Welcome to

Ibara

Asia's first Dark Sky Community and the original home of Japanese denim

The Hojo Soun Festival is this Sunday (27th April) from 10:00-15:00! Come join us in celebrating the famous Japanese warlord of the Sengoku Period and while enjoying exciting performances and beautiful views at the Takakoshi Castle Ruins. Soak in the history of the site and enjoy Japan at its most authentic!

For more info, visit the ibara site!
https://ibaracir.wixsite.com/visitibara/event-details/hojo-soun-festival

#hojosoun #daimyo #japanesewarlord #festival #ibara #ibaracity #takakoshiruins #japanhistory #sengoku #北条早雲 #早雲 #market

Traditional and adventure awaits at Yumegahara Medieval Village this Golden Week! From Taiko Drum and Flute performances, to Bicchu Kagura Theatre, Armour-wearing and kids cosplay experiences, swordsmith demonstrations and a rabbit petting zoo, join us from May 3rd to 6th for an unforgettable experience. Link in Bio! #GoldenWeek #YumegaharaMedievalVillage #Ibara #Japan

On Sunday 12th April, Sakurabashi Park in Ibara City hosted the 🌸⋆ ˚｡Night Sakura Festival! ⋆ ˚｡🌺
Although the sakura are pretty much over in these parts, this past weekend, the city got to enjoy the beautiful full blooms illuminated in bright PINK🌺, along with a range of different colours.

Many visitors and residents had a great evening indulging themselves with tasty treats from food trucks and enjoyed the spectacular night views ✨⋆ ˚｡🌸⋆ ˚｡

We can't wait for next year!
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#sakura #nightsakura #sakurafestival #cherryblossoms #japan #okayama #okayamatravel #japantravel #japansakura

🌸🌸🌸 Sakura, sakura, everywhere you look!
It's a beautiful day so come and walk around the city and enjoy the sites!
All the local parks near the station are abundant with blossoms so don't miss out!
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#sakuraseason #sakura #cherryblossoms #okayamaprefecture #okayama #okayamatravel #ibara #offthebeatenpath

Sunday 6th April 2025 is the Ibara 🌸SAKURA🌸 Festival!

With our 2km sakura tunnel in full bloom, along with Sakurabashi Park, and Aibara Park, there are plenty of places and events to enjoy the beautiful blossoms before they start to fall.

A FREE shuttle bus will be running from the train station to take you to the various events around the city too!
Enjoy classic cars 🚗 in association with the Vecchio Bambino at the TokuToku market held in the train station, grab a free bus to the embankment to enjoy the sakura tunnel, or walk along the shopping district to have a look at the Ibara Art Loop booths!

There is plenty to do so come on down! 🌸🌸🌸
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#sakura #okayama #hanami #sakurafestival #sakuraevent #okayama #ibara #okayamatravel

🌸 Get ready for the cherry blossom season! From next week, explore the BEST spots in Ibara City, Okayama and see the breathtaking sakura cherry blossoms. 🌸 Don't miss out! #CherryBlossoms #Ibara #Okayama #sakura #japansakura #sakurajapan #hanami #桜 #岡山 #おかやま #花見

Sakura season is nearly upon us 🌸 which means it is Ibara's time to shine ✨️

Come visit Ibara and enjoy an unforgettable stroll along the 2km cherry blossom tunnel along the Oda River!

It's a sight not to be missed!
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#cherryblossoms #sakura #sakurajapan #okayamasakura #sakuraspot #hanami #japansakura #cherryblossom #ibaracity #visitibara #okayamatravel #hiroshimatravel #offthebeatenpath #sakuralover #sakuraseason

Are you ready for a ROARING good time? Join the Tyrannosaurus Race on March 30th 2025 at Ibara Refresh Park and add some excitement to your day! Link in Bio ⚡️ #TyrannosaurusRace #IbaraCIR #DinosaurEvent

🍂 Autumn at Ibara Train Station 🍁

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#autumn #fall #japan #okayama #autumnleaves #ibara #井原駅

🌏2024 International Exchange Festival in Ibara🌏

Sunday 3rd November from 9am-1pm at Ibara Train Station!

This year it will be held at the same time as the Toku Toku Market outside of Ibara Train Station!

Not only will there be foreign volunteers who live in Ibara, but the city's ALTs too!

Why not use this event as an opportunity to get to know the foreigners in Ibara!

There will be mini games, authentic foreign foods to try and great prizes!

This is the first time we are using a ticket system at the event so but your tickets on the day at the central booth and enjoy~
1 ticket costs 150 yen but there are great discounts if you buy packs of 5, 10 or 20 tickets!

#festival #japanfestival #ibara #ibaracity #okayama #Internationalfestival #international #internationalfoods #japan

This weekend it's the Demon Festival in Ibara City! 👹
Come to the shopping district to enjoy the annual demon procession, live music, art exhibitions and workshops!

