I will be moving to Japan for an apprenticeship that will last about a year and three months. I’ll be working pretty heavily throughout the week but I should have a few weekends where I can get out and do stuff. I’ll be living about 40 minutes north of Okayama City. When I look for things to do I mostly get the same few results so I was wondering if anyone had some good suggestions for me! I may buy a cheap car when I get there so getting around shouldn’t be an issue.
Food, attractions, nightlife, experiences. I’m a carpenter so if you know of any good places to get quality tools, that would be cool too! Thanks!
2 comments
I’ve lived here (but Okayama city) for 3 years. Sounds like you’ll be around Tsuyama.
Gotta be honest, Okayama is the most boring place in Japan. It’s dying out, and is mostly old people. Especially Tsuyama seems so sad and depressing when I’ve been there.
Other than the usual castle and gardens in Okayama city, or a few nice temples/shrines here and there, there isn’t much to do.
I got into photography of abandoned buildings, because there are loads of them here. That’s basically my hobby.
BUT. You mention getting a car, and that will make your life in this area a lot easier. It’s a nightmare without one.
It was the first place I lived in when I moved to Japan. 40 minutes north of the city it going to be waaaaay out in the sticks. The nightlife in the city centre was okay i guess, there was a good community of foreigners which made it more tolerable. You should check Facebook for Okayama groups that you can join. If you have full weekends off plus enough disposable cash you might want to consider spending weekends in Kansai which will give you far more options in terms of nightlife and things to do during the day.