Maniwa (真庭市) is a city in Okayama Prefecture, Japan.
Understand
[edit]Tourist information
[edit]The local tourist association has a Japanese-only guide site with integrated Google Translate.
Get in
[edit]By plane
[edit]Okayama Momotaro Airport (岡山桃太郎空港) is the nearest airport. By car, it takes about 1 hour to reach the Kuse area or 85 minutes to reach the Hiruzen Highlands. Alternatively, Yonago Airport is a 1 hour drive from the Hiruzen Highlands and 80 minute drive from the Kuse area. Even Izumo Airport and Tottori Airport are within striking distance if they are more convenient from your location. If you are using public transportation, none of the airports offer direct buses to Maniwa, so wherever you arrive from, you'll have to take a taxi or take a bus to a train station where you can come by train or take a bus to reach the city.
By train
[edit]The JR Kishin Line runs through Maniwa with Chugoku-Katsuyama Station as the main station. The line can be reached via a transfer in Niimi from the west or Tsuyama to the east. Trains along this line are infrequent. If traveling from Okayama, your planned departure/arrival time will determine which connection will get you to Maniwa faster. For many people, the bus (below) is a better alternative.
By bus
[edit]Chutetsu Bus operates 4 buses per day between Chugoku-Katsuyama Station and Okayama Station's Higashiguchi Exit and Tenmaya Bus Center. Bihoku Bus operates buses from Takahashi Bus Terminal in Takahashi through the southern part of the city to Mizuta Shimomachi (水田下町).
Hinomaru Bus operates two buses per day from Okayama bound for Kurayoshi that stop at Yubara Onsen and the Hiruzen Highlands (Hiruzen Inubasari Bus Stop 蒜山犬挟) en route. They also operate one bus per day between Hiroshima and Tottori which stops at Yubara Onsen (Yubara Onsen-guchi Bus Stop). From Osaka, Nihon Kotsu operates one bus per day that stops at Yubara Onsen and the Hiruzen Highlands on the way to Kurayoshi.
Get around
[edit]
On foot
[edit]The Katsuyama Historic District is accessible on foot from Chugoku-Katsuyama Station and a handful of sights are within walking distance of Kuse Station. Most other sights are too far too reasonably walk there.
By bus
[edit]6-7 buses per day from Kuse Station and Chugoku-Katsuyama Station to Kanba Falls, Yubara Onsen, and Hiruzen Highlands. Bihoku Bus operates buses from Kuse Station out to the Yamada area, the closest public transport location to Bitchu Kanachi Cave (with an additional 1 hour walk).
By car
[edit]Route 313 runs from south to north through the city, passing by nearly all of the city's most popular tourist spots: Kuse, the Katsuyama area, Maga Onsen, Yubara Onsen, and the Hiruzen Highlands. Route 201 branches off from Route 313 leading to Kanba Falls.
By taxi
[edit]Places with limited or no bus access can be reached by taxi. The following taxi operators are listed in the area where they are based:
- Hiruzen Highlands: Hiruzen Hiru-un Kotsu Taxi (蒜山 ヒルウン交通) 0867-66-5570
- Yubara and Maga Onsen: Maga Kankou (真賀観光) 0867-44-5190
- Chugoku-Katsuyama: Fukumoto Taxi (フクモトタクシー) 0867-44-3175
- Mimasaka-Ochiai: Ochiai Taxi (落合タクシー) 0867-52-0325, Ochiai Angel Service (落合エンゼルサービス) 0867-52-7611
See
[edit].jpg)
- 1 Kanba Falls (神庭の滝), 640 Kanba (40 min walk from Kanba-guchi (神庭口) bus stop). 08:30-17:15. Designated as one of Japan's Top 100 Waterfalls, at 100 m tall and 20 m wide, it's the largest waterfall in Western Japan. Below the falls is the Tamatare Falls (玉垂の滝), which is a small 2-meter drop of numerous neverending drips that fall like thin threads from moss on the rocks. Wild monkeys live around the falls, so lucky visitors may see them. If you do see monkeys, do not approach them. Visitors are asked to avoid bringing bags and eating food around the falls in order to avoid potentially dangerous encounters with the wild monkeys. ¥300.
