Kurashiki

Despite having a beautiful historic center and being on the route to Hiroshima, just beyond Himeji, Kurashiki is a little-known city for Western tourists. It is famous for its canals and for being the city where denim was born in Japan.

Monuments and places of interest:

- Kurashiki Canals: The city's main attraction. They date back to the Edo period and connected the city center with the port. Kurashiki became an important rice distribution center, which is why on both sides of the canals, you can see many of the old warehouses that were used for rice from the area before it was sent and sold in Osaka or the old Edo (today Tokyo). Converted into cafes, restaurants, shops, and museums, these former warehouses, along with the canals and small stone bridges surrounded by willows, make a visit to Kurashiki a trip back in time.

- Warehouses: You can enjoy their original architecture, both inside and out. Among those converted into museums, the most notable are the Crafts Museum, converted in 1948 and now housing a wide variety of Japanese handicrafts; the Toy Museum, with a beautiful display of traditional Japanese toys from all over Japan; the Archaeological Museum, opened in 1950 and focusing on Japanese history; and the Kake Museum, opened in 2002 and showcasing various art restoration and preservation techniques.

- Ohara Museum: This 1930s building became Japan's first Western art museum. It houses works by Picasso, Gauguin, Rodin, Klee, Kandinsky, Pollock, Modigliani, and El Greco.

- Kojima and Jeans: The Kojima district is where the blue ink used to dye the cotton that is then woven into denim is produced. There are many specialty denim shops in town where you can buy almost anything, from traditional jeans to bags and all kinds of accessories.