Things to do in Kurashiki in the Okayama Prefecture 2026 Guide

A charming canalside city dating back to the Edo period, Kurashiki 倉敷 is home to historic streets, hillside temples and many museums.

An easy day trip from Osaka, we visited Kurashiki a couple of times whilst staying in nearby Okayama and found it very busy at weekends but more calm along the canal during the week.

Once an industrial enclave packed full of warehouses, Kurashiki is now reborn as a pretty city – Indeed some elements of Kurashiki are a bit of a tourist trap (like Denim Street) but it is still picturesque and worth a visit.

From Pokemon manhole covers to souvenir stamps here is our guide to all the things to do in Kurashiki.

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How to get to Kurashiki

We visited a couple of times in December last year. Our first visit was on a Sunday which was packed with locals and tourists. However we enjoyed our visit so much that we returned again the next day on Monday and it was so much quieter.

We stayed in Okayama for several nights as a base to explore the local area as it was just a short local JR train ride away from Okayama station.

From Osaka

To reach Kurashiki from Osaka take the Shinkansen train from Shin-Osaka station to Okayama station (45 to 60 minutes) and change to a JR Sanyo Line local train to Kurashiki station (15 to 20 minutes). It is then around a 15 minute walk to the historical part of town from the south exit (or you can take a bus).

From Hiroshima

To reach Kurashiki from Hiroshima take the Shinkansen train from Hiroshima station to Okayama station (the fastest trains take 40 minutes), and then follow the above steps for Okayama station to Kurashiki station.

Where to stay in Kurashiki

Given the historical setting of Kurashiki, much of the accommodation here is boutique based or ryokan style accommodation.

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Things to do in Kurashiki

Bikan Historical Quarter

If you’ve seen Kurashiki before on social media, it is likely photos of the canals and the traditional boats in the Bikan 美観 – here is where you’ll find lots of beautiful photoshops, weeping willow trees and wooden bridges (plus the occasional swan).

Bikan Historical Quarter is the former trading area and heart of Kurashiki that dates back to the Edo period (1603–1868).

Alongside the canal, you’ll find a number of small alleys with shops and eateries plus you can also explore the local area by rickshaw.

Many of the former warehouses here have now been transformed into shops and businesses – you can learn more about the history of the local area by visiting the Kurashikikan Information Center (also a great free toilet stop too)!

Kurashiki Welcome Tour Guides (KWG) run free walking tours in English from 1.30pm to 3pm on weekdays (Monday to Friday). They depart from outside the Kurashikikan Information Center (map). No reservation is required, just show up a few minutes before the start time at the meeting point.

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Kurashiki manholes covers (including Pokémon / PokéLids)

Gotta catch ‘em all – Pokémon lids / manhole covers can be found in Kurashiki (alongside lots of other colorful manholes featuring local mascots).

Japanese manhole covers (マンホール蓋 – Manhōru futa) are colourful and often delightfully designed with intricate patterns creating an urban utopia out of what is usually just a drab sewer cover – and Kurashiki has loads!

But the best are the four different Poké Lid manhole covers located in Kurashiki. Three out of four of the manhole covers are located in Bikan Historical Quarter (Poochyena, Beautifly and Unfezant), whilst the Lucario one is located much further out of town. Please refer to the map on the official Poké Lid website for exact locations >

You might like our guide to the cult of Japanese manhole covers >

Kurashiki Achi Shrine

Although it takes a lot of steep steps to visit, Achi shrine (map) is one of the top things to do in Kurashiki not only for the shrine itself, but the views it offers of the town especially the Hommachi shopping street directly below.

Kurashiki’s main shrine located on Tsurugata Mountain, the temple is a peaceful place to walk around and famous for Japan’s biggest Akebono wisteria tree and torii steps – on our first visit on a sunny Sunday morning, there were locals taking part in a huge feast and celebration.

Many of the gates here have intricate carvings and the highlight is Emadono Hall, where you can turn around and see incredible views behind you of the local area.

Kurashiki Ebisu Shotengai (Ebisu-dori Shopping Street)

A traditional covered shopping street (shotengai) in Kurashiki, we walked through Kurashiki Ebisu Shotengai (map) to get to the Bikan Historical Quarter from the main train station.

Like taking a step back in time, it is full of vintage shops and family-run restaurants with a treasure trove of old items and cut-price gachapon capsule toys.

Kurashiki Ebisu Shotengai is an interesting area to explore but you may need to use Google Translate quite a bit as it isn’t as tourist friendly as some other places.

We also found a lot of places here (mainly the bars) that were closed during the daytime so it may be somewhere you may want to revisit at night too.

Kurashiki Hommachi

Just along from the covered shopping street, Kurashiki’s main shopping street Hommachi (map) lies just below Aichi Shrine and is one of the most photographed areas.

As well as numerous gift shops and souvenirs, this is the main area for cool cafes and traditional restaurants, many of which have little courtyards.

As well as kitsch gifts, you’ll also find some genuinely stunning souvenirs and local crafts – Hommachi is also where you’ll see fine examples of local homes and ‘Machiya’ (traditional wooden townhouses with tiled roofs).

Just be on guard for all the rickshaws and walking tours – Hommachi is busy but beautiful too.

Food and Drink in Kurashiki

Kurashiki has a wide variety of sit-down restaurants, epic eateries, cute cafes and street-food vendors. Some of the places / foods we tried in Kurashiki include:

Kurashiki Croquettes

Kurashiki is famous for its croquettes (korokke), including the well-known Gold Prize Croquette, known for beef and sweet potato fillings in the Bikan Historical Quarter.

