beautiful flower calendar flowers 1<Jan. in okayama 2<Feb. 3<Mar. MAP A-19 Cherry ▲Autumn leaves: Ukankei, Kibichuo Town ( early to late November) 4<Apr. blossoms The 1km river bank of Ukankei is surrounded by the beautiful autumnal colours. The contrast between the autumn leaves colours and the “Red bridge” are the perfect illustration of “Japanese Autumn”. With the lighting up during this period of the year, you can enjoy the scenery during daytime and night time. Peony 5<May. Azalea MAP A-17 ▲Cherry blossoms: Okayama Sakura Carnival [Okayama City] <Jun. (late March to 1st week of April) 6 About 250 cherry trees border the banks of the river along the Okayama Korakuen Garden and color up this area in a pretty Hydrangea pink! Why don't you sit on the banks and enjoy a cherry picnic? Illuminated blossoms at night are so beautiful! 7<Jul. Cherry blossoms: Kayabe Jinja Shrine [Maniwa City] (early to late April)▶ MAP A-20 Sunflower The 1km path to Kayabe shrine is bordered bysakura. When fully MAP bloomed, it forms a sakura tunnel. A-18 ▲Autumn leaves: Kimendai, Maniwa city (late October to early November) It is a must-see place in Maniwa city. The observatory deck offers a 360°scenic view of the Mt. Hiruzen and the Mt. Daisen. During the 8<Aug. autumn, you can enjoy the majestic colours of the distant mountains. Due to the great temperature differences, clouds are born in lower altitude. The observatory deck is a popular photography spot to catch the city area enfolded in a sea of clouds and the rising Sun on the Mt. Daisen. 9<Sep. 10<Oct. Cosmos MAP Autumn A-12 leaves MAP 11<Nov. ▲Peony : Kibitsu Jinja Shrine A-12 [Okayama City] (late April to early May) MAP ▲ A-22 ▲Hydrangea: Kibitsu Jinja Shrine Sunflower field:Hiruzen Jerseyland [Okayama City] (mid June to mid July) [Maniwa City] (late July to mid August) ▲Azalea: Okayama Korakuen Garden ▲Cosmos:Hokubo Cosmos Hiroba [Okayama City] (late May to early June) A-21 MAP [Maniwa City] (early to late October) MAP 12<Dec. A-2 25 26 Fruits Kingdom Okayama Okayama’s Best specialty white Peach + Tasty Sweet MUSCAT Muscat Muscat is Okayama' pride! Try some different kinds and taste the differences! The Muscat of Alexandria –the queen of the grapes – is flavorful and fresh. The Shine Muscat is also very popular since it is seedless and its skin is edible. Besides these, so many kinds of grapes are grown in Okayama: Pione, Aurora Black, Seto Giants, Shien and more. If you visit Okayama during August to October, the grape Shimizu White Peach picking is a must!!! (See next page for the farm list) Fruits Kingdom - blessed with a moderate climate, surrounded by the Seto Inland Sea, a variety of New Pione delicious fruits is produced in Okayama. Indeed, Okayama is the largest producer of beautiful juicy white peaches and jewelry like shinny Muscat in Japan. Their outstanding sweetness and tastes are ET attracting more and more attention in the world. ARK in M ES AP GR & S are the peaches HE AC Why E Shimizu Hakuto in Okayama white?? P Hakurei s late July - Early August ’ Hakuho Okayama Yume Hakuto Early - mid August a mid-late July m Early - mid August a Peaches in Okayama are grown y a carefully with affection covering k each fruit with a paper bag to O avoid an excess of direct sunlight. That is why the peaches are not reddish but so elegantly white and sweet with smooth texture. New Pione Aurora Black Shine Muscat Aki Queen Momotaro Grapes Muscat of Alexandria Shien May - October July - September July - October July - August July - October late May - October October - December 27 28 fruits calendar Other fruits Enjoy fruits picking! 1 in Okayama!! Farms List <Jan. 2 Strawberry ▶Nishiyama Farm ▶Tomomi-en <Feb. [Address] [Address] Peach ice cream! 1077 Niborihigashi, 218-1 Kamiichi, Akaiwa City Akaiwa City Yum! Yum! [TEL]+81-86-958-2553 [TEL]+81-86-958-5444 3 - Peach (early July - early September) - Peach (late June - early September) - Blueberries (mid July - mid August) - Grapes (late August - late September) <Mar. - Strawberries (early January - mid May) *Reservation required *Reservation is required by 17:00 of the previous day. (+81-90-7548-0747) ▶Atago pear *Reservation from the website available. Yum Yum! Besides white peach and muscat, Okayama 4 ENGLISH WEB SITE is also the top producer of Atago pear. ◀ ◀ENGLISH WEB SITE <Apr. Strawberries This pear is wonderfully big and its flesh is crispy and juicy! Season: November to January MAP ▶Kubo Farm A-9 ▶South Village [Address] 2747-1 Mitsushitori, Kita-ku, [Address] Okayama City 2468 Kataoka, Minami-ku, Okayama City 5 [TEL]+81-86-726-0511 [TEL]+81-86-362-5500 *Reservation required <May. ▶Strawberry - Grapes (late August - early October) - Strawberries (January - early June) - Grapes (early August - mid September) The sun shine makes strawberries sweet! You can also enjoy In this facility, there is a play ground for kids, Since Okayama is called "Hare-no-kuni (The Land of chestnuts picking or a grass square and a big farmers market. potato digging. Sun)", it is perfect to grow the sweet strawberries here! It is a perfect spot for families! 