Momotaro legend, are here; the city is also known as the birthplace of the painter-monk Sesshu.

Takahashi City is in western Okayama Prefecture, where the Takahashi River and its tributary, the Nariwa River, flow.

Bitchu Matsuyama Castle, whose keep remains atop a mountain, is also called the “mountain castle in the sky” because it appears to float above a sea of clouds. The Fukiya district prospered as a bengara-producing area, and its streets of red-walled buildings remain today. The area has valued education since the Edo period, and its rich culture can be felt in places such as Nariwa Museum, which preserves works by Western-style painter Kojima Torajiro, and the Nariwa Atago Grand Fireworks Festival, held for more than 300 years.

Niimi City is a mountain town in northwestern Okayama Prefecture, where the Takahashi River has its source.

Limestone plateaus spread across the southeast, dotted with limestone caves such as Ikurado Cave. In the medieval period, the Niimi-no-sho manor of Kyoto’s Toji Temple was established here, and traditional culture such as Watari Byoshi and taiko rice planting has been passed down. The area also has a history of papermaking, and snow covers the mountainous areas in winter.

Asakuchi City is a town in southwestern Okayama Prefecture, facing the Seto Inland Sea.

Many traditional local industries remain, including Kamogata hand-pulled noodles, sake brewing, and hatmaking. The area is well suited to astronomical observation, and at Kyoto University Okayama Observatory, the “Seimei Telescope,” named after the local legend of Abe no Seimei, is in operation. Konko Town prospered as a temple town around the headquarters of Konkokyo and retains a retro streetscape.

Yakage Town is a town in southwestern Okayama Prefecture, developed along the Oda River.

During the Edo period, it prospered as a post town on the old Sanyo Road, and records remain of Atsuhime staying there on her way to Edo. The townscape from that era, including the honjin and waki-honjin inns, remains today, and efforts are underway to repurpose old houses as accommodations and other facilities. The town was also traversed by the “Toto Road,” which once carried fish from the Seto Inland Sea into the mountain areas.

Kasaoka City is in southwestern Okayama Prefecture, along the Seto Inland Sea and bordering Fukuyama City in Hiroshima Prefecture.

The Kasaoka Islands, made up of 31 islands large and small, lie to the south, and Shiraishi Odori, passed down on Shiraishi-jima Island, is designated an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Japan. Oehama is a nationally designated natural monument as a breeding ground for horseshoe crabs, “living fossils.” A vast reclaimed area spreads across the city, which has long had close ties with the Bingo region.

Hayashima Town, surrounded by Okayama City and Kurashiki City, is the smallest town in Okayama Prefecture by area.

It prospered as a town of rushes and flower mats, and the “Hayashima-Kurashiki Flower Mat Festival” is held in summer, keeping the culture of rushes alive today. It is also a town with expanding residential areas, serving as a bedroom community for both cities.

Satosho Town is in southwestern Okayama Prefecture, between Kasaoka City and Asakuchi City.

It is the birthplace of Yoshio Nishina, considered the father of nuclear physics in Japan. In addition to cultivating the local specialty makomotake (Manchurian wild rice shoots) throughout the town, the community has long valued manufacturing and learning, holding a robot competition for junior high and high school students for more than 30 years.