Okayama Prefecture

Prefecture flag

Main City: Okayama

Population: 1,922,000 people, ranking 20/47 (2015) [1]

Area: 7,112 km² [2]

Geographical / Landscape description

Okayama Prefecture borders Hyogo, Tottori and Hiroshima Prefectures. Most of the population is concentrated around the historic towns of Kurashiki and Okayama. The small villages in the northern mountain region are aging and declining in population - more than half of the prefecture’s municipalities are officially designated as depopulated. [2]

Climate

Okayama has a mild climate compared to most of Japan. Thanks to an extremely low level of rain and one of the highest numbers of sunny days per year, the prefecture is nicknamed the “Sunny Country”. [2]

Recent history, culture

Okayama is where the well known legend of Momotaro was born and as a result it has become a symbol of the prefecture.

It relates the story of how an old, childless couple saw a giant peach floating down a river. They opened it with the intention of eating it but found a boy inside and decided to adopt him as their son. Years later, the boy known as Momotaro left his parents and went to fight a band of marauding oni (demons or ogres) on a distant island. En route, Momotaro met and befriended a talking dog, monkey, and pheasant, who agreed to help him in his quest. Once the demons were defeated, the group of heroes returned home with the demons’ treasure. [3]

More chapters:

• Economic overview
• Infrastructure
• Living environment
• Major types of economic activities
• Opportunities for EU Investors / Exporters / Importers
• Setting up a business in the prefecture
• Other contacts