In mid-November 1999, I was fortunate enough to be invited for a weekend trip to Kurashiki, a historic city in Okayama prefecture. My fellow JET, Peter, had stayed there a few years ago with a host family, and he still kept in close contact with them, making visits now and then... so I got to tag along! Kurashiki is about two and a half hours from Ube by train, so it made for a perfect short vacation.

Peter's host family was incredibly hospitable... apparently they enjoy hosting young people from many different places, and are quite international, despite not speaking much English. My name was too difficult for the husband to pronounce, so it was promptly shortened to Ari-chan, perhaps for the first-- but not last-- time during my stay in Japan. *^^* The couple was so kind and generous throughout the entire weekend... they fixed us a lovely dinner, played the piano for us, took us sightseeing around the area- and even took us to karaoke! I had a ball.

I really loved touring around the area... we got to see a beautiful five-storied pagoda, much like the one in our own Yamaguchi City, but it was built in the middle of a plain, rather than nestled among the mountains, so its appearance created an entirely different effect... it was more striking from a distance than Yamaguchi's pagoda. Nearby, there was an ancient tomb, called kofun, which I felt privileged to see, having studied tombs of that type in my Art History classes. It was basically a huge mound of earth. I don't know if the casual observer would have even noticed it, but I always love to see something I've studied, so I was in awe.

After that, we went into the most famous part of Kurashiki, the Edo-era warehouse district for which the city is named. (Kura means warehouse.) The city's storage buildings are historically significant, as Kurashiki was apparently the primary supplier of rice and cotton to the shogunate in Edo. Of course, most of us don't get excited about touring a bunch of warehouses, but this city's warehouses will change your mind. They are exceptionally beautiful, with their whitewashed walls and grey stone tiling, a characteristic typical of Western Japan. Most of the old buildings have been converted to shops, and they're arranged around a charming willow-lined canal, which makes for a pleasant stroll. Most of the warehouses have now been converted to shops, with lovely little arts and crafts objects to browse. It was so picturesque, I fell in love with the town! We also got the chance to tour the excellent Ohara Museum of Art, which was the first Japanese museum of Western art, opened in the 1930s and housed in an elegant Greek-style structure.

Peter's host family was also generous enough to take us to a beautiful temple, where we were able to view the brilliant autumn leaves, which were in the midst of changing their colours. Since Kurashiki is north of Ube, the leaves change colour a bit earlier there, so that trip was my first opportunity to experience the breathtaking beauty of a Japanese autumn. It's certainly much more impressive than the same season in California! After walking around the temple and taking in the scenery, we went next door to a traditional restaurant and ate the most delicious tofu soup... ahhhhh, I get hungry thinking about it even now! It was cooked in front of us in little earthenware pots, as we sat on the tatami mats. The hot soup was so delicious and comforting on a crisp, chilly day... just perfect.

I really enjoyed my brief visit to Kurashiki and would definitely recommend the city to anyone visiting Japan. I would visit again in a heartbeat. It is a fairly large, modern city, but still holds much of its past charm and history... it's so easy to just relax and soak in the atmosphere.