- 2 GREENable HIRUZEN (グリーナブルヒルゼン). A monument to sustainability, the Kaze no Ha (Wind Leaves), is a large structure designed by architect Kengo Kuma featuring wood panels attached to steel that look like leaves blowing upward in the wind.
- 3 Japanese Giant Salamander Center (はんざきセンター). A museum about the endangered and protected giant salamanders that inhabit the rivers that run through Yubara.
- 4 Daigo-zakura (醍醐桜). Named after Emperor Go-Daigo who is said to have stopped to admire the tree on his road to exile, the tree is over 1000 years old. It is one of the most famous single cherry trees in the country.
- 5 Bitchu Kanachi Cave (備中鐘乳穴). 10:00-17:00, closed Tu. A limestone cave featuring an attractive red bridge leading to the Cave Mount Fuji, a massive 3 meter tall, 5 meter wide stalagmite and a 22-layer stalactite that is said to be the largest of its kind in Japan. The cave was chronicled in 901, making it the oldest documented cave in Japan. ¥800.
- 6 Former Senkyo Jinjo Elementary School (旧遷喬尋常小学校). School 09:00-18:00, Shop 10:00-17:00, Closed We and New Years. An elementary school that operated for 84 years from its opening in 1907 to its closing in 1990. It was constructed of wood and was designated a National Important Cultural Property as an authentic Meiji Period school building in the Rennaissance architetural style that was common among schools in the Chugoku Region at the time. School uniform rentals are available. Entrance free, school uniform rentals ¥800.
Katsuyama Historic District
[edit]The Katsuyama Preservation District (勝山町並み保存地区) was a former post town along the Old Izumo Road that connected Izumo to the Sanyo Road for daimyo, travelers, and religious pilgrims. This historic district is also known as the Noren Historic District (のれんの町並み). Noren are hung in doorways traditionally for the purpose of keeping in heat in the winter and blocking the sun in the summer, but are now used as a sort of "welcome" flag for businesses. Over 40 buildings in Katsuyama have their own specially-designed noren. Trying to scout them all is a fun and unique way to enjoy the historic area.
- 7 Katsuyama Samurai Residence (勝山武家屋敷館). Home of Watanabe Tobei, a vassal of Akitsugu Miura, dating back to 1764. The house is well-preserved and filled with artifacts and weapons. ¥200.
- 8 Katsuyama Folk Museum (勝山郷土資料館). 09:30-16:30. Features exhibits about the local history, such as information and artifacts related to the former castle town and the Miura family that ruled the area and objects used in daily life by ordinary citizens of the time. ¥200.
- 9 Kazan-tei (顆山亭). A resthouse in one of the buildings in the historic district. It has its own noren and is sometimes used during special events to sell unique and festive treats, such as Toshikoshi Soba (New Years Eve soba) during New Years and sweet buns during the Hina Doll Festival.
Do
[edit].jpg)
- 1 Yubara Onsen Sunayu (湯原温泉砂湯). The Sunayu is a mixed gender, open-air onsen below Yubara Dam. There are small changing areas for men and women. People used to be permitted to enter fully nude, however since 2020, they ask visitors to cover their lower half. Free.
