Okayama Prefecture (岡山県, Okayama-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region on Honshu island.^[1] The capital is the city of Okayama.^[2]

Contents 1 History 2 Geography 2.1 Cities 2.2 Towns and villages 2.3 Mergers 3 Universities in Okayama Prefecture 4 Transportation 4.1 Railways 4.2 Tramways 4.3 Roads 4.3.1 Expressways 4.3.2 National highways 4.4 Airport 5 Culture 6 Sports 6.1 Football (soccer) 6.2 Volleyball 7 Tourism 8 Notable people from Okayama Prefecture 9 Notes 10 References 11 External links

[edit] History

During the Meiji Restoration, the area of Okayama Prefecture was known as Bitchū Province, Bizen Province and Mimasaka Province.^[3]

[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 aging and declining in population - more than half of the prefectures municipalities are officially designated as depopulated.^[4]

[edit] Cities

Fifteen cities are located in Okayama Prefecture:

Akaiwa Asakuchi Bizen Ibara Kurashiki Maniwa Mimasaka Niimi

Okayama (capital) Kita-ku Naka-ku Higashi-ku Minami-ku Setouchi Sōja Takahashi Tamano Tsuyama

[edit] Towns and villages

Towns and villages in each district:

Aida District Nishiawakura Asakuchi District Satoshō Kaga District Kibichūō

Katsuta District Nagi Shōō Kume District Kumenan Misaki Maniwa District Shinjō

Oda District Yakage Tomata District Kagamino Tsukubo District Hayashima Wake District Wake

[edit] Mergers

[edit] Universities in Okayama Prefecture

• Okayama
  • Okayama 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

[edit] Transportation

[edit] Railways

• JR West
  • Sanyo Shinkansen
  • Sanyo Line
  • Hakubi Line
  • Kibi Line
  • Ako Line
  • Uno Line
  • Kishin Line
  • Geibi Line
  • Inbi Line
• JR West and JR Shikoku
  • Honshi-bisan Line
• Chizu Express
• Ihara Railway
• Mizushima Rinkai Railway

[edit] Tramways

• Okayama Electric Tramway

[edit] Roads

[edit] Expressways

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

[edit] National highways

• Route 2 (Osaka-Kobe-Himeji-Bizen-Okayama-Kurashiki-Asakuchi-Onomichi-Hiroshima-Shunan-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-Kofu of Tottori
• Route 484

[edit] Airport

• Okayama Airport

[edit] Culture

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

[edit] Sports

The sports teams listed below are based in Okayama.

[edit] Football (soccer)

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

[edit] Volleyball

• Okayama Seagulls (Okayama city)

[edit] Tourism

Some tourist attractions are:

• Koraku-en Japanese garden in Okayama City
• Okayama Castle in Okayama City
• Shizutani School| 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] Notable people from Okayama Prefecture

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• Shin Koyamada, Hollywood actor
• Yuko Arimori, marathon runner
• Tesshō Genda, voice actor
• Ryutaro Hashimoto, Kiichiro Hiranuma, Inukai Tsuyoshi, Kan Naoto and Hatoyama Yukio former Prime Ministers of Japan
• Sen'ichi Hoshino, baseball manager
• Koshi Inaba, singer
• Ichiyo Izawa, pianist and former member of Tokyo Jihen
• Yumeji Takehisa, famous and influential early 20th century artist
• Sesshu Toyo, suiboku master
• Joichiro Tatsuyoshi, boxer
• Haruka Fukushima, manga artist
• Masashi Kishimoto, manga artist and creator of Naruto
• Seishi Kishimoto, manga artist
• Daisuke Takahashi, Olympic figure skater
• Dorlis, jazz musician
• Miyamoto Musashi, samurai
• Megumi Fujii, MMA Fighter
• Masaki Kajishima, creator of Tenchi Muyo!
• Morihiro Hashimoto, darts player

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). Japan encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 10-ISBN 0-674-01753-6; 13-ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5; OCLC 58053128

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Okayama prefecture

• Official website
• Official tourism site
• Official account's channel on YouTube

v t e Okayama Prefecture Okayama (capital city) Kita Naka Higashi Minami Other cities Akaiwa Asakuchi Bizen Ibara Kasaoka Kurashiki Maniwa Mimasaka Niimi Setouchi Sōja Takahashi Tamano Tsuyama Aida District Nishiawakura Asakuchi District Satoshō Kaga District Kibichūō Katsuta District Nagi Shōō Kume District Kumenan Misaki Maniwa District Shinjō Oda District Yakage Tomata District Kagamino Tsukubo District Hayashima Wake District Wake

v t e Regions and administrative divisions of  Japan Regions Hokkaido Tōhoku Kantō Nanpō Islands Chūbu Hokuriku Kōshin'etsu Shin'etsu Tōkai Kansai Chūgoku San'in San'yō Shikoku Kyushu Northern Kyushu Ryukyu Islands Prefectures Hokkaido Hokkaido Tōhoku Aomori Iwate Miyagi Akita Yamagata Fukushima Kantō Ibaraki Tochigi Gunma Saitama Chiba Tokyo Kanagawa Chūbu Niigata Toyama Ishikawa Fukui Yamanashi Nagano Gifu Shizuoka Aichi Kansai Mie Shiga Kyoto Osaka Hyōgo Nara Wakayama Chūgoku Tottori Shimane Okayama Hiroshima Yamaguchi Shikoku Tokushima Kagawa Ehime Kōchi Kyushu Fukuoka Saga Nagasaki Kumamoto Ōita Miyazaki Kagoshima Okinawa

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