I’m Okuno Daiji, a freelance writer and blogger taking a stroll around Kurashiki after being asked, “Try coming to Kurashiki on a whim from Tokyo as a man in his 40s, and see what kinds of places you visit!”
Today is my second day in Kurashiki.
The previous day, I experienced Kurashiki with the sea in mind, visiting the Tamashima area and trying Shimotsui octopus. What kind of Kurashiki will I discover today?
I’m excited.
▼ Click here for the other “Kurashiki Tocotoco strolls from Tokyo” articles!
- Day 1: Walking through the Showa-retro streets of Tamashima, Kurashiki City
- Day 3: From the Bikan Historical Area to Mabi, which was hit by torrential rain
The information presented was accurate at the time this article was published in December 2019. Please note that it may differ from current information.
Breakfast: Kurashiki’s famous Bukkake udon
Ignoring the hotel breakfast buffet, I headed to the area in front of JR Kurashiki Station to look for a good breakfast, and immediately spotted the words “Bukkake udon.”
Bukkake udon is a Kurashiki specialty.
You can eat it first thing in the morning too!
Well, I couldn’t pass that up.
I went right in.
“Bukkake udon,” as it’s called in ordinary udon terminology (?), is also part of the restaurant’s name. I wonder if this “bukkake style” is especially famous.
The key seems to be plenty of tempura bits and grated ginger.
I like adding grated yam to noodles, so I ordered the cold But-toro (bukkake topped with grated yam).
The udon had a chewy texture and a firm bite.
I think the bukkake broth is based on kombu and bonito, and its distinctive feature is a sweetness that balances out the saltiness.
Perhaps thanks to that, the overall flavor was gentle. The broth tasted delicious with wasabi mixed in, and compared with ordinary salty udon broth, it made me happy to think, “This is delicious!”
What a great breakfast!
▼ For information about the restaurant’s food, see this article.
The “Nostalgia Market” was being held in the plaza in front of Geibunkan Hall
My main purpose that day was to watch the public match of the shogi title tournament, the Oyama Meijin Cup Kurashiki Toka.
In shogi, the only game where you can watch so much of the match—from the middle game onward—in a public viewing is Game 2 of the Kurashiki Toka.
By tradition, Game 2 is held in Kurashiki as a public match, and it’s wonderful how close it makes you feel to a shogi title match.
▼ See this match report for details!
Now, on the way to the venue for the Kurashiki Toka.
I passed a bakery, thinking that it might be nice to have breakfast there if I got tired of the hotel breakfast buffet.
The Bikan Historical Area has a beautifully preserved townscape. The banks of its main river are lovely, but I also thought that these narrow lanes really have a special charm…
I arrived in front of Geibunkan Hall.
Waiting to greet me was a classic car from years gone by: a Ferrari Dino!
Men in their late 40s belong to the generation that experienced the supercar boom as children.
It’s a classic car that brings back those days.
Wow! But it’s kind of small! Why is that?
When I got closer and looked, I learned it was a replica designed to be mounted on a Volkswagen Beetle. Its engine is 1,600 cc, the size of a Japanese compact car.
At 2.5 million yen after assembly, I couldn’t tell whether that was expensive or cheap.
Apparently, it’s sold by a local company.
Why was it on display here?
It seems it was because the Kurashiki Nostalgia Market was being held that day.
Along with food stalls, all kinds of antiques, little ornaments, potted plants, and more were on sale in abundance.
As a traveler, I couldn’t add to my luggage, so I just browsed. But I had curry rice from a food stall and takoyaki with sesame oil and green onions to prepare for the public match.
Sesame oil and salt on takoyaki—this works too.
Hmm? Didn’t I eat octopus with a similar combination last night too…?
![Walking through the Showa-retro streets of Tamashima, Kurashiki City — Kurashiki Tocotoco from Tokyo, Vol. 1 [Day 1]](https://media.kuratoco.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/23051518/P7060514.jpg)
Reflecting on a great Showa-era master at the Yasuharu Oyama Memorial Hall
You can come and go freely during the public match, so while there was still some time before the climax, I visited the Yasuharu Oyama Memorial Hall on the same grounds.
Yasuharu Oyama, the 15th Lifetime Meijin, was a great shogi master of the Showa era who died in 1992.
Some of you may know that in 1996, Yoshiharu Habu became the first player to hold all seven titles at once. But Oyama, the 15th Lifetime Meijin, became a five-crown champion when there were only five shogi titles.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that he was unbeatable from the latter half of the 1950s through the early 1970s.
In shogi, a mind sport, it is extraordinary that he remained at the top level for such a long time, as shown by the following achievements:
- Won the Osho title at the age of 59
- Won the NHK Cup Shogi Tournament at 60
- Challenged for the top title, the Meijin, at 63
- Challenged for the Kiō title at 66
Can you believe someone could still be in contention for titles in a mind sport at 66?
And here I am, already becoming more forgetful at 48.
For Habu Yoshiharu 9-dan and Fujii Sota 7-dan to be called “the greatest of all time” by so many people, they’ll probably have to match the achievements of Meijin Oyama, the 15th holder of the title, in their later years.
They may already have surpassed him in terms of peak strength, but I think anyone who knew Meijin Oyama will understand the remarkable feat of staying at the top for so long.
