If you ever wondered what Japan looked like in the 1600s, here it is. The Kurashiki Bikan Historical Quarter 倉敷美觀地區 is one of the most well-preserved cities in Japan. It’s a mixture of Edo period (1603-1867) Japan and Western influences, so it felt both contemporary and historical at the same time.

We had the friendliest rickshaw driver, Sho, who pulled us around for 30 minutes. If you watch until the end of the video, you’ll see several women dressed in beautiful yukata (an informal and lighter version of a kimono) walking down the street.

Fun fact: Kurashiki is the birthplace of the domestic jeans industry that produced Japanese jeans for the first time. There was denim everywhere – even denim-colored ice cream.

Texans would feel right home in this area of Okayama Prefecture