After Christmas I made a nice trip to Kurashiki in Okayama prefecture. I’m reliably informed that it is known as “Little Kyoto” and it’s easy to see why. After the war it was decided that part of the old town would be protected. I’m guessing that everything has been rebuilt over the years but in a style reflecting the original old town. This makes for a very picturesque place to visit.

The main attraction for me was a visit to the Ohara Museum of Art. The classical style building above is one of the galleries. It has some wonderful paintings in it. It’s kind of like a tiny Japanese Guggenheim in that a rich industrialist sent a well known local artists off to Europe to collect appropriate art for him. The local artist was Kojima Torajiro and some of his work is on display in the museum too. Again, no photo’s were allowed but this postcard gives you an idea of his work.

There is also a collection of older Japanese work in a building that was a former grain store (if I remember correctly). This is the courtyard of the museum.

I also wandered through the streets of Kurashiki to find the former house of Ohara.

It was not unlike other traditional house exhibits with Tatami rooms and picturesque gardens. It did have some information about Ohara but mainly in Japanese.

I also climbed up to the Achi Shrine. There were some nice views over the old town. Unfortunately it was the wring time of day for photographs as the sun was pointing directly at me. Still, here’s a picture of the shrine.