That was a long introduction, but the Yasuharu Oyama Memorial Museum displays shogi boards and pieces used by Meijin Oyama, as well as portraits, statues, and other items.
It also seems to function as a small shogi club. When I visited, several young people who looked like students were studying shogi across a board.
I am a takoyaki shop. I have no name yet.
Maybe I was still tired from the day before, or perhaps watching the Kurashiki Toka match had worn me out mentally. Either way, I started to feel a little tired.
So after the match, I went back to the hotel for a nap, then headed out to explore Kurashiki at night.
I’d decided that today I would go to that shop I’d spotted the day before and had my eye on.
“Shimotsui octopus”
That’s the shop, with its dazzling banner. It’s two doors down from the Bukkake udon shop where I’d had breakfast.
But I couldn’t figure out the shop’s name.
The owner wouldn’t tell me when I asked, but there’s a rumor online that the shop is called “Arigato” (“Thank You”).
What’s that about?
Come to think of it, I’d eaten octopus last night and again at lunch today…
No, it doesn’t bother me at all.
I could tell just by peeking inside that there were only four or five seats.
I looked in around 7 p.m., but it was full, so I walked on. I wandered around nearby and came back twice.
At around 9 p.m., I finally managed to get in.
The owner was a man around 70, with the unmistakable air of an old-timer.
You can get Shimotsui takoyaki and fried octopus for 350 to 450 yen, but…
“I only light the stove after you order, so it’ll take 10 to 15 minutes.”
He ran the place at his own pace.
While enjoying beer and chilled tofu, which came out right away, I ordered takoyaki, fried octopus, and octopus sashimi.
The octopus was wonderfully firm and fragrant.
The day before, I’d had Shimotsui octopus in a dish that was all about the seafood, but today I enjoyed it in a very down-to-earth way.
Come to think of it, this may have been the first time I’d eaten takoyaki as an “octopus dish” rather than as “flour-based food”.
When I’ve eaten takoyaki before, I think I’ve described it as
“crispy on the outside, but fluffy and gooey inside!”
But when I ate it this time, I thought, “Wow, the octopus inside is delicious!”
The octopus sashimi came with vinegared miso.
Yesterday, sesame oil and salt gave me a new experience; today, it was vinegared miso.
This opened up yet another new world of octopus sashimi for me.
I got to try something new again.
If you come to Kurashiki, you should eat octopus.
You won’t regret it.
Bikan Historical Area is photogenic late at night!
After savoring the octopus, I visited the Bikan Historical Area, where all the shop lights had gone out.
By 10 or 11 p.m., the Bikan Historical Area’s role as a tourist destination seems to be over, and people have moved on to the entertainment district.
I went against the flow of people and headed for the deserted Bikan Historical Area.
The Bikan Historical Area had become a town lit only by streetlights and the lights of shops closing up for the day, with hardly anyone around.
Every so often, someone heading home from another part of town would pass by, or a couple would stroll slowly along, looking happy together.
There was no wind that night, and the river was beautiful as a mirror, except for the occasional ripples made by carp.
Above all, the lack of foot traffic really brings out the beauty of the scenery.
I’d seen the busy Bikan Historical Area during the day and the area at sunset on tourism websites.
But wow, isn’t the Bikan Historical Area beautiful after everyone has gone home!
I mildly regretted not bringing my night photography gear.
The Bikan Historical Area after the crowds have gone is definitely worth a visit!
Here are a few photos of the Bikan Historical Area at night.
Day two: discovering shogi culture and rediscovering takoyaki
As someone who has played shogi for 40 years, the Kurashiki Toka title match was one I’d always wanted to see in person.
I first learned the name Kurashiki because it was the hometown of Meijin Oyama, the 15th holder of the title.
It was a truly precious experience to enjoy a public match in the solemn atmosphere of the great Meijin’s hometown.
Another major highlight was the powerful impression that Kurashiki has delicious octopus!
I’d eaten it the day before, too, but when something served casually at an unpretentious local shop tastes this good, you can tell it’s rooted in the area.
Takoyaki is an octopus dish.
I never get tired of it. I really never get tired of it. I could eat it forever. I want more. I want even more.
It was that delicious…
If you love octopus, you should visit Kurashiki!
The Bikan Historical Area at night was a rare spot that brought together beautiful scenery and night views, quiet, and very few people.
It’s not often you get to feel as if you have a beautiful nightscape all to yourself. It was a moment that made me glad I’d come to Kurashiki.
A solemn public match, the Bikan Historical Area deserted at night.
If you had to choose between “stillness” and “motion,” the second day in Kurashiki was all about “stillness.”
Information about the next event
Next time: the final day of a three-day, two-night stroll around Kurashiki Tocotoco!
I also visited spots around the Bikan Historical Area.
Places like Achi Shrine and Kurashiki Ivy Square.
The “Kurashiki Department Store,” brimming with Showa-era atmosphere in the area in front of JR Kurashiki Station, is also worth a look.
Kurashiki City is more than just the Bikan Historical Area.
Mabi, which suffered extensive damage in the July 2018 torrential rains, is also part of Kurashiki City.
Thinking about what it was like at the time, I drove around with an acquaintance who had rushed around tirelessly during the disaster.
What would you like to know about Kurashiki?
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