1st Proper Post in Okayama, Japan

Yes lah. FINALLY... I can sit at the comfort of my house and write a decent blog entry (complete with pictures).

It has been absolutely crazy ever since I arrived in Okayama. To my ignorant friends who have no clue where Okayama is, it's a small town just an hour away from Osaka by this:

This is in fact Japan's FASTEST Shinkansen, the Nozomi (which means wish) train service. The previous fastest was Hikari (which means light).

Actually, I'd accidentally bought the ticket for Hikari train service when I was at Kansai Airport but being the stubborn pig I am, I went through the trouble of changing the ticket to the Nozomi train service and I think I paid no more than SGD$10 for upgrading my ticket. =)

When traveling at it's fastest, 300km/h, the Nozomi is so damn fast that you'd need to pop your ears. I don't think I had to do that when I sat on the Eurostar.

Anyway. Japan is so unbelievable efficient. Everything, from buying of tickets to changing of trains, is so seamless and effortless. The machines are easy to understand, the staff are fast and the trains arrive and depart on time. Heck, even the toilet bowls are awesome - you get to wash your hands after you flush. That's how efficient (and creative) Japan is.

So being efficient, I arrived at Okayama station like 2 hours ahead of my schedule. (Mind you, that's despite the fact that my luggage was being searched thoroughly at the customs.) I had no idea how Kentaro Mori Sensei looked like and MY, is he young. Kentaro Sensei is my contact person at Okayama Gakugeikan High School. Apparently, his grandfather founded the school, his dad the Principal of the school now and he's like the director of the school. So the school is pretty much his.

ANYWAY, I digressed.

The first place we headed when we met was to proceed to Okayama's pride, Korakuen Garden. Thereafter, we visited the Okayama Castle (nicknamed, U-jo), which is actually just next door.


Dinner that day was held at Kentaro Sensei's place where we had BBQ with his parents as well as his mother-in-law. We err... ate, smoked, drank and most importantly, I got to play Hanabi with his kids. Hanabi (fireworks) is often played during Natsuyasumi (Summer Festival). I'd seen it in dramas and animes and to be able to play it with Japanese kids during autumn is something I won't forget.


The next day, Sunday, I got up early (at 6) because I'd be helping Kentaro Sensei out with his soccer team, Fagiano Okayama F.C. who'd be having the 4th last match in the Japan Football League (JFL) against Ryutsu Keizai University F.C.. Fagiano is in fact Okayama's baby and there's a high chance that Fagiano will be promoted from JFL to the more prestigious J-League next year. All they need is to maintain their table ranking. Unfortunately, the match on Sunday ended 2-2. But I must say, it was fun. I got to help set up the different posts and also, had a go at selling the club's merchandise Note: I had to shout in Japanese, "ファギアノのフレグいかがですしゅうか？" I mean really shout, like how u see the Japanese people would shout from their stalls in the market.

That night, we went to this Izakaya near my hotel which specializes in Chicken. So we had different parts of the chicken, all cooked differently. Oh oh oh, I had Horse Sashimi that night too! OMG. It was damn delicious. (No photos for this part cause I left the camera in his car.)

The above was about 2 weeks ago. Next post: Starting school on Monday (6.10.08).