- 2 Tsuji Honten Sake Brewery Tours (蔵元辻本店). A sake brewery that began in 1804. Their sake is called "Gozen-shu" (御前酒). "Gozen", a respectful way to refer to rulers, is used because the sake was produced for the Miura family who ruled over Mimasaka Province in the feudal era ("shu" is another reading of the character that means sake). The brewery offers three different tour options: The 40 minute "Good Plan" focuses on sampling "Soyashi water" (Soyashi-mizu) and seeing the actual rice used to make it. It does not include facility tours. The 1 hour 40 minute "Surprising Plan" focuses on how sake changes in various conditions. It includes a tour of the brewery and sake samplings that showcase how changes in temperature, storing vessels, and age (vintage) affect the taste of the sake. The details of the final "Amazing Plan" have not been determined, but the tours will start in July 2025. Good Plan: ¥1500, Surprising Plan: ¥5000, Amazing Plan (prices yet to be finalized).
Buy
[edit]- 1 Maeda Kashiten (前田菓子店). A local sweets shop famous for its sake manju, a unique manju made with actual sake from the nearby Tsuji Honten. They are sold individually, so most visitors buy and eat them as a they stroll around the historic district.
- 2 Hinoki Weaving and Dyeing Atelier (ひのき草木染織工房), 193 Katsuyama. 10:00-17:00, Closed We-Th. Also called Studio Hinoki, it is the shop of Yoko Kano, the local creator of the town's famous noren. As the shop name suggests, she is skilled in both dyeing and weaving. If you enjoy the noren you see in the town, you can purchase your own here.
- 3 Sugi Hakimono Souvenir Shop (杉履物みやげ店). A local souvenir shop featuring local goods, such as Katsuyama's dango and other snacks, as well as chirimen products and geta, traditional Japanese shoes. The shop's noren features the geta straps.
Eat
[edit]Hiruzen Yakisoba (ひるぜん焼そば) is a dish from the Hiruzen Highlands: miso-seasoned fried noodles with chicken and cabbage. It was awarded first prize at the B-Gourmet Grand Prix. B-Gourmet is a name given to dishes connected to a specific city, town, or area, sometimes colloquially referred to as local "soul food". The Grand Prix is a nationwide competition between these dishes.
- 1 Yamana Shokudo (やまな食堂). Mar-Nov 10:30-16:00; Dec-Feb 11:00-15:00. One of the city's Hiruzen Yakisoba destinations, they have three dishes that are a play on words. 'Hiru' can refer to "Noon", so in addition to Hiruzen Yakisoba, they also offer Asa-zen Yakisoba ("Asa" meaning "morning"), which has an egg on top and Yu-zen Yakisoba ("Yu" meaning "Evening/Night") which has ginger in it.
- 2 Kougen-tei (高原亭). A Hirzuzen Yakisoba restaurant with the morning and evening varieties, along with their own original "Horumon Yakisoba", which uses horumon, giblets famous in Tsuyama, instead of the traditional chicken.
- 3 Oni no Sumika (鬼のすみか). 11:00-17:30, evening hours by reservation only. A simple restaurant mainly open during lunch hours that serves curry and naan, along with desserts. It is one of the noren buildings in Katsuyama's historic district, and because "oni" (demon/ogre) is in the name, its noren features a Japanese ogre.
- 4 Pinocchio (ぴのきお). A ramen and okonomiyaki restaurant in a brick building.
Drink
[edit]Sleep
[edit]- 1 Maniwa City Hotel Sunrise (真庭シティホテルサンライズ). A hotel in the Kuse area. Singles from ¥6050.
- 2 Kikunoya (菊乃家). Part of Yubara Onsen, this ryokan has its own onsen for guests. Dinners feature local foods from northern Okayama, including wagyu beef.
- 3 Geek House Maniwa (ギークハウス真庭), 2524-1 Kuse (5 minute walk from Kuse Station). Also called geemani (ギーマニ giimani), this is a 1 month room rental house in the Kuse area of Maniwa City. Part of the "Geek House Project", they are typically meant for those with expertise and interest in computers, programming, and engineering however, the concept here is to bring together people of different backgrounds and interests to inspire them, including travelers. It is well-suited for those who want to experience life in rural Japan. Room rentals from ¥6000 to ¥15000 per month for 1 person (inquiries must be made if you intend to stay with more than 1 person).