6 There are various kinds of berries and they all have <Jun. different taste. Picking and eating, that is the best MAP MAP ▶ A-23 ▶ A-24 way to enjoy the fresh strawberries! Yume Farm “Haru” Ishihara Farm Peach [Address] Let's go to the farms! [Address] ▶Ashimori melon 4217-1 Yoshikawa, Kibichuo Town, Kaga-gun 893-6 Sairyuji, Higashi-ku, Okayama City Season: January to May [TEL]+81-90-5262-4315 *Reservation required [TEL]+81-86-944-0117 *Reservation required 7 We also have melting sweet melon called <Jul. Blue "Ashimori Melon". It is greenhouse-cultivated, - Strawberries (Feburuary - May) - Grapes (mid July - late October) berry so you can enjoy it all year round. - Pear (early September - mid November) It’s 30-minute all-you-can-eat! How many strawberries can 30 kinds of grapes are caltivated in this farm! you eat? This is only farm where you can enjoy pear picking in Okayama. 8 <Aug. ▶Blueberry MAP ▶Nishida Farm A-25 ▶Hiruzen Kogen Cultivate Blueberry Garden June to mid July marks the rainy [Address] [Address] MAP New season in Japan. Once this humid 584 Hiruzen Higashikayabe, Maniwa City A-26 1196 Uedanishi, Kibichuo Town, Kaga-gun Pione season is gone, the blueberries get [TEL]+81-90-1186-6424 *Reservation required [TEL]+81-90-1682-3087 *Reservation required 9 ready to be picked! <Sep. - Blueberries (late June - mid August) - Blueberries (Jluy - early September) Great view! Kibichuo Town and Maniwa City Enjoy the tasty fresh have good blueberry farms since All you can eat blueberries and the Muscat with no time limit! these areas are located on a plateau. great view on the Hiruzan-Sanza mountains The blueberry is well-known for its from the farm. 10 benefits for the eyes, but it's not only <Oct. that! It contents high level of fibers and vitamins. Ladies! It is good for Pear your skin as well! Why don't we go healthy 11 picking some fresh blueberries? blueberries!! <Nov. Season: July to early September 12 29<Dec. 30 Event calendar Kibichuo Town Traditional festival 1/1 - 1/3/2019 Okayama Castle & Yoshikawa Hachiman-gu Tobansai Okayama Korakuen 1<Jan. Garden This traditional autumn festival lasts for a month long. New Year’s event Fantasy illumination event at Okayama Castle & Okayama Korakuen Garden The impressive finale event “Taisai-gyoji” is held on 2/2 - 2/3/2019 “Ujo-Togenkyo” & “Genso-Teien” Okayama City the forth Sunday of October. Hiruzen Yuki-Koi 2<Feb. Snow Festival （*page 22） October “Taisai-gyoji” : 10/27/2019 [Place] Yoshikawa Hachiman-gu Shrine 3/1- 3/5/2019 Katsuyama [Address] 3932 Yoshikawa, Kibichuo Town, MAP <Mar. Ohina Matsuri Kaga-gun, Okayama Prefecture A-27 3 End March～ Kibichuo Town about 2 weeks Okayama One of the 3 biggest Festival Sakura Carnival in Okayama Prefecture 4 （*page 25） Kamo Taisai <Apr. 4/26 - 5/6/2019 This festival has been held for over 950 Ujo Togenkyo years and is one of the three largest & Genso-teien - spring - festivals in the prefecture. In this festival, priests from several local shrines form a <May. MAP procession to the large Kamo Soja-gu 5 Three times a year, both Okayama Castle and Okayama Korakuen Garden are lit up with A-1 Shrine. illuminations. These exceptional events bring to light a new perspective on these Cultural MAP 6/26/2019 Heritages. Stage performances will also be held during the period. A-2 October 10/20/2019 MAP Yubara A-28 hot spring April/ May 4/26/2019 - 5/6/2019 (illumination18:00~21:30) *admission until 21:00 [Place] Soja-gu Shrine 6<Jun. Combined tickets for day [Address]1567 Kamoichiba, Kibichuo Town, August 8/1/2019 - 8/31/2019 (illumination18:00~21:30) *admission until 21:00 Okayama Castle & Okayama Korakuen Garden: 560 JPY Kaga-gun, Okayama Prefecture November 11/15 /2019 - 11/24/2019 (illumination18:00~21:30) *admission until 20:00 Admission is free for children under 14. [Place] Okayama Castle & Okayama Korakuen Garden *see Pg.7-8 for the address and more info. 7<Jul. Maniwa City 8/1 - 8/31/2019 Ujo Togenkyo Okayama City Traditional townscape & Genso-teien - summer - City’s best summer festival Katsuyama Ohina Matsuri Okayama Momotaro Festival The “Ohina sama” Girl’s-day Doll Displays 8 8/3 - 8/4/2019 of Katsuyama is unique in that it brings Okayama Dancers with special make-up perform the Uraja Dance together the agricultural heritage of the <Aug.