Okayama KorakuenPhoto: Fjkelfeimvvn / CC BY 3.0
The cruise lines that call at Uno sell this day under the port's name: Island Sky lists its Uno days as "Koraku-en & Kurashiki (port of Uno-Ko)", and Heritage Expeditions' day 3 visits Koraku-en from the port, then Kurashiki in the afternoon.
- Getting there
- JR Uno Minato Line to Okayama about 55 min, ¥590; tram to Shiroshita 4 min, then 10 min on foot. Taxi from the berth about ¥11,000 (our estimate)
Checked · Researched, not yet visited · times from official timetables and our estimates · Takumi Yamada
A daimyo stroll garden of lawns, ponds and tea houses, with the black keep of Okayama Castle behind it. 07:30–18:00 from 20 March to September, 08:00–17:00 from October; adult ¥500, with the castle ¥800. The cruise lines sell this day as “Koraku-en & Kurashiki”.
- On a 4–6h ashore call our verdict is "Yes" — garden and castle, then the train straight back.
- 07:30–18:00 — 20 March–30 September; 08:00–17:00 from 1 October to 19 March · last entry 15 minutes before closing.
- 4 hr 30 min door to door needs a 6.5-hour call: a 2–3 hour stop cannot hold it. Pick something closer instead.
Things worth knowing
- Buy the ¥800 joint ticket if you will also go into the castle.
- Payment by card, IC card or QR code is accepted at the gates.
- From Okayama Station the Korakuen bus takes 10 minutes; a taxi about 10 minutes.
Okayama Korakuen and your ship
Both pins on one map, so the distance is a fact rather than a feeling.
Where the 4 hr 30 min goes
The hour before all-aboard is not in this bar; it is already set aside. The minutes are our estimates from timetables and maps, not timed on the ground.
If your ship is late, cut the 2 hr in the middle. Never cut the hour at the end.
Questions
How do I get from Uno to Okayama Korakuen?
Walk 5 minutes to JR Uno Station and take the Uno Minato Line to Okayama, about 55 minutes, ¥590; in the middle of the day you change at Chayamachi. From Okayama Station take the tram to Shiroshita (4 minutes) and walk 10 minutes, or the Korakuen bus, 10 minutes.
Routes that already include it
Finished days timed from official timetables and our estimates, with this stop in them.
What to put beside it
Each of these still lands you back aboard with the hour to spare.
See · ~3hNaoshima: the Red Pumpkin and Miyanoura
The art island across the water from the ship.
See the detail
See · ~4hBenesse House Museum and the yellow Pumpkin
The museum-hotel on Naoshima’s south shore, open every day of the year, 08:00–21:00 (last admittance 20:00), ¥1,300 online, ¥1,500 at the door.
See the detail