Kurashiki is a city in Okayama Prefecture, a few kilometers west of Okayama City.

During the Edo Period, Kurashiki was a center for storing rice harvested in the surrounding, fertile regions. Literally meaning something like "storehouse town", Kurashiki was direcly administered by the Edo shogunate for its economically strategic importance.

Several dozens of storehouses (kura) can still be found along a picturesque, tree lined canal in the historic city district, Kurashiki's main tourist attraction.