Tourism

The most Glorious School in Okayama- Shizutani School

2023-02-15

Hello everyone,

Can you remember your elementary school days? What was it like? Did you like your school?

Were your teachers tough?

I recently visited a famous Elementary school in Okayama. It’s actually a former elementary school and a special historic site. It’s the former Shizutani school.

 

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Shizutani school is in Okayama’s Bizen city. It took about an hour for me to get there from Okayama station. I boarded the JR San-yō line train local Himeji-Bound to Aioi and exit the train at Yoshinaga. The ticket fare was 590Yen. Then there was a small local bus that goes to the school from the station. The fare was 200Yen.

 

 

Shizutani school looked like a Royal building that appears in Japanese periodic dramas. It was built in a wide area hidden in the Bizen mountains and was quite charismatic.

 

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The ticket fare for school is 400yen.

 

Shizutani School is the World’s Oldest Public School for common people. There’s a Big lecture hall with an adjoining tea room as the central place for learning. There is also a sacred hall dedicated to Confucius and a history museum built on the site of the dormitory.

 

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There are two Chinese Pistachio trees which are also of historical significance. Those trees are known for their beauty in the Autumn. Locals visit the school in autumn for the annual light up festival.

 

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The students of Shizutani School back in the day were so lucky to have a beautiful school like this. I think they really enjoyed learning here.

I invite you to visit Shizutani school and renew your childhood memories.

 

Writer: Pramudi Munasinghe

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