Okayama Prefecture

Okayama Prefecture (岡山県) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Okayama Prefecture has a population of 1,906,464 (1 February 2018) and has a geographic area of 7,114 km2 (2,746 sq mi). Okayama Prefecture borders Tottori Prefecture to the north, Hyōgo Prefecture to the east, and Hiroshima Prefecture to the west.

Okayama is the capital and largest city of Okayama Prefecture, with other major cities including Kurashiki, Tsuyama, and Sōja. Okayama Prefecture's south is located on the Seto Inland Sea coast across from Kagawa Prefecture on the island of Shikoku, which are connected by the Great Seto Bridge, while the north is characterized by the Chūgoku Mountains.

History
Prior to the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the area of present-day Okayama Prefecture was divided between Bitchū, Bizen and Mimasaka Provinces. Okayama Prefecture was formed and named in 1871 as part of the large-scale administrative reforms of the early Meiji period (1868–1912), and the borders of the prefecture were set in 1876.

Geography
Okayama Prefecture borders Hyōgo Prefecture, Tottori Prefecture, and Hiroshima Prefecture. It faces Kagawa Prefecture in Shikoku across the Seto Inland Sea and includes 90 islands in the sea.

Okayama Prefecture is home to the historic town of Kurashiki. Most of the population is concentrated around Kurashiki and Okayama. The small villages in the northern mountain region are aging and declining in population - more than half of the prefecture's municipalities are officially designated as depopulated.

As of 1 April 2014, 11% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks, namely the Daisen-Oki and Setonaikai National Parks; the Hyōnosen-Ushiroyama-Nagisan Quasi-National Park; and seven Prefectural Natural Parks.

Cities
Fifteen cities are located in Okayama Prefecture:

Towns and villages
These are the towns and villages in each district:

Demographics
Per Japanese census data, and, Okayama prefecture has had continual negative population growth since 2005

Universities

 * Okayama
 * Okayama University
 * Notre Dame Seishin University
 * Okayama University of Science
 * Okayama Shoka University
 * Sanyo Gakuen University
 * Shujitsu University
 * Kurashiki
 * Okayama Gakuin University
 * Kurashiki Sakuyo University
 * Kawasaki University of Medical Welfare
 * Soja
 * Okayama Prefectural University
 * Tsuyama
 * Mimasaka University
 * Niimi
 * Niimi Public University

High schools

 * Okayama
 * Okayama Ichinomiya Senior High School
 * Okayama Asahi Senior High School
 * Okayama Sozan Senior High School
 * Okayama Hosen Senior High School
 * Okayama Joto Senior High School
 * Okayama Sakuyo High School
 * Kurashiki High School

Rail

 * JR West
 * Sanyo Shinkansen
 * Sanyo Line
 * Hakubi Line
 * Tsuyama Line
 * Kibi Line
 * Ako Line
 * Uno Line
 * Kishin Line
 * Geibi Line
 * Inbi Line
 * JR West and JR Shikoku
 * Seto-Ōhashi Line
 * Honshi-bisan Line
 * Chizu Express
 * Ibara Railway
 * Mizushima Rinkai Railway

Tramways

 * Okayama Electric Tramway

Expressways

 * Sanyo Expressway
 * Chugoku Expressway
 * Seto Central Expressway
 * Yonago Expressway
 * Okayama Expressway
 * Tottori Expressway

National highways

 * Route 2 (Osaka-Kobe-Himeji-Bizen-Okayama-Kurashiki-Asakuchi-Onomichi-Hiroshima-Shūnan-Shimonoseki-Kitakyushu)
 * Route 30 (Okayama-Uno-Takamatsu
 * Route 53 (Okayama-Tsuyama-Tottori)
 * Route 179
 * Route 180 (Okayama-Takahashi-Niimi)
 * Route 181 (Tsuyama-Maniwa-Yonago-Yasugi-Matsue)
 * Route 182
 * Route 183
 * Route 250 (Okayama-Setouchi-Ako-Aioi-Takasago-Akashi)
 * Route 313 (Fukuyama-Takahashi-Maniwa-Kurayoshi)
 * Route 373
 * Route 374
 * Route 429
 * Route 430
 * Route 482 (Kyotango-Toyooka-Wakasa-Kagamino-Maniwa-Kōfu of Tottori
 * Route 484

Airport

 * Okayama Airport

Culture

 * Bizen-yaki (Bizen pottery)
 * Bizen Osafune/Bitchu Aoe swords

Association with Momotarō legend
Okayama Prefecture is closely associated with the folklore hero, Momotarō. This tale is said to have roots in the legendary story of Kibitsuhiko-no-mikoto and Ura which explains that the Prince Ura of Kudara used to live in Kinojo (castle of the devil) and was a cause of trouble for the people living in the village. The emperor's government sent Kibitsuhiko-no-mikoto (Momotarō) to defeat Ura. The city of Okayama holds an annual Momotarō-matsuri, or Momotarō Festival.

Arts

 * Okayama Prefectural Museum
 * Okayama Orient Museum
 * Okayama Prefectural Museum of Art
 * Hayashibara Museum of Art
 * Yumeji Art Museum
 * Okayama Symphony Hall
 * Inryoji Temple

Sports
The sports teams listed below are based in Okayama.

Football

 * Fagiano Okayama FC (Okayama city)
 * Mitsubishi Motors Mizushima FC (Kurashiki)

Volleyball

 * Okayama Seagulls (Okayama city)

Basketball

 * Tryhoop Okayama (B3 League, Okayama city)

Tourism
Some tourist attractions are:
 * Koraku-en Japanese garden in Okayama
 * Okayama Castle, Okayama
 * Ki Castle, Sōja
 * Shizutani School, Bizen
 * Bikan Historical Area (倉敷美観地区), Kurashiki
 * Ohara Museum of Art, Kurashiki
 * Brazilian Park Washuzan Highland, Kurashiki
 * Bitchu Matsuyama Castle, Takahashi
 * Kakuzan Park, Tsuyama
 * Bisei Astronomical Observatory (美星天文台), Ibara Town (following dissolution of Bisei Town)
 * Maki-do Cave, in Niimi

Notable people

 * Yuko Arimori (born 1966), marathon runner
 * Kenji Doihara (1883–1948), army officer
 * Tesshō Genda (born 1948), voice actor
 * Morihiro Hashimoto (1977–2017), darts player
 * Naoki Hoshino (1892–1978), politician
 * Koshi Inaba (born 1964), singer
 * Masaki Kajishima (born 1962), creator of Tenchi Muyo!
 * Shiro Kawase (1889–1946), admiral
 * Sadahiko Miyake (1891–1956), general
 * Chiura Obata (1885–1975), artist
 * Mori Takashi, former member of Gentouki
 * Yōji Takikawa (born 1949), pedagogist
 * Mutsuo Toi (1917–1938), perpetrator of the Tsuyama massacre
 * Inukai Tsuyoshi (1855–1932), former Prime Minister of Japan
 * Jiro Watanabe (born 1955), boxer
 * Takeo Yasuda (1889–1964), lieutenant general
 * Eisuke Yoshiyuki (1906–1940), author
 * Fujii Kaze (born 1997), singer
 * Nishimura Riki, also known as Ni-ki of ENHYPEN (born 2005), K-pop idol, dancer, singer, rapper
 * Issei Mamehara (born 2002), singer, dancer, member of JO1