is located in the
Chūgoku region on
Honshū island,
Japan. The capital is the city of
Okayama.
History
During the
Meiji Restoration;
Bitchu Province,
Bizen Province and
Mimasaka Province were combined to form Okayama Prefecture.
Geography
Map of Okayama Prefecture:
Okayama Prefecture borders
HyÅgo 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, and the northern mountains are declining in population.
Cities
Fifteen cities are located in Okayama Prefecture:
Towns and villages
Towns and villages in each
district:
Mergers
★ On October 1,
2004, the city of
Takahashi and the towns of
Ukan,
Nariwa,
Kawakami, and
Bitchū merged to form the new city of
Takahashi. As a result of this merger,
Kawakami District was dissolved.
★ On October 1, 2004, the towns of
Kamogawa and
KayÅ merged to form the town of
KibichÅ«Å. The new town belongs to
Kaga District, founded upon this merger.
★ On November 1, 2004, the towns of
Ushimado,
Oku, and
Osafune from
Oku District merged to form the city of
Setouchi. As a result of this merger,
Oku District was dissolved.
★ On February 28,
2005, the towns of
Kamo,
ShÅboku, and
Kume and the village of
Aba from
Tomata District merged into the city of
Tsuyama.
★ On March 1, 2005, the towns of
Yoshii from
Shitsuki District and
Bisei from
Oda District merged into the city of
Ibara. As a result of this merger,
Shitsuki District was dissolved.
★ On March 1, 2005, the towns of
Okutsu and
Kagamino and the villages of
Kamisaibara and
Tomi from
Tomata District merged to form the new town of
Kagamino.
★ On March 7, 2005, the towns of
San'yÅ,
Akasaka,
Yoshii and
Kumayama (all from
Akaiwa District) merged to form the new city of
Akaiwa.
★ On March 22, 2005, the towns of
Mitsu and
Nadasaki merged into the city of
Okayama. As a result of this merger,
Kojima District was dissolved.
★ On March 22, 2005, the city of
SÅja merged with the villages of
Yamate, and
Kiyone from
Tsukubo District to form the new city of
SÅja.
★ On March 22, 2005, the city of
Bizen and the towns of
Hinase, and
Yoshinaga merged to form the new city of
Bizen.
★ On March 22, 2005, the towns of
ChÅ«Å,
Asahi, and
Yanahara merged to form the new town of
Misaki.
★ On March 31, 2005, the city of
Niimi and the towns of
ÅŒsa,
ShingÅ,
Tetta, and
Tessei merged to form the new city of
Niimi. As a result of this merger,
Atetsu District was dissolved.
★ On March 31, 2005, the town of
HokubÅ from
JÅbÅ District and the towns of
Katsuyama,
Ochiai,
Yubara, and
Kuse and the villages of
Mikamo,
Kawakami,
Yatsuka, and
Chūka (all from
Maniwa District) merged to form the new city of
Maniwa. As a result of this merger,
JÅbÅ District was dissolved.
★ On March 31, 2005, the town of
Katsuta from
Katsuta District and the towns of
ÅŒhara,
Mimasaka,
SakutÅ, and
Aida and the village of
Higashiawakura (all from
Aida District) merged to form the new city of
Mimasaka.
★ On August 1, 2005, the town of
Funao from
Asakuchi District and the town of
Mabi from
Kibi District merged into the city of
Kurashiki.
Kibi District was dissolved as a result of this merger.
★ On March 1,
2006, the towns of
Wake and
Saeki from
Wake District merged to form the new town of
Wake.
★ On March 21, 2006, the towns of
KonkÅ,
Kamogata and
Yorishima from
Asakuchi District merged to form the new city of
Asakuchi.
★ On January 22, 2007,
Seto of
Akaiwa District and
Takebe of
Mitsu District merged into the city of
Okayama. Akaiwa District and Mitsu District were dissolved as a result of this merger.
Transportation
Railways
★
List of railway stations in Okayama Prefecture
Culture
Pottery
Bizen-yaki (Bizen pottery).
Sports
The sports teams listed below are based in Okayama.
;Association Football (soccer)
★
Mitsubishi Motors Mizushima F.C. (
Kurashiki)
;Volleyball
★
Okayama Seagulls (
Okayama city)
Tourism
Some tourist attractions are:
★ located in
Okayama City.
★ located in Okayama City.
★ , located in
Bizen City.
★ , located in
Kurashiki City.
★ , located in Kurashiki City.
★ , located in
Ibara Town (following dissolution of
Bisei Town).
Miscellaneous topics
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.
Notables
★
Yuko Arimori,
marathon runner.
★
Naoto Fujiki,
actor.
★
TesshÅ 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.
★
Joe Odagiri,
actor.
★
Sesshu Toyo,
suiboku master.
★
Joichiro Tatsuyoshi,
boxer.
★
Nobuo Yana, actor.
★
Haruka Fukushima,
mangaka.
★
Masashi Kishimoto,
mangaka.
★
Seishi Kishimoto,
mangaka.
★
Daisuke Takahashi, Olympic
figure skater.
★
Dorlis,
jazz musician.
★
Michio Maeda,
Koi breeder.
External links
★
Official Okayama Prefecture homepage
★
Personnal blog to discover Okayama Prefecture (in french)
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