Okayama Prefecture (岡山県, Okayama-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Okayama.

[edit] History

During the Meiji Restoration; Bitchū Province, Bizen Province and Mimasaka Province were combined to form Okayama Prefecture.

[edit] 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 ageing and declining in population - more than half of the prefectures municipalities are officially designated as depopulated^[1].

[edit] Cities

Fifteen cities are located in Okayama Prefecture:

[edit] Towns and villages

Towns and villages in each district:

[edit] Mergers

[edit] Economy

[edit] Demographics

[edit] Transportation

[edit] Railways

• (Japanese) List of railway stations in Okayama Prefecture

[edit] Culture

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

[edit] Sports

The sports teams listed below are based in Okayama.

Football (soccer)

• Fagiano Okayama F.C. (Okayama city)
• Mitsubishi Motors Mizushima F.C. (Kurashiki)

Volleyball

• Okayama Seagulls (Okayama city)

[edit] Tourism

Some tourist attractions are:

• The Koraku-en Japanese garden (後楽園, Kōraku-en^?) located in Okayama City.
• Okayama Castle (岡山城, Okayama-jō^?) located in Okayama City.
• Shizutani School (閑谷学校, Shizutani Gakkō^?), located in Bizen City.
• Bikan Historical Area (倉敷美観地区, Kurashiki Bikan Chiku^?), located in Kurashiki City.
• Bitchu Matsuyama Castle, located in Takahashi City
• Kakuzan Park, located in Tsuyama City
• Bisei Astronomical Observatory (美星天文台, Bisei Tenmondai^?), located in Ibara Town (following dissolution of Bisei Town).

[edit] Anime and manga

The anime and manga series Tenchi Muyo! take place in this part of Japan, and many characters are named after geographical features and landmarks of the area. In the anime and manga series "Nerima Daikon Brothers", the character Mako speaks with an Okayama accent.

[edit] Notables

• Shin Koyamada, Hollywood actor.
• Yuko Arimori, marathon runner.
• Tesshō Genda, voice actor.
• Ryutaro Hashimoto, Kiichiro Hiranuma and Inukai Tsuyoshi, former Prime Ministers of Japan.
• Sen'ichi Hoshino, baseball manager.
• Koshi Inaba, singer.
• Keizo Nakanishi, singer.
• Sesshu Toyo, suiboku master.
• Joichiro Tatsuyoshi, boxer.
• Haruka Fukushima, mangaka.
• Masashi Kishimoto, mangaka and creator of Naruto.
• Seishi Kishimoto, mangaka.
• Daisuke Takahashi, Olympic figure skater.
• Dorlis, jazz musician.
• Michio Maeda, Koi breeder.
• Miyamoto Musashi, arguably the nations most famous samurai
• Megumi Fujii, MMA Fighter.
• Masaki Kajishima, creator of Tenchi Muyo!.

[edit] References

1. ^ Okayama official website accessed Nov. 2007

[edit] External links

• Official Okayama Prefecture homepage
• Personnal blog to discover Okayama Prefecture (in french)

Coordinates: 34°42′N 133°51′E / 34.7°N 133.85°E / 34.7; 133.85