Kurashiki was next in our intinerary and definitely raised the bar one notch on the quality of our visit to Japan. What a great town, but moreover, our accommodation was the highlight of the stay here!
The logistics for getting here from Miyajima were complex, but everything went smoothly. The sequence was hotel courtest bus + ferry + local train + shinkansen + local train + taxi. We arrived before check-in time, so had an opportunity to walk around this delightful canal town for a couple of hours before we entered the Ryokan Kursashiki. Lonely Planet says this ryokan is the best in town, so we had high expections, but they were well met.
We called them "yellow rattlers" but these old JR local trains were in superb condition, and always crowded.
Ryokan Kurashiki is located in the Bikan Historical Area along a canal which is the focus of visitor attractiveness here. Alan Gibson was doubtful about whether the taxi could actually deliver us to the door, because the canal-side is a pedestrian mall, but the taxi just patiently worked his way past everyone.
Front of Ryokan Kurashiki.
The ryokan was a two storey establishment on a large site, with maybe half a dozen guest rooms amongst beautifully designed and decorated common areas, a restaurant, a "terrace" and a garden. Our room (shoes off), designated Higashi was a tatami floored suite with living room, bedroom, study and bathroom. It was simply glorious.
The living room of Higashi at Ryokan Kurashiki.
The "terrace" of Ryokan Kurashiki.
We were asked to wear a yukata and slippers at breakfast and dinner. Our yakatas were personally fitted, and we were shown exactly how to wear and tie them. The left side must wrap over the right - only bodies at their funerals are wrapped the opposite way.
This ryokan did not have "his and hers" public bathhouses, but did have a private one which we could use together but had to book a time for. (In fact, the word "yakata" literally means "bathing clothes".) We made good use of it in the evenings after dinner - it had showering facilities for three, a huge hot tub, and a window which opened onto a private garden.
Kaiseki dinners at Ryokan Kurashiki were spectacular, and as said before, raised the standard a distinct notch. Each course was a picture in itself, and for each meal we had a complete menu showing all constituents. This was so helpful - without it we would never had had such a good appreciation of what we were eating, even though the kimono-clad servers explained everything to us as well. They carefully noted what we ate and didn't eat!
The first course of our first kaiseki dinner at Ryokan Kurashiki.
Garden at Ryokan Kurashiki.
This detail on Ryokan Kurashiki is given because this accommodation was the destination for us here. But the town was pretty good too, so it comes highly recommended by us.
The town was once a river port controlled by the shogunate (the military), and many extant buildings along the canal and nearby are Edo period warehouses ("kura" means "warehouse"), now transformed to cafes, restaurants, ryokans, craft and souvenir shops. Old photos of the canal aren't too pretty, and it has been beautified by damming and raising the water level in the touristy area. The canal is sided with weeping willows and stocked with koi, plus two swans.
Very pretty streetscape along the Bikan area canal.
Old photograph of the canal. Building which is now the Ryokan Kurashiki is bottom left.
Boat riders can't get under this bridge in the elevated waters of the Bikan canal.
The wooden 1600's era warehouses in Bikan are often painted white with traditional black tiles. The area has underground power to honour the look of the Meiji period.
Edo Period white painted with black tile warehouse construction typical of the Bikan Historical District.
Copper coloured roofing on one building.
Walking around this dammed canal area is a sheer pleasure, day and night, and Bikan is obviously a popular visitor spot. But we didn't see another westerner here - all day-trippers and visitors were Japanese. Riding a gondola-like boat the 200m or so of navigable water was an activity popular with many visitors. There'd be quite a queue in summer!
Ivy covered greek restaurant.
Warehouses along the Bikan canal.
Old building being renovated, at dusk.
Kurashiki side street in the evening.
Not far from the canal is an old and pretty market street Honmachi which fortunately suffers very little traffic and is lined with old warehouses in good order and condition. Heading towards the railway station, this street becomes a what we now recognise as a typical covered modern shopping mall.
Buildings of Honmachi.
Covered shopping mall.
Posing in rented kimonos may be part of coming of age celebrations.
Roof-scape of Kurashiki.
And of course, there are the inevitable shrines, the most notable (we saw) being the Achi Shrine on top of a steep hill.
Shrine roofing detail.
Cemeteries seem to pop up on hills where it is too steep to place other buildings.
Washing fountains in Japan are always photogenic.
Kurashiki delivered us two surprises. The first was the Ohara Museum of Art housed in a fine old building of Greek architecture (plus annex). Ohara was not an Irishman as you might think, but was a Kurashiki born industrialist, Magosaburo Ohara (1880-1943) who sponsored a local talented artist, Torajiro Kojima (1881-1929) to buy the best European classics available.
At the main entrance to Ohara Museum.
Modern sculptures at Ohara Art Museuem.
One of the classical art galleries in the Ohara Museum.
Kale in a teapot.
Accordingly, the Ohara Museum collection includes great works by Monet, El Greco, Gaugin, Matisse and others, as well as a good sampling of Kojima's own, and more contemporary stuff. This is a most impressive gallery, justifying a visit to Kurashiki in its own right.
Cuppa complete with origami crane in the courtyard of the Ohara house.
Twilight illuminations in Kurashiki.
The other surprise was on the far side of Kurashiki Station, which we discovered purely by accident. There is a beautiful clock tower central to a roundabout decorated with an unexpected Nordic theme. On the hour, the tower reveals mobile displays of four Hans Christian Andersen tales, accompanied by carillon music.
Clock tower square and north entrance to Kurashiki Station.
We also saw a themed cafe called "The Little Mermaid" in the station. Why is this here? It seems that there was once a fun-park next to the station called Tivoli but it went broke in 2008 and was replaced by a shopping mall. The clock tower and Nordic themes are a commemoration of the Tivoli.
Nordic warrior statues protect the clock tower at Kurashiki Station.
Fairy tales on the hour at the clock tower.
It was sad to leave Kurashiki, but our three days here was up, and very well spent. We absolutely loved our Ryokan Kurashiki, and our Higashi suite. To top it off, management there gave us our tickets to the Ohara Museum, and paid for our taxi back to the station. They know how to make their customers feed good!
No espresso but exquisite Guatemalan coffee preparation at the Cafe Coffee-Kan.
French style cappucino, with rich sweet cream.
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