Okayama Prefecture

Drink fresh beer next to the tanks it came from

All over Japan, small craft breweries pour their beer in taprooms set right beside the brewing tanks, so what you drink was made a few steps away. Order a few small glasses to compare styles, often with food made to go with them. The places in and around Tokyo make an easy evening out, while those farther away fit into a longer trip through the region.

A mountain village of red walls and red roofs

Fukiya, in the hills of Okayama Prefecture, grew rich making bengara, a red pigment made from iron oxide, and its main street is still lined with houses with red-brown roof tiles and walls of the same deep red. Walk the street, look inside a pigment maker's house and an old wooden school, and see how the pigment was made. It is about an hour by bus from Bitchu-Takahashi Station, which is about 35 minutes from Okayama by limited express, and buses run only a few times a day, so check the times first.

Rise early and look down on a sea of clouds

On clear, windless mornings, cold air settles in a mountain basin and fills it with a white sea of clouds. Arrive at a lookout before dawn, wait, and watch mountains and even a castle rise out of the white. It does not form every day, so check the forecast the night before; most of these lookouts need a car or a taxi from the station.

Walk through a chilly cave to a blue lake

In these limestone caves, lit paths lead you past stalactites to underground lakes of clear blue water. The air inside stays cool all year, so bring a light jacket even in summer. Caves can close after heavy rain, so check the official site on the day you go.

Stroll Japan's three classic gardens by season

Kenrokuen in Kanazawa, Kairakuen in Mito and Korakuen in Okayama are known as Japan's three great gardens. Each was built by a daimyo, a feudal lord, as a stroll garden of ponds, lawns, teahouses and trees, so the view changes at every turn of the path and with every season. They are in three different regions, so pick one: Kairakuen is about 70 minutes from Tokyo, and Korakuen under an hour from Osaka by bullet train.

Glide along old canals in a hand-poled boat

In some old towns, a boatman called a sendo pushes a small wooden boat along the canals with a long pole or a single oar, telling stories about the town as you go. You sit low on the water, passing white-walled storehouses and willows, and bend down as the boat slips under low bridges. Most rides take 20 minutes to an hour; the stories are in Japanese, but the scenery is enough on its own.

Let the scenery drift past from a slow boat

On a slow sightseeing boat you simply sit, and the scenery moves for you: a canal town, a mountain river, cormorant fishing at night, or in winter a boat with a kotatsu, a low heated table with a quilt over your legs. Choose one by the season and your mood. Most rides take 20 minutes to an hour, so one fits easily into a relaxed day.

Olive groves above an island-dotted sea

Ushimado is a small harbor town on the Seto Inland Sea, the calm sea between Japan's main island and Shikoku, reached from Okayama by a local train and a bus. Walk up to an olive grove on the hill for a view over the islands, then wander down the sloping lanes of the old port. Okayama is about 45 minutes from Osaka by bullet train, but buses to Ushimado are infrequent, so check the return times before you set out.

Hunt for 10-yen candy with a fistful of coins

A dagashiya is an old-fashioned candy shop where many sweets cost only 10 or 20 yen, and generations of Japanese children have stood at the shelves counting out their coins. Look for kinako-bo, chewy sticks of roasted soybean-flour candy, where a marked stick wins you another one for free. Bring small coins, since shops like these usually take cash only.

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