We tried the Shirakabe Croquettes (map) which was 200 Yen for a Gold Award beef, potato and onion croquette – delicious!

Kurashiki Pudding

You cannot leave Kurashiki without trying this local decadent dessert – we visited this small store (map) and bought our 400 Yen classic pudding downstairs before taking it upstairs to the second floor dining area to eat it.

Not too sweet, Kurashiki Pudding 倉敷プリンis a classic and creamy caramel pudding and a nice treat after all that walking around the canals.

Shisui

One of our Kurashiki highlights, the queue to get into Shisui 士水 (map) was too busy on our first Sunday visit so we went back on the Monday when the weekend crowds had disappeared.

We can see what all the fuss was about – so simple and yet so sublime, Shisui 士水 specialises in grilled rice balls.

With a gorgeous interior and only a handful of interiors, this is truly a unique experience in Kurashiki – we enjoyed grilled rice balls, pickles, tea, amazake and a local Kurashiki stout beer – truly a memorable meal and for not much money.

Shodoshima Ramen Hishio

We visited Kurashiki on a couple of cold winter mornings in December so on one occasion, we wanted to warm up with some ramen.

We stumbled upon Shodoshima Ramen Hishio (map) in the historical quarter, a small diner style ramen restaurant with just a few seats. We ordered at the self service machine, sat at the bar and watched as the chef cooked our ramen dishes.

The meal was nothing spectacular but hearty food and quickly served – a bowl of ramen with meat / stock costs between 950 to 1,300 Yen. We recommend the Hishio red ramen which was roast pork, Korean salt, red pepper, ground sesame and green onion.

Museums in Kurashiki

There are several main museums in Kurashiki to visit, the most famous of which is the Ohara Museum of Art 大原美術館 (map), said to be one of Japan’s most famous collections of Western art with over 3,000 works on display in a historic building, by famous painters such as Monet, Matisse and Rodin.

Other popular Kurashiki museums include:

• Kurashiki Museum of Folkcraft (Kurashiki Mingei-kan) – located in an old storehouse (map)
• Gangukan – Japanese Folk Toys Museum (map)
• Kibibi Museum and Garden (map)
• Betty Smith Jeans Museum (map)
• Kurashiki Archaeological Museum (map)
• Yumiko Igarashi Manga Museum (map)

Ivy Square 倉敷アイビースクエア

Located a short stroll away from the canal area, Ivy Square used to be a cotton mill and before that, a local judicial office – these days, it has been transformed into an artisanal area of shops, cafes plus the upmarket Kurashiki Ivy Square Hotel.

This was originally Japan’s first cotton mill and many of the red brick walls and original features – if you want to learn more about the site, there is even a dedicated Kurabo Spinning Mill Museum.

Check out rates at the Kurashiki Ivy Square Hotel >

Denim Street / Kojima Jeans Street

Possibly one of the more touristic things to do in Kurashiki, this is a small side-street (map) adorned with blue denim jeans, a flashback to the time when the area was awash with cotton mills and clothing warehouses.

These days, as well as jean stores and boutique blue denim shops, there are also lots of quirky / naff products and food here themed like jeans including blue bao buns and blue ice-cream.

Kurashiki Denim Street is fun but frothy so if you are short on time, it doesn’t take a ‘jean-ius’ to work out you can skip this bit.

Gift stores in Kurashiki

Miffy Kitchen Kurashiki

There are lots of beautiful bakeries and fun themed shops in Kurashiki and Miffy Kitchen (map) is no exception.

A kaleidoscope of Kawaii and colourful cooking items, Miffy Kitchen Bakery brings to life Dick Bruna’s Miffy the Rabbit character, both in terms of blissful bakery items like Miffy cubes and red bean buns, plus a huge line of branded cookware and sublime souvenirs.

Read our guide to Miffy Kitchen bakery and shops in Japan >

SNOOPY Chocolat Kurashiki

Next door to Miffy Kitchen is SNOOPY Chocolat (map) – a popular Snoopy-themed chocolate shop!

The store blends Japanese confectionery style with iconic Peanuts characters plus other Snoopy themed items of merchandise such as plushies toys, mugs and denim-style items (a nod to Denim Street). The Kurashiki store is one of several locations across Japan.

くらし器てぬぐいGocha

Gocha (map) is a cute gift store selling loads of awesome locally made tenugui cloths with decorative Japanese landscapes, patterns and cute animal illustrations.

We purchased a quirky one with a design of pandas eating at a sushi restaurant!

Nyochiku-do

Nyochiku-do (map) is a charming stationery shop selling items such as cute stickers, envelopes, paper lanterns and other fun craft items. However they are famous for selling hundreds of patterned decorative washi tapes (masking tape)!

Tsuneki Bizen Ware store

Tsuneki Bizen Ware Store (map) is a popular ceramics store by the canal that sells traditional bizen ware (Bizen-yaki) – a classic form of Japanese pottery known for its rustic and earthy textures and earthy reddish-brown colours that come from high-temperature wood-fired kilns.

Other things to do in Kurashiki

• Kurashiki souvenir stamps can be found at several places including the main Kurashiki visitor center, located by the canal in the Bikan Historical Quarter.

• There are lots of animal cafes in Kurashiki if that is your thing.
• Next to Kurashiki Station, there is a very modern mall Ario Kurashiki – which has a small recreation of Venice in the outer area, and a shopping outlet called Mitsui Outlet Park Kurashiki.

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