美作国の四季を満喫する

Flowers Rustling in the Wind—Scenes of Spring in Full Bloom in Mimasaka-no-Kuni

Kakuzan Park

[Tsuyama City]

Tsuyama Castle (Kakuzan Park)

Hirayama Castle was built by the first Tsuyama feudal lord, Tadamasa Mori, over 12 years. Currently, it has been maintained as a historical park, Tsuyama Park, and has a stone wall as it was at that time and a restored Bichu turret. The "Sakura Festival" is held every year from late March to mid-April, and the cherry blossoms planted in the park are a spectacular view.

  • Tsuyama Castle    ☎0868-22-4572
  • 135 Sange, Tsuyama City
  • 8:40~19:00 (Oct.~Mar.: ~17:00) (During Sakura Festival: 7:30~22:00)
  • Dec. 29~31
  • Adults: 310 Yen / Children (Junior High School & Below): Free
  • http://www.tsuyamakan.jp/
Daigozakura

[Maniwa City]

Daigozakura

This giant cherry tree was chosen as one of the New Top 100 Trees in Japan. It is said that the tree was named Daigozakura (Daigo’s Cherry Tree) after Emperor Go-Daigo spoke very highly of its beauty during his exile in Oki Province. Standing alone atop a hill, the tree is best viewed when in full bloom in early/mid-April. The Daigozakura Festival is held every year from the tree’s first bloom.

  • Maniwa City Ochiai Branch Office   ☎0867-52-1111
    Kaika Telephone Information Service   ☎0867-52-1503
  • Bessho, Maniwa City
  • http://www.e-maniwa.net/
Miyasumi Park

[Misaki Town]

Miyasumi Park

Located at the peak of Mt. Miyasumi at a height of 270m, Miyasumi Park is the best place to get an unobstructed view of the beautiful scenery of Asahigawa Dam Lake surrounded by forest. Here, you can enjoy both the cherry blossoms within the park grounds at the mountain peak and the expanse of cherry trees around the dam lake below. After the cherry blossom season ends, the entire mountain is dyed an even deeper shade of pink with the blossoming of some 10,000 azaleas.

Rice Terraces of Ohaganishi

[Misaki Town]

Rice Terraces of Ohaganishi

The Town of Misaki (Kume District) in north-central Okayama Prefecture, there sits among the mountains at an altitude of 400m an expansive valley that is filled throughout with terraced rice paddies—some 850 in all—stretching in every direction along the slope of the valley. The scenery carved out of the mountains by the unique lines of the rice paddies’ ridge pattern is simply breathtaking. Selected as one of the Top 100 Rice Terraces in Japan, these terraced rice paddies are renowned for how their beauty continually transforms with the passing of each season. During the period between the rice-planting season in early summer and the fall harvest, the rice terraces present a spectacular scene sculpted by the collaborative work of man and Mother Nature. During the fall, the rice terraces present another gorgeous view when they are engulfed in the occasional sea of clouds.

Gaisenzakura

[Shinjo Village]

Gaisenzakura

Shinjo Village was once a post-station town on the Izumo Kaido Highway. To celebrate Japan’s victory in the Russo-Japanese War, over 100 cherry trees were planted in a row along a 400m stretch of the ancient highway. The waterway masonry that flows beneath the cherry trees was selected as one of the Top 100 Soundscapes in Japan. The “Gaisenzakura Festival” is held each year on the third Sunday of April.

Umenosato Park

[Tsuyama City]

Umenosato Park

A park where about 2000 plum trees such as red plum, Ujuku, and Koshu Koume are planted. You can enjoy red and white plum blossoms on the promenade leading to the summit.

Rice terraces

[Kumenan Town]

Rice terraces

In May, as the terraced rice paddies are filled with water in preparation for planting, those awaiting the transplantation of seedlings transform into mirrors reflecting the sky above. The otherworldly ambiance of the terraces in the morning, at dusk, in the light of the moon and throughout the day are worth viewing at least once in a lifetime. At the same time, the rustic mountain air, filled with negative ions, refreshes the body and spirit. In the fall, the red spider lilies come into bloom along the levees between rice paddies, transforming the scenery of the terraces once again. 

Girls’ Doll Festival (Hina Matsuri) & Other Traditional Events—Mimasaka-no-Kuni’s Main Spring Event

Hina Doll Tour April

[Tsuyama City]

Tsuyama Castle Town Hina Doll Tour

During the Girls’ Festival, shops throughout Tsuyama City’s central shopping arcade, as well as the Josai and Joto districts and beyond, are decorated with traditional hina dolls that have been passed down from generation to generation.

  • Tsuyama Castle Town Hina Meguri Executive Committee Secretariat
    (Inside Socio Ichibangai)
    ☎ 0868-22-7654(Closed on Sundays and Tuesdays)
  • Tsuyama city center, etc.
Katsuyama Girls’ Festival April

[Maniwa City]

Katsuyama Girls’ Festival

The display of hina dolls on the porches of some 160 houses and shops along the way leading from Katsuyama Station into the townscape historical preservation district is a local tradition that has become synonymous with early spring.

  • Maniwa City Katsuyama Branch Office
    ☎ 0867-44-2607
  • Katsuyama, Maniwa City
Inaba Kaido Highway Ohara Inn Furumachi Hina Doll Festival April

[Mimasaka City]

Inaba Kaido Highway Ohara Inn Furumachi Hina Doll Festival

You can enjoy a stroll through this historic post station town while gazing at the hina dolls on display in houses and shops along the old highway.

