After the Bikan area closes down, relax with the mellow retro tunes and friendly staff at the slightly scruffy SWLABR. By day it serves as a cafe with light meals and cakes; by night it's a bar. It's the green weatherboard house on the corner of Chūō-dōri, a couple of blocks southeast of the station.
SWLABR
Western Honshū
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
28.73 MILES
Konpira-san or, more formally, Kotohira-gū, was originally a Buddhist and Shintō temple dedicated to the guardian of mariners. It became exclusively a…
10.64 MILES
Kōraku-en draws the crowds with its reputation as one of the three most beautiful gardens in Japan. It has expansive lawns broken up by ponds, teahouses…
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24.38 MILES
One of the most beautiful gardens in the country, Ritsurin-kōen dates from the mid-1600s and took more than a century to complete. Designed as a walking…
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16.07 MILES
In Honmura, half a dozen traditional buildings have been turned over to contemporary artists to use as the setting for creative installations, often…
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25.9 MILES
The island of Sensui-jima is just five minutes across the water from Tomo-no-ura town, though vastly different for its rugged natural beauty, as there are…
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25.68 MILES
Zentsū-ji, Temple 75 of the sacred 88, is the largest of the temples – most of the other 87 could fit in its car park. This is where Kōbō Daishi was born,…
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19.9 MILES
Teshima's art 'museum' impresses for its architecture – a monumental concrete shell, forming a low teardrop-shaped dome on the hillside, designed by Tokyo…
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26.18 MILES
About 500m north of Yashima station, Shikoku-mura is an excellent village museum that houses old buildings transported here from all over Shikoku and…
Nearby Western Honshū attractions
0.13 MILES
Built in 1793, this beautifully restored wooden house belonged to one of Kurashiki's richest families. It was built at a time when prosperous merchants…
0.18 MILES
Buddhist temple on the edge of Tsurugata-yama-kōen park, with fine views across town.
0.22 MILES
This is Kurashiki's premier museum, housing the predominantly Western art collection amassed by local textile magnate Ōhara Magosaburō (1880–1943), with…
0.26 MILES
Buddhist temple with interesting wooden carvings of animal spirits in the eaves, near Kurashiki's Bikan quarter. Enter from the side street off Honmachi…
5. Kurashiki Museum of Folk-craft
0.3 MILES
This museum is housed in an attractive complex of rice warehouses dating from the late 18th century, with interesting exhibits of exquisite household…
0.31 MILES
Steep stone steps lead up to this shrine in Tsurugata-yama-kōen, a park that overlooks the old area of town. The shrine is home to a wisteria tree thought…
0.31 MILES
Four rooms are crammed with displays of wooden toys, masks, dolls and spinning tops (including a world-record breaker), as well as a colourful array of…
0.36 MILES
Learn about the history of the Japanese textile industry at this museum at historic Ivy Square.