The first public school in Japan, Edo-era Shizutani Gakko has wood interiors with glossy lacquered floors and beautifully preserved Bizen-yaki roof tiles. Its gardens are especially picturesque in spring. The school is about 3.2km southeast from Yoshinaga station, 40 minutes by train from Okayama (¥580). Buses from Yoshinaga are infrequent, but it's walkable in 45 to 55 minutes; ask at the station for directions.
Shizutani Gakko
Western Honshū
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
27.08 MILES
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18.45 MILES
Kōraku-en draws the crowds with its reputation as one of the three most beautiful gardens in Japan. It has expansive lawns broken up by ponds, teahouses…
26.52 MILES
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29.07 MILES
This is Kurashiki's premier museum, housing the predominantly Western art collection amassed by local textile magnate Ōhara Magosaburō (1880–1943), with…
5.14 MILES
This kiln and gallery-shop is run by the Kimura family, one of the six original families granted official permission in the early 1600s to produce pottery…
22.38 MILES
Teshima's art 'museum' impresses for its architecture – a monumental concrete shell, forming a low teardrop-shaped dome on the hillside, designed by Tokyo…
Marukin Soy Sauce Historical Museum
23.3 MILES
Shōdo-shima was famous for its soybeans long before olives arrived, and several old soy-sauce companies are still in business here. Marukin has a small…
27.32 MILES
This yellow pumpkin sculpture, by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, has become a symbol of Naoshima. It's perched on the end of a small jetty. Pumpkins are…
Nearby Western Honshū attractions
4.95 MILES
This understated, pretty wooden shrine sits among the trees and bamboo groves of the hills behind Imbe.
4.97 MILES
A simple shrine in a leafy setting, decorated with Bizen-yaki (Bizen pottery) figures of the animals of the Chinese zodiac. To get there, exit Imbe…
5.05 MILES
Tempogama is a large kiln ruin (c 1832), a short walk up a lane leading off Imbe's main street of shops and galleries. The kiln is fenced off for…
5.14 MILES
This kiln and gallery-shop is run by the Kimura family, one of the six original families granted official permission in the early 1600s to produce pottery…
5. Okayama Prefectural Bizen Ceramics Art Museum
5.18 MILES
This ceramics-focused museum exhibits pieces from the Muromachi (1333–1568) and Momoyama (1568–1600) periods, plus work by several modern artists who have…
6. Friends of Bizen-yaki Ceramics Society
5.22 MILES
Gallery and shop on the 2nd floor of the Imbe station building, displaying a wide range of ceramics by contemporary potters.
7. Inujima Seirensho Art Museum
17.3 MILES
The drawcard of little Inujima island is this copper refinery converted into an eco-building, displaying artist Yanagi Yukinori's surreal take on the…
18.4 MILES
Prominent Taishō-era artist and poet Takehisa Yumeji (1884–1934) is particularly known for his bijin-ga (images of beautiful women), and various wistfully…
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- path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
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