Okayama

We zipped into Okayama on Shinkansen. The ride fast and fun as usual. We barely had time to eat our snack! Janet noticed how the conductors and snack cart ladies all bowed to the passengers as they entered and left each car. On the ride we passes through many tunnels. When the train entered a tunnel, we could feel the windows get pushed in a bit if our hands were on them to feel the effect.

The city of Okayama honors the Japanese folk hero, Momotaro. Briefly, Momotaro is the long wished for son of an old man and woman. He is found in the pit of a peach (momo in Japanese) nevers grows higher than a few inches but goes on great adventures with his companions, a pheasant, a dog, and monkey. Throughout Okayama's downtown district, there are occasional statues, manhole covers, and restaurants honoring Momotaro.

Our first morning in town, we visited the samurai castle of Okayama jo. It is a rebuilt castle that stands high on a bank in a bend in the Asahi River. The river made a substantial moat on one side of the castle. On the other side, remnants of the moat and outer walls could be found here and there in the downtown district. Finding an old gate or seeing a section of wall down an alley is a fun scavenger hunt. In the castle, we took the elevator up to the top. We looked out the window and saw the golden dolphins that protect the castle from fire. The five floors of the museum were devoted to honoring the samurai family that lived there and ruled Okayama for hundreds of years.

Okayama-jo is nicknamed the Black Heron. It is said that its black color was a response to the building of the famous White Egret castle of Himeji-jo.

Riding in the lord's palanquin.








In the distance, behind the golden dolphin, lies Korakuen. Korakuen was once the lord samurai's private garden. It is now a public garden, said to be one of the most beautiful in all of Japan. It is very beautiful and relaxing indeed. Korakuen has large expanses of grass, larger than any we've seen in Japan. In th efront areas of the park, there were small gates that prevented people from going onto the grass. However, deep in the back part, there were no gates. We were hesitant to go on the grass, biut once we saw a Japanese school group having snack there, we sat beneatha cherry tree and picnicked. After eating,the Japanese school children began to play. E, S, and M joined in and it was a wild game of chase and tag. It was loud and crazy, but no one seemed to mind. Perhaps because it was all happening in a relatively far off section of the park.

The park's signature feature is a little hill overlooking a pond. The pond has an island in it and on the island is a tea house. M and K went in for green tea and Japanese sweets amid the calm water sof the pond. In the tea house they enjoyed the peace and quiet.

























Meanwhile the rest of us explored the park. Janet and I walked about on the paths. S and E ran and ran and ran. Every once in a while I would catch sight of one of them as a blur between some trees.

The park was such a pleasant place for all of us. After traveling about so much, it was so good to be free to move or not move on our own.

Everything in the park is made, planted, and tended by people. The hill and pond are artificial. The trees and flowers are all planned and planted to provide a certain mood or effect. Trees are continually pruned and and made to grow certain ways. The whole idea of beauty is one of nature adapted by people.