  • Mimasaka City Ohara General Branch Office
    ☎ 0868-78-3111
  • Furumachi, Mimasaka City
Tanjoji Temple Procession of 25 Bodhisattvas April

[Kumenan Town]

Tanjoji Temple Procession of 25 Bodhisattvas

Considered one of the Three Great Buddhist Processions of Japan, this procession honoring the parents of the famous priest Saint Honen is held at Tanjoji Temple, a place that has a special connection with Saint Honen.

  • Tanjoji
    ☎ 086-728-2102
  • 808 Satogata, Kumenan Town
Awakura Onsen Spring Festival May

[Nishiawakura Village]

Awakura Onsen Spring Festival

The Awakura Onsen Spring Festival is a traditional spring event in Nishiawakura Village. The festival also features a gathering of tents offering a taste of various local specialties.

  • Nishiawakura Village Office of Industry and Tourism
    ☎ 0868-79-2111
  • Kageishi, Nishiawakura Village

Slow and Relaxed – Spend a Holiday in the Sun

Tom Sawyer Adventure Village

[Mimasaka City]

Tom Sawyer Adventure Village

This is a spot where you can have a great time in the great outdoors. Activities for you to enjoy include sports on the park’s extensive playground equipment and fishing (with a pole or by hand) in a mountain stream. The park also features cottages, campgrounds and tennis courts.

Makiba-no-Yakata

[Misaki Town]

Makiba-no-Yakata (Ranch House)

This sprawling ranch includes an herb garden, a petting zoo, athletic grounds and much more. There is also a processing plant for livestock products, which are also on offer at the on-site shop and restaurant.

  • Makiba-no-Yakata Administrative Office
    ☎ 0867-27-2346
  • 2272 Kita, Misaki Town
  • 10:00~17:00
    Jan.~Mar.: 11:00~16:00
  • Restaurant Closed on Monday (If Monday is a holliday, it will be closed the following day)
  • Free Entry
  • http://www.cyerry.net/~makiba/
Green Hills Tsuyama Glass House

[Tsuyama City]

Green Hills Tsuyama Glass House

This enormous park includes athletic grounds, flower gardens and more. The Glass House itself is a glass-enclosed indoor water park featuring heated swimming pools and replete with water slides, a relaxation pool and a fitness pool.

  • Green Hills Tsuyama Glass House
    ☎ 0868-27-7140
  • 512 Oda, Tsuyama City
  • 10:00~21:00 (Sundays & Holidays:~20:00)
  • Tuesday (the next day if it is a national holiday) December 30th to January 3rd
  • Adults: 1,500 Yen, Etc.
  • https://shisetsu.mizuno.jp/m-7309
Create Sugedani

[Maniwa City]

Create Sugedani

This is a spot where you can experience authentic rural living, completely surrounded by forest, while trying you hand at making soba, pottery or woodcrafts A wide range of accommodation options are available, including traditional thatched-roof houses, bungalows and log cabins.

Nishiawakura Forest School

[Nishiawakura Village]

Nishiawakura Forest School

Here you can practice hands-on woodworking and participate in seasonal forest tours. There is also a café featuring furniture made from local Nishiawakura white cypress wood and BAITEN, a shop that sells handicrafts.

Mt. Nagi Yama-no-Eki (Mountain Station)

[Nagi Town]

Mt. Nagi Yama-no-Eki (Mountain Station)

Located at the foot of Mt. Nagi, the Yama-no-Eki (Mountain Station features classrooms where you can practice hands-on arts and crafts, as well as souvenir shops selling local specialties, restaurants and cottages. There is also a wild flower park filled with lovely flowers that are sure to warm your heart from season to season.

  • Mt. Nagi Yama-no-Eki (Mountain Station)
    ☎ 0868-36-8080
  • 591-1 Koen, Nagi Town
  • 9:30~18:00 (Dec.~Mar.: ~17:00)
  • Monday (Following Day If Monday a Holiday)
  • http://www.town.nagi.okayama.jp/kankou
Tokikiri Inari Shrine

[Kumenan Town]

Tokikiri Inari Shrine

～A Shrine That Unstops Frozen Time～（popular name:Tokkiri-sama）
“Please let me find ○○○ by this date: ○○○.“ It is said that, if you make such a prayer at Tokikiri Inari Shrine while specifying a certain date, as though by magic, you will surely find what you are looking for by that date. For example, imagine that time has stopped for you because of a broken heart, a love that you simply cannot forget. If you are looking for a chance to get back on your feet and start anew, then Tokikiri Inari Shrine is just the place for you. If the love that you have lost does not return by the appointed date, then you can consider that day to be the first day of a new beginning. Regardless of whether or not you actually find what you are looking for, the idea is to visit the shrine with a positive attitude so that you can live for tomorrow rather than yesterday. The shrine is unstaffed, except on three days per year (the second Sunday in March, the fourth Sunday in July and the third Sunday in November), when you can purchase a talisman at this shrine.

Oshichi Kannon

[Kumenan Town]

Oshichi Kannon

In the Edo Period (1603-1868), a woman known as Yaoya Oshichi is said to have been burned at the stake after committing arson in a scheme to meet her beloved. Her mortuary tablet and kimono are still stored at Tanjo-ji Temple to this day. Tanjo-ji Temple is also home to a statue of the Boddhisatva Kannon (the Goddess of Compassion), which was dedicated to poor Oshichi in the hope that “all who come here with urgent troubles, suffering or desires may have their wishes fulfilled, so that there will never again be such a sad case as that of Oshichi. “It is said that anyone who visits the shrine to pray to this “Oshichi Kannon“ seven times will surely see their wish come true.

  • Tanjo-ji Temple
    ☎ 086-728-2102
  • 808 Satogata, Kumenan Town