{"id":27000,"date":"2022-04-09T15:00:39","date_gmt":"2022-04-09T15:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/?p=27000"},"modified":"2023-05-12T12:53:36","modified_gmt":"2023-05-12T12:53:36","slug":"learn-japanese-in-okayama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/blog\/learn-japanese-in-okayama\/","title":{"rendered":"Peaches & folklore: Why learn Japanese in Okayama"},"content":{"rendered":"

Famous for its folklore history, delicious fruit and beautiful landscape garden, Okayama is an important city located on the western part of Japan\u2019s Honshu island. The smaller size and relaxed pace of the city makes it a delightful experience to learn Japanese in Okayama.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more about the city, what it offers and why you might like to learn Japanese there.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Okayama<\/p>\n

Brief history of Okayama<\/b><\/h2>\n

Okayama was part of the Kibi Kingdom (<\/span>kibi no kuni <\/span><\/i>\u5409\u5099\u56fd)<\/span>, which existed during the Fourth Century in what is currently the Okayama region. The kingdom held significant power over trade in the area. The region continued to grow over the centuries until Okayama city was bombed during World War II (WWII). Most of the city centre, including the castle which was completed in 1597, had to be rebuilt.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Nowadays, Okayama city is the capital of Okayama Prefecture and an important transport hub in Western Japan. Its top industries include manufacture of machinery, textiles and rubber. It also has a respected denim industry.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Momotaro<\/p>\n

Okayama has a strong folklore history too, as residents claim the city is the original setting of the Japanese fairytale of <\/span>Momotar\u014d<\/span><\/i> \u6843\u592a\u90ce<\/span>. According to this tale, an old childless couple found a baby boy inside a giant peach floating down a river. They named him Momotar\u014d. When he grew up, he traveled to Onigashima, or Demon Island, to fight demons that were causing trouble in neighbouring villages. He defeated the demons, brought their treasures back home and gave them to the old couple as gratitude for everything they did for him.<\/span><\/p>\n

You\u2019ll find references to this throughout Okayama city. The main street is called Momotar\u014d Od\u014dri and there are statues depicting the fairytale.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Person<\/p>\n

Things to see and do<\/b><\/h2>\n

K\u014drakuen Garden (\u5f8c\u697d\u5712)<\/b><\/h3>\n

Ranked one of Japan\u2019s top three landscape gardens, <\/span>K\u014drakuen<\/span><\/i> is easily Okayama\u2019s most famous attraction. The garden was constructed in 1687 for the ruling family at the time. It\u2019s a peaceful, beautifully maintained green space to go for a walk and enjoy some nature.<\/span><\/p>\n

Okayama Castle (Okayamaj\u014d \u5ca1\u5c71\u57ce)<\/b><\/h3>\n

This castle was built by the area\u2019s lord in the 16th century, taking eight years to complete. It was destroyed during the Second World War, but rebuilt in the 1960s to its current state. Unlike many other castles in Japan, <\/span>Okayamaj\u014d<\/span><\/i> is black rather than white and is situated by a river.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The castle is located next to K\u014drakuen.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Kibi Plain (Kibiji <\/b>\u5409\u5099\u8def)<\/b><\/h3>\n

Grab your bike and explore this rural flatland located just outside of central Okayama city. Breathe in the fresh country air as you ride past farmland, temples, burial mounds and wildlife.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t own a bike, you can easily rent bikes from shops in front of Bizen-Ichinomiya Station, Soja Station and near Bitch\u016b-Kokubunji Temple (\u5099\u4e2d\u56fd\u5206\u5bfa).<\/span><\/p>\n

Side trips<\/b><\/h2>\n

Naoshima \u76f4\u5cf6<\/b><\/h3>\n

Okayama is a springboard for exploring the small modern art island of Naoshima. The island is well-known for its art museums, installations and sculptures, especially its iconic pumpkin sculptures by contemporary artist Yayoi Kusama.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Inujima \u72ac\u5cf6<\/b><\/h3>\n

This island was once used for quarrying and smelting, but is now a peaceful art island. Its literal name is \u201cdog island\u201d because of its rock formation that looks like a sitting dog. Since it\u2019s so small, it\u2019s easy to explore the entire island by foot.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kurashiki <\/b>\u5009\u6577<\/b><\/h3>\n

This picturesque old merchant town is located just 15 minutes away from Okayama city by train. Many of the historic warehouses survived WWII and have been repurposed into boutiques, restaurants and museums. Wander around the well-preserved streets and take a ride in a traditional Japanese boat along the canals lined with willow trees.<\/span><\/p>\n

Shikoku <\/b>\u56db\u56fd<\/b><\/h3>\n

Shikoku is one of Japan\u2019s five main islands and the second-smallest after Okinawa. Its mountainous interior terrain is popular amongst nature lovers and hikers. It\u2019s also home to the 88 Temple Pilgrimage, or <\/span>Shikoku Henro<\/span><\/i> \u56db\u56fd<\/span>\u904d\u8def. This journey takes pilgrims to all 88 of the island\u2019s temples in about 40 to 50 days if walking.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to explore Shikoku from Okayama, but you may have to make multiple trips to take in everything the island has to offer!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Hinase<\/p>\n

