Better Dress Incognito
This last typhoon was very strong, the worst most people have seen in a while. Our house was fine but some houses close to the sea were damaged from landslides. There were also some very strong earthquakes in the north part of Japan today, but I did not feel anything.
Today I took the bus to Okayama to meet a friend of last year's outbound Rotary student. Her name is Nobuko which is about all I knew before I met her next to the Okayama fountain (I guess I was easy to spot being the only foreign looking guy in a bright red jacket). We had sent a few e-mails back and forth so I knew she spoke some English. In a mix of Japanese and English, we introduced ourselves and she led the way to a restaurant for lunch. We met with one of her friends and his mom at a coffee shop where I had a chicken sandwich and iced milk tea. Nobuko is 17 and has been to a bunch of concerts in Japan; her friend is 18 and really likes the Strokes and The White Stripes.
After lunch we went to a huge game arena (the largest in Okayama). There were a ton of games and lights and sounds and the whole place seemed to have this energy to it. Game arenas are also extremely loud. We took purikura pictures (the fun Japanese photo booths) and then played a game with Taiko drums that reminded me of Dance Dance Revolution with sticks. I was completely baffled by a game that a guy was playing which involved a small keyboard next to a turntable. You play a few notes according to the pictures on the screen and then scratch with the turntable, sometimes executing both at the same time. I didn't bother to waste money on this one.
After laughing over the games and purikura, we left the arena to do some shopping (one of my new favorite activities). Nobuko bought a cd and I found a great shirt with a picture of a lightbulb that says "Please turn over the light." She also took me to a "spencers" type shop where I bought some pins and had to fight really hard no to purchase a ton of other stuff. We stopped in a store that was in the shape of OH-kun, one of the mascots of the local television station OHK, where you could buy all things cute-japanese-cartoon related.
After laughing over the games and purikura, we left the arena to do some shopping (a popular Japanese pastime, and one of my new favorite activities). Nobuko bought a CD and I found a great shirt with a picture of a light bulb that says "Please turn over the light." She also took me to a joke shop where I bought some pins and had to fight really hard not to purchase a ton of other interesting junk. We stopped in a store that was in the shape of OH-kun, one of the mascots of the local television station OHK, where you could buy all things cute Japanese cartoon related.
Crazy coincidences are happening all the time in Japan. Although I know relatively few people, and the cities are rather large, I usually see someone I know when I visit Okayama. In this case, Nobuko took me to a shopping area and in one of the CD stores we ran into Cori, the exchange student from Canada, and two of her friends from school. Nobuko and I had thought about going to karaoke but we weren't sure because it was only the two of us. Now, after meeting Cori and her friends, we all decided to go to a local karaoke parlor.
One of Cori's friends was named Billy from New Zealand (he looked Japanese and I introduced myself in Japanese to which he replied "I can speak English"). He speaks Chinese as well, and has also studied Japanese for 5 years. Her other friend is Katrin, from Germany. At the karaoke shop Nobuko sang in Japanese, Katrin in German, Billy in Chinese, and Cori and I in English. After some pretty exciting songs, including lots of Avril Lavigne (Japan's newest obsession), "We Will Rock You," and "99 Luftballoons,” Cori had to be home so we all went to Okayama station to go our separate ways.
Andee is in Hiroshima and Yamashita-san is also out of town so Shoko and I didn't go to Kyudo. Instead we talked for a while over dinner then a man came over to talk with Shun who is from the college entrance test preparation center. He was very funny and talkative and I could understand most of what he said in Japanese even though it was really fast. I can now make jokes in Japanese, but oftentimes I don’t realize I am being humorous.
Today I took the bus to Okayama to meet a friend of last year's outbound Rotary student. Her name is Nobuko which is about all I knew before I met her next to the Okayama fountain (I guess I was easy to spot being the only foreign looking guy in a bright red jacket). We had sent a few e-mails back and forth so I knew she spoke some English. In a mix of Japanese and English, we introduced ourselves and she led the way to a restaurant for lunch. We met with one of her friends and his mom at a coffee shop where I had a chicken sandwich and iced milk tea. Nobuko is 17 and has been to a bunch of concerts in Japan; her friend is 18 and really likes the Strokes and The White Stripes.
After lunch we went to a huge game arena (the largest in Okayama). There were a ton of games and lights and sounds and the whole place seemed to have this energy to it. Game arenas are also extremely loud. We took purikura pictures (the fun Japanese photo booths) and then played a game with Taiko drums that reminded me of Dance Dance Revolution with sticks. I was completely baffled by a game that a guy was playing which involved a small keyboard next to a turntable. You play a few notes according to the pictures on the screen and then scratch with the turntable, sometimes executing both at the same time. I didn't bother to waste money on this one.
After laughing over the games and purikura, we left the arena to do some shopping (one of my new favorite activities). Nobuko bought a cd and I found a great shirt with a picture of a lightbulb that says "Please turn over the light." She also took me to a "spencers" type shop where I bought some pins and had to fight really hard no to purchase a ton of other stuff. We stopped in a store that was in the shape of OH-kun, one of the mascots of the local television station OHK, where you could buy all things cute-japanese-cartoon related.
After laughing over the games and purikura, we left the arena to do some shopping (a popular Japanese pastime, and one of my new favorite activities). Nobuko bought a CD and I found a great shirt with a picture of a light bulb that says "Please turn over the light." She also took me to a joke shop where I bought some pins and had to fight really hard not to purchase a ton of other interesting junk. We stopped in a store that was in the shape of OH-kun, one of the mascots of the local television station OHK, where you could buy all things cute Japanese cartoon related.
Crazy coincidences are happening all the time in Japan. Although I know relatively few people, and the cities are rather large, I usually see someone I know when I visit Okayama. In this case, Nobuko took me to a shopping area and in one of the CD stores we ran into Cori, the exchange student from Canada, and two of her friends from school. Nobuko and I had thought about going to karaoke but we weren't sure because it was only the two of us. Now, after meeting Cori and her friends, we all decided to go to a local karaoke parlor.
One of Cori's friends was named Billy from New Zealand (he looked Japanese and I introduced myself in Japanese to which he replied "I can speak English"). He speaks Chinese as well, and has also studied Japanese for 5 years. Her other friend is Katrin, from Germany. At the karaoke shop Nobuko sang in Japanese, Katrin in German, Billy in Chinese, and Cori and I in English. After some pretty exciting songs, including lots of Avril Lavigne (Japan's newest obsession), "We Will Rock You," and "99 Luftballoons,” Cori had to be home so we all went to Okayama station to go our separate ways.
Andee is in Hiroshima and Yamashita-san is also out of town so Shoko and I didn't go to Kyudo. Instead we talked for a while over dinner then a man came over to talk with Shun who is from the college entrance test preparation center. He was very funny and talkative and I could understand most of what he said in Japanese even though it was really fast. I can now make jokes in Japanese, but oftentimes I don’t realize I am being humorous.
1 Comments:
Sounds like fun! Oh, and it's Taiko. And the DJ game is really hard...I tried it once. I wonder if actual DJs do well on their first try?
By Cinnacism, at 9:36 PM
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