Kurashiki, where streetscapes dating back to the Edo period remain.
Today, more than 100 years later, tourists from across Japan and around the world visit to see this place, which preserves scenery representative of Japan.
When visiting Kurashiki, it is easy to focus on the traditional merchant houses lining the Bikan Historical Area. However, buildings from the Meiji and Taisho periods, as well as the present day, are also interspersed throughout, allowing visitors to see how the town has changed over time.
The Kurashiki Town Walking Digital Stamp Rally is a stamp rally that takes visitors to buildings from the Meiji period onward, as well as Edo-period merchant houses. Anyone can take part with just a smartphone.
To explore Kurashiki’s history, student Kashimoto Riyo, who attends a university in Okayama Prefecture, followed the guide for the Kurashiki Town Walking Digital Stamp Rally and explored the area around the Bikan Historical Area.
Let’s rediscover the charms of Kurashiki through the Kurashiki Town Walking Digital Stamp Rally.
The information presented was current when this article was published in January 2022. Please note that it may differ from current information.
Kurashiki Town Walking Digital Stamp Rally
Overview of the Kurashiki Town Walking Digital Stamp Rally
The Kurashiki Town Walking Digital Stamp Rally is an event where participants collect stamps on their smartphones while visiting checkpoints, including Japan Heritage constituent cultural properties, mainly in Kurashiki City’s Bikan Historical Area.
There are two routes, the River Course and the Mountain Course, each with seven checkpoints.
It takes one to two hours.
Collect stamps by visiting at least six checkpoints on either route, and you can enter a prize draw to win items such as Kurashiki Glass tumblers, tote bags, and masking tape.
How to participate in the Kurashiki Town Walking Digital Stamp Rally
You can participate by accessing the dedicated website on your smartphone and registering the required information.
Participation is free, and anyone with a smartphone can take part.
The event is held from Wednesday, December 1, 2021, to Monday, January 31, 2022.
Kurashiki Town Walking Map
The Kurashiki Town Walking Map is a website where you can view maps from three different eras, accessible from smartphones and other digital devices.
The maps available are Bird’s-Eye View Map of Kurashiki City—1963, Bird’s-Eye View Map of Kurashiki City—2005, and Old Town Names Map.
Enjoy exploring how the town of Kurashiki has changed over time.
There are various buildings dating from the Edo period onward along the Kurashiki Town Walking Digital Stamp Rally routes, and you may find yourself wanting to learn more about the buildings that catch your eye.
Use the Kurashiki Town Walking Map to check details about the buildings.
Taking part in the Kurashiki Town Walking Digital Stamp Rally
Participants in the Kurashiki Town Walk
We’ll take part in the Kurashiki Town Walking Digital Stamp Rally and explore Kurashiki for ourselves.
Joining the writer is Kashimoto Riyo, a student attending a university in Okayama Prefecture.
She walked around the Bikan Historical Area, visiting the checkpoints along the way.
We’re looking forward to seeing what kind of scenery awaits!
The first checkpoint
To take part in the Kurashiki Town Walking Digital Stamp Rally, let’s head to Achi Terrace Kurashiki, where the first checkpoint is located!
Achi Terrace Kurashiki is a mixed-use complex that opened on October 10, 2021, combining a hotel, apartments, and commercial facilities.
The first checkpoint is at the entrance to Achi Terrace Potto, a community space on the second floor of the South Building at Achi Terrace Kurashiki.
We climbed the stairs to the second floor and found the entrance to the community space, Achi Terrace Potto.
We found the first checkpoint sticker on the door of the community space, Achi Terrace Potto!
Open the Kurashiki Town Walking Digital Stamp Rally website and scan the QR code.
It seems that reaching the checkpoint is confirmed when “Stamp GET” appears.
With our first stamp in hand, it’s finally time to set off!
Setting off on the River Course
Once you’ve collected a stamp at the first checkpoint, it’s time to set off.
We chose the River Course, which follows the Kurashiki River and lets you enjoy the historic streets that flourished thanks to the canal.