Local cuisine<\/b><\/h2>\n

Food-wise, Okayama is best known for producing high quality fruit thanks to being blessed with a lot of sunshine. You\u2019ll find plenty of regional variations on traditional Japanese food too. Here are just a few examples!<\/span><\/p>\n

White peach (Hakut\u014d<\/b>\u767d\u6843)<\/b><\/h3>\n

This is Okayama\u2019s most famous produce. The soft and sweet peach varieties produced in Okayama can be sold for as much as 1500 yen per fruit. It\u2019s fitting that this area is known for peaches, since the Momotar\u014d folklore mentioned earlier is so prevalent here.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"White<\/p>\n

Grapes (Bud\u014d \u8461\u8404)<\/b><\/h3>\n

Another fruit that Okayama is known for is grapes. The most famous types include green Muscat grapes and juicy Pione grapes, which are black. The \u201cShine Muscat\u201d variety grapes are notoriously expensive, with 1 kilogram fetching up to 10,000 yen.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Hinase Kakioko\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n

If you know something about Japanese cuisine, you might already know about <\/span>okonomiyaki<\/span><\/i> \u304a\u597d\u307f\u713c\u304d<\/span>– a savoury pancake originating from Osaka.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Okayama\u2019s variation on the traditional okonomiyaki is the Hinase Kakioko. \u201cHinase\u201d, or Hinase-ch\u014d <\/span>\u65e5\u751f\u753a, is a town in Okayama prefecture where the main industry is oyster farming. \u201cKaki\u201d <\/span>\u7261\u8823 means oyster and \u201coko\u201d is short for okonomiyaki.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While classic okonomiyaki usually includes pork or seafood in the batter, Hinase Kakioko is topped with fresh oysters instead.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kibidango (<\/b>\u5409\u5099\u56e3\u5b50)<\/b><\/h3>\n

A sweet snack very similar to <\/span>mochi <\/span><\/i>\u9905<\/span>, made from glutinous rice starch, syrup and sugar. It was originally made with millet, or <\/span>kibi<\/span><\/i> \u9ecd. You\u2019ll commonly find these in souvenir shops with different flavours.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the tale of Momotar\u014d, he exchanges a portion of his kibidango for help on his mission from a talking dog, monkey and pheasant.<\/span><\/p>\n

Barazushi (<\/b>\u3070\u3089\u5bff\u53f8)<\/b><\/h3>\n

A local type of sushi that is made up of a bowl of rice topped with different ingredients, including seafood from the local Seto Inland Sea and various vegetables. During the feudal era, Okayama\u2019s lord ordered each meal to only consist of one soup and one side dish. To get around this, barazushi was invented so that lots of different ingredients could be added on top of the rice but still count as \u201cone dish\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Why you should learn Japanese in Okayama<\/b><\/h2>\n

There are plenty of reasons to learn Japanese in Okayama, especially for those who want a quieter lifestyle without sacrificing the conveniences of living in a developed city.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The area is nicknamed the \u201cLand of Sunshine\u201d, which gives you an idea of the type of climate you\u2019ll experience here. It\u2019s why fruit grows so well in this region and why it\u2019s surrounded by lush nature. A major plus if you like the outdoors!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

By being in a smaller city, you\u2019ll find it more challenging to get by without Japanese language skills. This may sound scary at first, but it\u2019s actually a good thing because you\u2019ll be motivated to <\/span>pick the language up faster<\/b>. You\u2019ll be able to interact with more Japanese people in Japanese since it\u2019s less likely they\u2019ll be able to speak your language. Read more in our article about <\/span>why learning Japanese by full-immersion<\/span><\/a> is the best way to go.<\/span><\/p>\n

Additionally, the <\/span>cost of living will be cheaper <\/b>than in the major cities like Tokyo and Osaka. For example, you might expect to pay between 20,000-40,000 yen for a room before utilities in a share house in Okayama city. Whereas in Osaka you might pay around 50,000-70,000 yen before utilities for a share house room. Read more <\/span>here<\/span><\/a> about accommodation options in Japan.<\/span><\/p>\n

Due to its location and great transport links, Okayama is also a fantastic place to explore the rest of Japan from. Western Japan boasts some incredible places to explore, including the island of Shikoku, nearby Kansai region (including <\/span>Osaka<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Kyoto<\/span><\/a>) and the Ch\u016bgoku region (home to Hiroshima).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Learn Japanese in Okayama with the Okayama Institute of Language<\/a>. Find out more about the school here or <\/b>contact us<\/b><\/a> to apply.<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Famous for its folklore history, delicious fruit and beautiful landscape garden, Okayama is an important city located on the western part of Japan\u2019s Honshu island. The smaller size and relaxed pace of the city makes it a delightful experience to learn Japanese in Okayama.\u00a0 Read more about the city, what it offers and why you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107,"featured_media":26226,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[401],"tags":[680],"class_list":["post-27000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life-in-japan","tag-study-in-japan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/107"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27000"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27000\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}