Kurashiki in Bloom: A Sakura Dream Trip
- inspirasian
- Apr 3, 2024
- 1 min read
Kurashiki has perhaps the best preserved old town district to be found anywhere in Japan. Weeping willows line the picture-perfect canals with the old 'kura' warehouses on either side now housing art museum and charming coffee shops.
Due to its strategic position, surrounded by thousands of fertile rice fields, Kurashiki was used for rice storage during the Edo period. By barge from Shikoku and Kyushu and overland from western Honshu, tons of rice moved through Kurashiki every year.
The city's name reflects its heritage - "Kura" means storehouses and "Shiki" is from the verb meaning to "spread out". Hundreds of kura were built for the rice, and today many of them still remain in pristine condition. Many of these distinctive black-tiled warehouse buildings have been converted into museums, galleries, boutiques and cafes.
Along the canals that carried all that rice through this picturesque town, one can now find galleries such as the Ohara Art Museum, Japan's first Western Art museum containing masterpieces by Monet, Matisse and Renoir, as well as Asian and contemporary art.
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