Kōrakuen is known as one of three finest traditional gardens in Japan. In addition to the numerous attractions within the garden itself, its scenery borrows the view of nearby Okayama Castle just across the river. The garden is characterised by its large lawns interspersed with features including a small hill, ponds and meandering streams, tea houses, a Nō stage, a tea plantation, and even rice paddies, lotus and peony fields. A wooded area of the garden has an enclosure where eight cranes are kept as part of a program to restore these large birds to the local landscape.

Work on the garden began in 1687 in the Edo period on the orders of the feudal lord Ikeda Tsunamasa. It took until 1700 to complete. A few changes were made in later periods such as the addition of the hill, but otherwise, the garden remains largely as it was in the Edo period.