Ibara

Discover Ibara

Bisei Town (美星町) is an administrative district of Ibara with a long history and many achievements in light pollution prevention, including enacting Japan's first Light Pollution Prevention Ordinance in 1989. The name Bisei — which translates to "town of beautiful stars" — comes from the first letters of the names of two rivers that run through the town, the Miyama (美山) and the Hoshida (星田). There is a legend that three shooting stars fell in the town a long time ago, and shrines were built at each of those sites to worship the stars. The main train line is the Ibara Railway. The main station is Ibara Station, but there there are three other stations in the city: So-Unnosato Ebara Station, Izue Station, and Komoriutanosato Takaya Station. From Okayama, the Ibara Line connects to the JR Hakubi Line at Soja Station in Soja and Kiyone Station in Kurashiki. In the opposite direction, if you're coming from Hiroshima, transfer at Fukuyama Station (Fukuyama) to the Fukuen Line to reach Kannabe Station where you can transfer to Ibara Line. Ibara Railway is a private railway, so those using the Japan Rail Pass need to pay the train fare.