We walked along a small, quiet lane leading south from Achi Terrace Kurashiki.
After walking for a few minutes, we found the first checkpoint!
A sticker with a QR code is attached to a stone pillar about waist-high for an adult.
The pillar bears the names of former town districts, established by the former Kurashiki City in 1935 and phased out between 1965 and 1971 as part of administrative improvements.
It also has explanations of the history of the area, including the origins of the old town names.
There are also structures that have survived from that time, such as waterways and buildings, so it is rewarding to walk around looking for traces of history.
To the Bikan Historical Area
Following the River Course takes you through the Bikan Historical Area, one of Kurashiki City’s most famous tourist destinations.
Enjoy the Edo-period streetscape as you look for the checkpoints.
The first checkpoint in the Bikan Historical Area was at Ohara House Katalyzer.
Ohara House Katalyzer is the residence where successive generations of the Ohara family’s business leaders, who contributed greatly to Kurashiki’s modernization, lived from the late Edo period.
A nationally designated Important Cultural Property, it has been open to the public since April 1, 2018, as Ohara House Katalyzer, a facility exhibiting the history of the Ohara family and architecture dating back to the Edo period.
We found the checkpoint at the entrance to Ohara House Katalyzer!
Ohara House Katalyzer is also designated as a constituent cultural property of Japan Heritage.
We spotted a QR code on a sign about Japan Heritage!
From near Ohara House Katalyzer, you can take in a view of the traditional storehouses that symbolize Kurashiki.
Following the directions for the Kurashiki Walking Digital Stamp Rally as we explored, we also enjoyed the atmospheric scenery of the Bikan Historical Area.
We set off from Ohara House Katalyzer and followed the Kurashiki River, visiting the checkpoints along the way.
The course also includes back alleys that tourists visiting for the first time would not normally venture into.
They have a different atmosphere from the scenery of shops and traditional storehouses lining the Kurashiki River.
We were able to explore every corner of the Bikan Historical Area.
All Stamps Collected
We passed through the Bikan Historical Area and made our way back to Kurashiki Chuodori.
We found the sixth checkpoint on the river course!
It was a stone pillar we usually wouldn’t notice, so at first, we walked right past it without realizing.
Searching high and low for checkpoints is one of the fun parts of a stamp rally.
Finding one really lifts your spirits!
A QR code is attached to the stone pillar, so we scanned it with a smartphone.
Collecting six stamps lets you enter a prize drawing.
Although six stamps are enough to enter the drawing, we collected a seventh stamp too, completing every checkpoint on the river course.
Once you collect six stamps, you can access the prize application website, where you fill in the required information and register.
We can’t wait to find out if we won!
Taking Part in the Kurashiki Walking Digital Stamp Rally
If you explore using the information in the tourist guide as your guide, you’ll see the streetscape from the Edo period that is representative of Kurashiki.
Of course, the Edo-period streetscape alone gives you a sense of Kurashiki’s charm, but if you want to learn more about the city, walking among buildings that let you feel the changes across different eras may lead to new discoveries.
People’s lives are not clearly divided by era; they exist within an ongoing flow.
Beginning in the Edo period, the town’s mix of buildings from the Meiji and Taisho periods, as well as the present day lets you feel the passage of time.
By taking part in the Kurashiki Walking Digital Stamp Rally, I too enjoyed exploring Kurashiki while sensing the flow of time.
I hope you’ll take part in the Kurashiki Walking Digital Stamp Rally, which lets you enjoy how the historic town of Kurashiki has changed, and experience Kurashiki from a different perspective than usual.
- Model: Kashimoto Rise
Kurashiki Walking Digital Stamp Rally Information
| Name | Kurashiki Walking Digital Stamp Rally |
|---|---|
| Dates | December 1, 2021–January 31, 2022 |
| Location | Central Kurashiki |
| Participation fee (tax included) | Free |
| Website | Kurashiki Walking Digital Stamp Rally |
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