Only 300 yen!
Come to the reception first to get your ticket!
(Address: 694-1 Ibara-cho, 715-0019)

October 26th & 27th
10:00am-16:00pm
Ibara shopping district
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#demon #demonfestival #ibara #japantravel #japan #Japanfestival #matsuri #onimatsuri #japanart #japanculture #okayama #oni

This weekend is the Ibara Sport Festival!

Jam-packed with fun activities to work your body and get your heart pumping, this free event has everything for you to try from Japanese archery, swimming, fitness tests, athletics, trampolining and more! Come on down and enjoy the festival this Sunday!

More info in the link below:

https://ibaracir.wixsite.com/visitibara/post/ibara-sports-festival-2024-6th-oct

#ibara #sportfestival #sportjapan #okayama #okayamasports #kyudo #archery #sports #japan

The 2024 internship with #ESIEA university is now over. For the last time, we caught up with Guilhem before he left to go back to France.

We hope you enjoyed following Guilhem’s journey! If you missed anything, pop into our blog and see what kind of fun activities Ibara City has to offer!

https://wix.to/akL91It
#newblogpost

#esieaibara #internship #ibaracity #japaninternship #japanwork #workinjapan #japanculture #japan #languageexchange #cultureexchange #ibara #okayamatravel #japantravel

Did you know Ibara is home to one of the top Kyudo Grounds in Japan? Read the newest post to find out about the ancient art of Japanese Archery!

https://wix.to/4dP36Vg
#newblogpost
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#ibara #okayama #japan #archery #kyudo #japanesearchery #japaneseculture #bowandarrow #bow #archeryrange #japanarchery #kyuudo #okayamatravel #offthebeatenpath #tourismjapan #japanexperience #archeryexperience

Awakening the Demons: Ibara's Oni Matsuri Through the Masks!
Go to our blog to read about the demon festival in Ibara and how our intern made his very own mask!
https://wix.to/pmxI7la
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#newblogpost #demon #demonfestival #oni #ibara #japan #japanculture #japanese #ESIEAibara #okayama #ibaracity

The past couple of weeks has seen Guilhem travel up to Bisei, our town of beautiful stars. See how it differs from central Ibara in this new post!
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#biseitown #ibaracity #darksky #stars #nightsky #hoshizora #ibara #ESIEAibara #ESIEA #biseiastronomicalobservatory #BAO #chuuseiyumegahara #townofstars #japan #japanstars #blogpost

Another year, another successful Ibara Manten Festival ✨️
We hoped you enjoyed all the food, dancing and fireworks 🎆

See you next year! 🤗
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#festival #summerfestival #ibara #ibaracity #okayama #matsuri #japanesefestival #natsumatsuri #fireworks #hanabi #summer #summerevent #ibaraevent
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Did you go to the 2024 Ibara Manten Festival?

Today is the Ibara Manten Festival! ✨️
From 4pm at Ibara Train station, you can enjoy a range of food and market stalls, a Bon Odori (dance festival) and in the evening, end your night with fireworks! (from 8pm)
So come on down and experience the festival!
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#festival #summerfestival #ibara #ibaracity #okayama #matsuri #japanesefestival #natsumatsuri #fireworks #hanabi #summer #summerevent #ibaraevent ¹

From 1st-31st August 2024, Ibara City is doing a survey to find out about the kind of issues foreign residents of Ibara are facing.

So please take a minute to fill out the questionnaire provided in the QR codes in the post.

We have the following languages available:
Japanese, English, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Indonesian, and both simplified and traditional Chinese.

We thank you in advance for your help! 🤗
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#井原市 #いばら #ibara #ibaracity

Last Sunday saw our annual Englishland Event! ✨️

Our students has a jam-packed day of playing fun games and talking English with our resident ALTs, CIR and intern!

They enjoyed a variety of authentic foreign dishes, including American hamburgers 🍔, British sausage rolls and French crepes 🍽

To complete the day's treasure map game they had to interact with every one of the foreign teachers in English!
Our winner received a mini treasure chest filled with English sweets 😊

From the feedback we got, we know they had an excellent time and are looking forward to next year!

Many, many thanks to Altia Central and the ALTs of Ibara City! The day wouldn't have been such a success without you! 🙇🏾‍♀️
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#culturalexchange #ibaracity #English #englishevent #englishteaching #englishexchange #okayamaprefecture #summerevent #englishland

It's been a month since our intern came to Ibara! Check the Visit Ibara blog to find out about his first experience doing Japanese Calligraphy, experiencing an authentic tea ceremony and getting involved with the music club at a local high school!
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#esieaibara #japaneseculture #calligraphy #teaceremony #japanesemusic #japaninternship #okayamaprefecture #ibaracity

https://wix.to/IoKPRMv

This week Guilhem got the chance to join in with the Ibara High School Music Club! As he is an experienced clarinet player, he was able to play a few anime songs with them! ✨️🎼🎷🎺

After that was a Q&A about his experience in music and the differences between France and Japan!

