(Japan Oct 2016) Day 6: Visit Okayama. Stay Okayama

Day 6 (5 Oct 2016): Visit Okayama. Stay Okayama.

We had to make some changes to our itinerary due to the typhoon that's supposed to pass by the region on this day.  

Since there's a high chance of trains getting cancelled/suspended/delayed during typhoon, so we decided to just spend the day at a shopping mall near our hotel and Okayama station.

We woke up late, and had a slow stroll to the shopping center (Aeon Mall) next to Okayama station.

Inside Aeon Mall

We chose to have our lunch at this restaurant (Kushiya Monogatari) which consists of fried skewers (kushikatsu) buffet which you can dip into the batter and crumbs and deep fry it yourself at the table.

It is very fun, since we love fried food, and also quite inexpensive (about 1500yen per pax before tax for lunch, whereas it is around 2500yen per pax for dinner).

They have many outlets across Japan, and not just in Okayama. 

(Nope, this is not a paid advertorial, I just simply liked this kushikatsu buffet place alot. Hehe)

You choose from a selections of skewers

Then you dip it into the batter, then into breadcrumbs, then u deepfry it.

Yum!!

 After our enjoyable lunch, we spent some time at a spectacle shop within the same shopping mall to make new spectacles.

Mine costs 5900yen I think. 

It was ready for us to pickup within around 1 hour.

Soon, it was evening time, and the wind started to pick up.  This was about when the typhoon is approaching closer to our region.  

We went inside an electronics store near our hotel to shop, since there was a direct sheltered walkway between this store and our hotel.

We bought dinner from a nearby convenience store to bring back to our hotel room to eat, since we didn't felt like venturing out in the windy conditions.

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(Japan Oct 2016) Day 5: Visit Kurashiki. Stay Okayama

Day 5 (4 Oct 2016): Arima onsen to Okayama. Visit Kurashiki. Stay Okayama.

In the morning of this day, we took a train (with a few transfers along the way) from Arima onsen to reach Shin-Kobe station. Then from Shin-Kobe station, we took a Shinkansen to reach Okayama station.

Boardning train at Arima onsen station. It is a non-JR train, so you cannot use your JR railpass for the journey between Arima onsen to Shin-Kobe station.

Transferring to the Shinkansen at Shin-Kobe station.  If you notice carefully, the trains on the platform at this station is curved and tilted.

We then deposited our luggage at our hotel near Okayama station, then headed out again to take a short train ride to Kurashiki.

A few years ago (Nov 2011), I visited Kurashiki with my cousin M, but this is the first time my hubby would be visiting Kurashiki.  

It is a nice town to spend a few hours strolling through the streets of Kurashiki if you happen to be at Okayama.

Okayama station

From Okayama station, it is just a short 17mins train journey on local trains via either the JR Sanyo line or JR Hakubi line to reach Kurashiki.  

Arrival at Kurashiki station

From Kurashiki station, it is about 15mins walk through the sheltered shopping streets to reach the canal area in Kurashiki.  I still remembered that Cousin M and I kinda got lost in these streets during our 1st visit to Kurashiki back in 2011. Haha.  

Ahh, a familiar sight.  I recalled buying snacks from this shop in 2011 with my Cousin M, and this time round, I also bought some munchies here with my hubby.  

Finally managed to walk out of the sheltered shopping streets, and approaching the old town area.

Finally, we arrived at the canal area at Kurashiki.  

Drinks being kept cool

After our visit to Kurashiki, we headed back to our hotel at Okayama.  

According to weather forecast, there seemed to be an approaching typhoon the next following day, therefore we decided to change our itinerary and just spend the next day shopping at 1 of the shopping malls near Okayama station, since we don't really want to venture out too far on a typhoon day.

I usually use JMA website to check for weather forecast and approaching typhoons during my Japan trips.  Weather in Japan can vary alot from day to day, so it is best to check up on the weather beforehand, so that you know what to expect.

For this trip, even though it is supposed to be the beginnings of autumn season, but the 1st half of our trip felt like summer, whereas the 2nd half of our trip felt like winter.  It felt as though autumn has been skipped over entirely.  

So for the first week, we felt extremely hot, while for the last few days of the trip, we felt extremely cold. 

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