Alright, let’s continue with my travel diary! If you are in Tottori trying to kill time, I have a great day or one-night trip for you! Okayama prefecture borders Tottori prefecture to the north. You can reach the capital city (also called Okayama) in approximately 2.5h from Tottori by car or express train. Okayama offers a beautiful, traditional Japanese garden (Korakuen Garden), a majestic castle (Okayama Castle), a botanical garden (Handayama) and refreshing park (Nishigawa Canal Park). Just a few miles away from Okayama, you can visit Kurashiki. This charming town is famous for its picturesque, historic canal area along with the weeping willow trees.

Sadly, our main goal was shopping at the Mitsui Outlet Park in Kurashiki and the AEON Mall in Okayama, so we sadly did not have time to do any sightseeing. Definitely will be back for it though! So after a quick breakfast stop in Yura (Detective Conan Town), we head directly to the Outlet Park in Kurashiki. There are more than 100 stores including famous international brands such as Nike, Adidas, Michael Kors, Seiko, GAP, Lego and many other well-known Japanese brands. There are plenty of bargains throughout the year to make your shopping experience even more fun (without hurting your wallet hehe). I bought some dresses and we quickly spent the whole afternoon at the Outlet (my cousin’s daughter wanted to play at the playground nearby). After the first shopping session, we headed towards Okayama station to our hotel (Ark Hotel), which is a 5min distance from the AEON shopping mall.

The next day, we went shopping at the AEON Mall. The mall was huge compared to the usual AEON Malls I know and it has almost everything you need! AEON Mall Okayama is one of Western Japan’s largest AEON Malls with more than 350 shops and it also features over 60 different restaurants. After having breakfast and a quick stop at the Purikura machine and UFO catchers, we were ready for shopping! We went our separate ways, but always meet-up for lunch and coffee break in the afternoon. There was a Cat Café inside the mall and I was even more excited when I realised that it was the Cat Café MOCHA! It is one of my favourite cat café chain and I have already visited the café in Shibuya and the one in Harajuku. All the cafés are very stylish in the inside and decorated tastefully in warm colours (love the wooden elements). There are many comfortable places to sit down and relax. If you would like to see some impressions, do not hesitate to check out my video below! Overall, it was a day well spent!

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Mitsui Outlet Park Kurashiki
12-3 Kotobukicho, Kurashiki
Okayama 710-0813, Japan
+81 86-423-6500
mitsui-shopping-park.com

Opening Hours (daily):
10:00 – 20:00

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AEON Mall Okayama
1 Chome-2-1 Shimoishii, Kita Ward
Okayama 700-0907, Japan
+81 86-803-6700
aeonmall-okayama.com

Opening Hours (daily):
Speciality Stores & Food Court: 10:00 – 21:00
Restaurant Area: 11:00 – 22:00

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Hotel (5min from the AEON Mall)
Ark Hotel Okayama
2 Chome-6-1 Shimoishii, Kita Ward
Okayama 700-0907, Japan

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Cat Cafe MOCHA Okayama @ AEON Mall Okayama 5F
1 Chome−2−1, Shimoishii, Kita Ward
Okayama 700-0907, Japan
イオンモール岡山 5F
+81 86-201-1120
catmocha.jp

Opening Hours (daily):
10:00 – 21:00 (Last entry at 20:30)

Price:
¥220/10 minutes (max. ¥2640)
¥385 for All-you-can-drink
¥550 for cat treats

Age:
Children between 3 and 12 years old can only enter with (parental) guidance