Special Nighttime Opening & Illumination is held at Kouraku-en Garden and Okayama Castle according to specific schedule in each season. Let’s take a walk and enter the castle tower to enjoy night view of the city.
★About schedule and details , I will inform you via email.
JR Okayama station(East side, in front of Momotarou statue)
Kouraku-en : One of the three most famous Japan's traditional landscape gardens. Special scenic spot of Japan.
Castle tower of Okayama Castle
JR Okayama station
★August : Summer Illumination and Artistic Lights(-21:30)
★September 24th 2018 : Traditional Full Moon Viewing in the garden(17:00-21:30)
★November 16th -25th 2018: Autumn Illumination(-20:30)
★April-May 2019 : Spring Illumination(-21:30)
guide fee, garden and castle entrance fee, your transportation fee
food and drink
Usually both Kouraku-en and Okayama Castle are closed in the evening,
Special Nighttime Opening is held according to specific schedule.
Ask me about schedule and details in advance, I will inform you via email.
Mayumi was incredibly prepared ahead and invested during in offering me the best tour possible. Highly recommend.
Thank you very much for requesting Naoshima Guide. Thank you for coming a long way. I hope you enjoyed your stay. It was a pleasant season, a perfect day for a trip to the island, but due to the long holiday period, all the sites were crowded and the waiting time was long, and the high temperatures must have been very tiring for you. Your journey continues and I wish you well as you head to your next destination. Please visit the Seto Inland Sea again someday. With gratitude. Mayumi
Mayumi is so professional and friendly. My Husband & I had so much fun packed in a day at Naoshima that is so well planned by Mayumi. Prior to the trip, Mayumi is always so quick in replying to my email questions and clear all my doubts. And she planned the itinerary to suits our preference. She so kindly popped by our hotel the day before the tour to leave us some notes that she has prepared for us so that we can go through first and she even prepared a welcome gift :) She made us feel so welcome to Okayama. On the 1 day tour, She came all so well prepared and even have alternative plans for our selections. Her English is good and we have no problem communicating with her. She takes time to patiently go through the details and share with us her knowledge about the island & the Arts in the museums and around the island. We had a wonderful time at the Island and certainly gain more knowledge that will add to our sweet memories. Thank you Mayumi.
Hi Irene! Thank you for such a wonderful review! I’ve been looking forward to seeing you since we started exchanging messages. I felt like I was waiting for my friend to come to Okayama.You and your husband were very used to traveling in Japan and enjoyed everything. Your attitude reminded me of the nature of travel. Looking at you makes me want to travel to various places with you :) Thank you for visiting the Seto Inland Sea. I enjoyed planning your trip and it was a great pleasure for me to tour around with you, who are full of curiosity and energy. Please come to Okayama again! I’m looking forward to seeing you again. Keep a good appetite! Thank you, Irene.
Mayumi was a wonderful guide for two private tour days in Naoshima & surrounding art islands. From the start, during the planning stages, she was very helpful with suggestions and went above and beyond to help us navigate the various museum entrances, local ferry schedules, etc. I appreciated her detailed responses and that she was always quick to get back to me during planning stages as well. Thank you Mayumi!
Thank you very much for your kind review,Chantal. I appreciate your patronage for this tour. It was a great privilege to have had the opportunity to be of service to you, and the process was very heartwarming. It was truly enjoyable to guide you through the islands on a beautiful day and share various experiences, and I am grateful for the many realizations and lessons learned. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Please come visit Okyama and Kagawa again someday. I look forward to seeing you and having fun together.
My husband and I spent one day with Mayumi on a tour of Naoshima, Japan's Art Island. She met us at our Okayama hotel and accompanied us by train and ferry to the island and back to the hotel. The night before, Mayumi left much information in English about the island at the hotel (along with a gift of fruit) so we knew exactly what to expect there. This was much appreciated and quite helpful. As my husband has mobility problems, Mayumi arranged for a taxi to meet us on Naoshima at the ferry and to drive us to various outside art installations for an hour. We never would have been able to see most of these works without her welcomed suggestion in advance to use the taxi service for a while to get as much as possible from our limited stay on the island. Mayumi came with her personally prepared book, filled with notes and photos of the island attractions. These details, which she shared, enabled us to have an even better understanding of what we saw. But Mayumi did not have to refer to the book often, because she was quite knowledgeable about the island and its amazing art collection. She proved to be delightful to travel with -- fluent in English; was always considerate of my husband and his walking issues; had a nice sense of humor; and was ready to answer any questions that we had. In fact, before the trip, she emailed me, inviting us to ask the questions that we had at that time and to inquire whether there was anything special we wanted to do on the island. We felt that she tailored the tour to our interests. After the tour, she emailed me some lovely photos that she had taken of us. Mayumi ensured that we had a very special day. I am confident that she would also put the same effort into tours of other areas.
Dear Joan, Thank you very much for your warmest review. I am so happy to hear from you and to know that you took safe journey home. Thank you for finding and visiting Naoshima. I was profoundly touched by your life-energizing travel ! You see what needs to be seen all around the planet. I was encouraged so much that I will be able to take a step with joy to "the unknown". I am back from my vacation today. I went home to celebrate the New Year with my mother and my sisiter’s family. We visited our local shrine to show our appreciation and to make wishes for New Year. I wish you Happy New Year. I hope the New Year be A messenger of joy, smiles, love and peace. That brings you all that you ever wished for ! with the kindest regards, Mayumi