Kita-ku stretches from city center shops, bars, and barazushi rice bowl restaurants along the Nishigawa Canal to golf courses in forested hills. Okayama Castle is a rebuilt, moat-ringed samurai stronghold, while former royal garden Korakuen has traditional tearooms and native cranes. Linked to popular folktale Momotaro, Kibitsu Shrine draws crowds to its flower-filled grounds and long, iconic wooden corridor.