Things to do in Kurashiki
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SWLABR
After the Bikan area closes down, relax with the good music and friendly staff at SWLABR. It's the green weatherboard house on the corner, a couple of blocks southeast of the station. Cocktails cost ¥600.
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Ōhashi House
Between the station and the canal area is the beautifully restored Ōhashi House, built in 1793. The house belonged to one of Kurashiki's richest families and was built at a time when prosperous merchants were beginning to claim privileges that had previously been the preserve of the samurai.
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Ōhara Museum of Art
This is Kurashiki's premier museum, housing the predominantly Western art collection amassed by local textile magnate Ōhara Magosaburō (1880–1943), with the help of artist Kojima Torajirō (1881–1929). The varied assemblage of paintings, prints and sculpture features works by Picasso, Cézanne, El Greco and Matisse, and one of Monet's water-lilies paintings (said to have been bought from the man himself by Torajirō while visiting Monet's home in 1920). While no rival to the major galleries of Europe, it's an interesting collection and one of the town's biggest attractions for Japanese tourists.
The valid-all-day ticket gets you into the museum's Craft and Asiatic Ar…
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Mamakari-tei
This traditional eatery, in a 200-year-old warehouse with chunky beams and long wooden tables, is famed for the sardine-like local speciality. This tasty fish is supposed to induce bouts of uncontrollable feasting, so that people are obliged to kari (borrow) more mama (rice) from their neighbours in order to carry on with their binge. Mamakari-zushi is ¥800; lunchtime-only set meals include a mamakari teishoku for ¥2625.
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Kurashiki Museum of Folk-craft
Housed in an attractive complex of rice warehouses dating from the late 18th century, with interesting exhibits of ceramics, glassware, textiles and furniture.
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Komachi
Handmade on site at this small shop are souvenir craft items, such as dolls, trinkets and accessories, using material from old kimonos. Look for the sign with the words 'I make an accessory with an old kimono'.
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Kojima Torajirō Memorial Hall
Kojima Torajirō was the European- style painter who went above and beyond in helping Ōhara build up his art collection; head to this museum to immerse yourself in his life.
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Kana Izumi
Slurp back freshly made sanuki-udon (a type of wheat noodle) dishes, such as sansai udon (udon with mountain vegetables; ¥650), at this speciality restaurant back from the canal. Full set meals include a tempura teishoku for ¥1600. You can also buy noodles in the attached shop to take home and cook for yourself. Look for the purple flag on the corner with the name in white.
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Kamoi
A large, pleasant canal-side restaurant opposite the Ōhara Museum, serving sashimi set meals, seafood-and-rice dishes, and some desserts (from ¥525). You can get the local sardine-like speciality here in mamakari-zushi form for ¥1050.
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Japan Rural Toy Museum
Four rooms are crammed with displays of wooden toys, masks, dolls and spinning tops (including a world record breaker), and a colourful array of kites just beckoning to be put on a breeze. You can purchase a new toy of your own in the attached shop.
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Ivy Square
Present-day Ivy Square was once the site of Ōhara's Kurabō textile factories. The company moved into more modern premises a long time ago, and the red-brick factory buildings (dating from 1889) now house a hotel, restaurants, shops and yet more museums, including the Kurabō Memorial Hall, where you can learn all about the history of the Japanese textile industry.
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Coffee-Kan Cafe
The low-ceilinged, wood-and-brick interior of this caffeine-lovers' paradise is thick with the aroma of freshly roasted beans. The menu features coffee and coffee only, though you can choose hot or cold. It's on the canal next to Ryokan Kurashiki.
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Bukkake Udon
In the less-than-atmospheric Bios Arcade across from the station, this local chain serves up the tasty Kurashiki udon speciality – called bukkake udon (from bukkakeru, meaning to pour or splash) because you tip the sauce over the noodles yourself. Tempura bukkake is ¥590. Or try a niku (meat) kimuchi bukkake for ¥680. Look for the sign with a ぶ in a yellow oval.
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Achi-jinja
A short walk from the canal area are the steep stone steps that lead up to this shrine in the Tsurugata-yama-kōen, a park that overlooks the old area of town.
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