A quick search into Okayama's attractions reveals few clues about the true nature of the prefecture. Tucked away at the bottom end of the island of Honshu, Okayama appears to be a relatively quiet corner of the country that's best known for its ties to the legend of peach boy Momotaro.

It is also home to the reconstruction of the black-walled Okayama Castle but, apart from this, little jumps from the page. The main brochures for things to do in the region involve two-day package tours of Hiroshima, a city that is not even in Okayama Prefecture.

With a bit of digging, however, it becomes clear that the prefecture does offer up a few other gems. I find much promise in a small town called Yakage that was a prominent waypoint on the old Edo road that connected Edo (now Tokyo) with western Japan. The Shukuba Festival that is held in the town in November each year is all the catalyst I need to turn my research into reality.