Kurashiki

is a city located in Okayama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 478,651 and a population density of 1300 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Kurashiki is located in the south-central part of Okayama Prefecture, and the Takahashi River flows through the midwestern part of the city from north to south and empties into the Seto Inland Sea. Most of the plains are occupied by reclaimed land and alluvial plains, and are relatively flat except for the Kojima area. Kojima, Kameshimayama, Tamashima, and Tsurajima are many places in the city that have the kanji 'island' in their names; these areas were originally islands and were connected by land reclamation to form the current city limits. Okayama City, which is the prefectural capital, is adjacent to the east, and Kurashiki forms part of the Greater Okayama metropolitan area. Adjoining municipalities Okayama Prefecture Kita-ku, Okayama Minami-ku, Okayama Tamano Sōja Asakuchi Yakage Hayashima Climate Kurashiki has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa). The average annual temperature in Kurashiki is . The average annual rainfall is with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around . The highest temperature ever recorded in Kurashiki was on 8 August 1994; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 27 February 1981.