岡山さ時々行くけんど、ひとつちっとめんずらしい光景に興味がある。それが、農家の屋根。昔、茅葺き屋根だったお家を改築して、茅葺きの代わりにトタンにするのが、全国的にも見られるものだが、なぜか岡山県内の場合、シルバー色の屋根は結構多い。特に「和気」（わけ）という地区に多いような気がする。なんでだろう？

Another interesting thing to look for when you visit the countryside in Okayama are the roofs of old farm houses. Many of these houses used to sport thatched roofs.  But since roofing thatch is now hard to come by (and the people who know how to replace thatch are also now few and far between), many of these roofs have been replaced and/or covered over with sheet metal.   Of course, you can see this phenomenon all over Japan, but for some reason, in Okayama, many of these roofs are now covered in shiny silver sheet metal.  They REALLY stand out. This color seems to be especially popular in and around the Wake region of Okayama Prefecture.  Though I have no idea why.  Anyway, an interesting aside.

キーワード: Okayama, travel, walking, ウオーキング, 岡山, 旅

この間、久しぶりに岡山で一泊する事になりました。なつかしい町です。大学生の時代、冬休みの間、大阪の関西外大から岡山まで．ヒッチハイクした事がある。すんごいアドベンチャーになった。そのとき、もちろん、岡山の後楽園や岡山城(烏城）を見物しましたが、残念ながら、なぜか、写真は一点も撮らなかった。カメラ忘れたのかな？

とにかく、今度こそ写真を、と思って、仕事前に岡山市内をウオーキングしてみた。大変歩きやすい町です。道路はまっすぐだし、案内地図と標識は具体的で、英語も、中国語もハングルも、バッチリ。ノー・プロブレム。見るもんもいっぱい。

ウオーキング・アルバムをどうぞ。

I found myself staying overnight in the City of Okayama recently between jobs.  It had been a long time since I some spare time in that burg, so I took off from my hotel a little early to explore.

I first visited Okayama over 30 years ago when I hitchhiked down this way in my college days from Osaka. I did all the tourist destinations including, of course, the famous Japanese gardens of Korakuen and Okayama Castle. But for some strange reason, I took no photos during this trip.  Must have forgotten my camera.

Anyway, I wandered from my hotel near the main station straight down what they call “Momotaro Dori”, the main road leading toward the Castle.  Okayama was pretty much destroyed during WWII, so there  really isn’t much in the way of “historical buildings” that I could find.  But there are a number of spots that have been rebuilt to evoke the old days.  There is a pretty large “tera-machi” (“temple town”) area.  Castle towns like Okayama often have a neighborhood where the temples of the various sects are clustered, usually strategically located as a buffer zone against attack against the castle itself.  Okayama, like many of the major cities in western Japan, also features “street cars” or “trams”, or whatever you call those one car light rail trains.

All in all, Okayama is a very pleasant town to stroll about — flat, lots of maps and signs to guide you, a castle to photograph, etc.  Round trip from Okayama Station to Okayama Castle is about 6 KM.

キーワード: Okayama, travel, walking, ウオーキング, 岡山, 旅