It was an excellent opportunity for intercultural exchange that everyone enjoyed 😊

Special thanks to Ibara High School for this opportunity. You all were amazingly good! 💯
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#ibaracity #music #musicclub #culturalexchange #japanorchestra #japan #japanhighschool #esieaibara #clarinet #extracurricular

Calligraphy, Wild Boar and Getting Comfy in Japan：It’s week 3 of the Ibara Internship!

https://wix.to/sEkWvZ7

#newblogpost #ibara #visitibara #ESIEAibara #japantravel #japanexperience #japaninternship #japanculture #calligraphy #wildboar #japanese #okayama #japan

We hope everyone wrote their wishes for Tanabata today!🎋

May all your wishes come true ✨️
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#tanabata #ibaracity #japanculture #japan #tanzaku #wishes

Join us at Englishland 2024! ✨

On Saturday 20th July 2024, transport your kids to a land of only English for the day!

With games run by foreign English language teachers, this is a chance to hear and experience real English for a day!

Lunch is also included in the day, with a selection of delicious foods from various countries.

So come and spend the day in Englishland!

Date and Time: Saturday 20th July 2024 10:00-15:00
Location: Oe Community Centre
Aimed at: Elementary School Children from years 4-6.
Maximum participants: 20 students (as of 5th July, only 8 spaces left)
Price: 500 yen per child

If you're interested, come to register at Ibara Local Industry Promotion Centre.
(10 Nanukaichi-cho, Ibara)

Application Deadline: Tuesday 16th July 2024

#englishland #english #englishevent #englishinjapan #ibaracity #learnenglish #funenglish #dayofenglish #ALTs #okayama

Did you know that Ibara City is home to one of only 2 remaining traditional Japanese lantern-makers in Okayama Prefecture? 🏮 The owner is in his 80s and has been making japanese lanterns and traditional japanese umbrellas by hand for over 50 years! 🤯

Everything from cutting down the bamboo in the forest, to thinly slicing it into strips, to applying the Japanese paper and even hand-writing the characters is done by him 😯

So if you want to buy something that is truly authentic Japanese, definitely have a look at his shop!

Terachi
748 Ibaracho, Ibara, Okayama 715-0019, Japan

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#ibara #ibaracity #okayamatravel #japantravel #japaneselantern #wagasa #japaneseumbrella #lantern #paperlantern #traditionaljapan #authenticjapan #chouchin

As much as we've talked about Guilhem, we thought it would be nice to hear from the man himself. So we've taken the liberty of interviewing our newest intern, so that you can get to know him a little.

Read our blog to find all about him and his time here one week into the program!

以下のリンク先に新しいインターン生のギエーム君について、ぜひを読みください！日本語も書いてあります！

https://wix.to/jMZZYnX

#esiea #france #japan #internship #ibaracity #japaninternship #workinjapan #japanwork #japanfrance #井原市 #井原 #日本 #岡山県

Yesterday saw the first day of Guilhem, our new intern from ESIEA University in France.
It's an exciting time for everyone as we welcome yet another student to our small city, for the second year running.

We have a fun programme planned for him and hope to share all his adventures in Ibara, here, and on our website: ibaracir.wixsite.com/visitibara

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#esieaibara #esiea #france #japan #internship #ibaracity #japaninternship #workinjapan #japanwork #japanfrance #井原市 #井原 #日本 #岡山県

The ESIEA-Ibara City Internship Program starts again! ✨
It is June 2024, and we are one week out from the arrival of our new intern from ESIEA Graduate School of Engineering, France.
We are very excited to have another intern come to explore Ibara and we hope you are too!
Look forward to our posts about his time here 🇯🇵 🔴 and read our blog to reminisce about our previous interns who joined us a year ago!

https://wix.to/juhWDN2
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#esieaibara #intern #internship #japaninternship #esiea #ibaracity #japan #workexperience #japanwork #japanworkexperience #okayamatravel #internshipprogram #internshipprogramme #japanfrance #francejapan #france #french
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TELL ME MORE

Ibara is a small city in Okayama Prefecture, situated on the border of Hiroshima.

Home to just under 40,000 people, it is known as the

original home of denim in Japan.

Its strong roots in denim production date all the way back to the Edo period (1603 - 1868).

This hidden gem of a city is blessed with a world-renowned sky of stars, a rich history and the freshest produce in Okayama!

So Visit Ibara and follow us at our instagram or click the link below to find out more about Ibara!

biseo observatory night_edited_edited.jpg

Things to Do

Ibara has a surprising amount of things to do. From beautiful canyons to interesting denim factories, Ibara has something for everyone.

Check out more on the Things to do page.

Areas

Learn about the different areas of Ibara, and see what they have to offer for your visit here! Make sure to visit all three for the best chance to explore Ibara!

Check out more information on the Areas page.

Ibara has a great selection of entertainment. Watch the traditional Japanese demons parade through the city streets, or take part in the International Festival!

Check out more on the Events page.