Tsuyama

Tsuyama reveals different sides of its history: a former locomotive roundhouse now houses a railway museum, while Tsuyama Castle and the streets of Joto draw attention to the castle town. There is also an annual cherry blossom festival and a walking tour that includes a hands-on tofu-making experience. When planning your trip, you can decide whether to focus primarily on railway history, historic sites or a seasonal discovery.

Railway history in a former roundhouse

The Tsuyama Manabi Railway Museum is located in Tsuyama’s former fan-shaped locomotive roundhouse. The building was constructed in 1936 and has 17 tracks. Among surviving facilities of its kind, it is the second largest after the Umekoji locomotive roundhouse. The fan-shaped roundhouse and its tracks give the site a distinctive character; today, the museum includes various exhibits and visitor areas.

Alongside the castle and historic streets, Tsuyama offers its own perspective on the city’s history, with a focus on railways. If you like to combine different themes on your trip, you can consider this museum visit separately from the historic sites in Kakuzan Park and Joto. These different points of interest can help you decide which experiences you want to accompany your search for a holiday rental in Tsuyama.

Tsuyama Castle and the cherry blossoms

Tsuyama Castle is located in Kakuzan Park, on a small hill in Tsuyama City. The Tsuyama Cherry Blossom Festival is held there every year. In addition, about 1,000 cherry trees, mostly Yoshino cherry trees, adorn the grounds from late March to mid-April. The festival and the blossoms are two special features of the castle grounds that you can consider separately when planning your trip: the festival is held annually, while the stated period describes the cherry blossom season.

If you want to experience Tsuyama in spring, you can plan your trip around the cherry blossoms. The roughly 1,000 trees and the predominance of Yoshino cherry trees give the springtime scenery its distinctive character. At other times of year, the castle in Kakuzan Park and its location on a small hill remain points of interest in their own right if you are interested in the history of the castle town.

Joto: streets and history

East of Tsuyama Castle, the Izumo Road runs through the Joto district, an area designated for the preservation of groups of traditional buildings. The former residence of Mitsukuri Gempo is located there. The building is considered to date from the mid-Edo period, that is, the 18th century. Its period and location in the preservation district make Joto another historic area of interest alongside the castle.

A guided walking tour of the castle town visits the historic sites of Tsuyama Castle in Kakuzan Park and the Joto street preservation district. This gives you a choice of different perspectives on Tsuyama: the castle represents the grounds in the park, while Joto, with its streets and former residence, offers a different historical context. If you are especially interested in culture and local history, this focus may influence your choice of accommodation in Tsuyama.

A walking tour with tofu making

A walking tour through Joto and the history of Western science includes a hands-on tofu-making experience at Hayase Tofu Shop. It combines a historical walk with a practical activity involving food. If you want to accommodate different interests in one trip, you can consider this hands-on experience as a separate part of your itinerary alongside the railway museum and castle.

When choosing a holiday rental in Tsuyama, you can first decide which of these experiences matter for your trip: the railway museum, the castle and its cherry trees, or the historic streets of Joto.

More destinations to explore: Hayashima, Tamano, Asakuchi, Kagamino, Kurashiki, Maniwa, Setouchi and Mimasaka.

For the broader travel overview: Okayama Prefecture.