The Ohashi Family Residence is a beautiful townhouse unique to Kurashiki that has been designated an Important Cultural Property. Its unique layout features a row house facing the main road, with the main house on the inside separated by a front yard, and the main entrance runs through the row house. The main house is a multi-story building with a hip-and-gable roof and real tile roof, with a room and a cabinet in the attic, Kurashiki lattice on the first floor and Kurashiki windows on the second floor. The rice storehouse and internal structure are built using earthenware and feature "namako walls," and there is a single-story sitting room to the east. It is a simple but beautiful townhouse unique to Kurashiki.
The Ohashi family were large landowners in Kurashiki in the late Edo period who made their fortune through the development of salt fields and new rice fields. Together with the Ohara family, they formed an emerging power group known as "Shinroku" and reached the height of their prosperity.
The Ohashi Family Residence gives us a glimpse into the high-class and dignified lifestyle of the Ohashi family and the splendor of the prosperity of the Shinroku era at that time.

Kurashiki Monogatarikan was constructed in the mid-Edo period, and its dignified Nagayamon gate on the south side, the alley on the west side, and the four storehouses create a beautiful and calm atmosphere, conveying the atmosphere of the Edo period to the present day.
The Kurashiki Story Hall was renovated by the city of Kurashiki from the former Higashi Ohashi family home, and opened in 2009 as a tourist hub to improve the mobility of tourists visiting Kurashiki, and as a place for cultural exchange and activities for local residents. As it is located at the entrance to the scenic area, it plays the role of first conveying the "Kurashiki-ness" to tourists visiting the scenic area.
The main Nagayamon gate is used as a tourist information corner, and the first floor of the two-story wooden main building in the center of the site houses an exhibition corner that conveys the traditional townscape of Kurashiki. Other facilities include a multi-purpose hall, exhibition room, and cafe.

Ohara Museum of Art is Japan's first private Western art museum, established in 1930. It was founded by Ohara Magosaburo, a businessman who contributed to the cultural development of Kurashiki. It consists of the main building, an annex, the Crafts and Oriental Gallery, and the Torajiro Kojima Memorial Hall (currently only the exterior can be viewed), and houses and exhibits approximately 3,000 works from across countries and eras, including masterpieces of Western art, Japanese Western paintings, sculptures, and crafts. The main building exhibits famous Western masterpieces such as El Greco's "The Annunciation," Claude Monet's "Water Lilies," Renoir, and Gauguin.
There is also a museum shop on site, which sells reproductions of famous paintings from the museum's collection, as well as stationery and accessories featuring the artworks.
*The annex is currently closed. The grand opening of the Torajiro Kojima Memorial Museum is scheduled for the end of fiscal year 2024.