I’m pretty tired but I’ll start writing and see how far I get.
Yesterday I took a break and stayed pretty close to the hotel mostly just walking around and looking at the neighbourhood, packing, writing and getting everything lined up for the trip to Okazaki.
I had train tickets already but still needed platform information and to figure out how early to leave to connect via the subway. I figured that I would go to bed early and get an early start in the morning. This worked well till the person in the next room started to thump around at 3:30 AM. I didn’t get a lot of sleep after that. The only other thing was that I had not heard back from Yamasa and was not sure what was happening after I arrived at the JR Station in Okazaki.
In the morning I ate, got the subway, connected with the train and got underway with no issues at all. Travelling with all of your luggage at rush hour in Tokyo is a treat especially in the stations with no escalators.
The Shinkansen was fun, very smooth and quiet. I got to see some really interesting cities and countryside along the way. The farther I got from Tokyo the better Japan looked. Don’t take that a slight against Tokyo. I just personally like things a bit more spread out and with more greenery. I got to see my first rice fields and they are a beautiful colour at this time of year, sort of a gold make up of yellow and green. I saw some green fields and don’t know whether they were late crop, second crop or whether you can grow right through the winter here. It all looks pretty tropical to me. Houses got bigger and farther apart and had a more distinct style to them.
I arrived in Okazaki about 1:15 without having eaten lunch. I was a bit dazed as I had been trying to keep myself awake on the train to avoid ending up somewhere beyond where I wanted to be. There was a man holding a Yamasa sign at the station who greeted me by name which was nice. He introduced himself as Takasu Shingo and is the fellow in charge of homestays whom I had corresponded with. We loaded my luggage into a large van and drove off to Yamasa. The rule seemed to be Japanese only so I had to wake up quickly.
At Yamasa I was introduced to the office staff and went through the usual admin stuff that always seems to be neccesary. Takasu-san meanwhile had called my host family and was ready to drive me to their house.
We started out with me trying to memorize the route so that I could find my way back. I was told that it would take a half hour to walk or 15 minutes by bike. I asked if I could rent a bike somewhere and it turns out that Yamasa has bikes for rent. We detoured to another location and filled out more paperwork for a bike rental, pumped up the tires and loaded a bike in the van. I now am the proud possessor of of a bright yellow mamachari (Mom’s chariot would be my first guess) that will need some adjusting if I am not to damage myself when riding it. I hope that the seat goes far enough up to be comfortable. Our detour had got me turned around so I will have some fun getting back tomorrow. I haven’t really looked at the bike yet but it has a basket, a kick stand, 2 brakes, only 1 gear (I think) and 2 locks which I am assured are needed. It also has tire valves that I have never seen before. I’ll take some pictures soon.
At the house I was introduced to my host family. Father is in his 70s, mother is in her 60s and the miniature dachshund is 7. We sat down and talked (I listened and tried to follow) for a while and then Takasu-san left. We talked through the afternoon until supper at about 7 PM. Their daughter came by and ate with us.
After dinner friends came by with smaller children and we talked some more. I may have agreed to do stuff this weekend and probably agreed to help tutor English.
I’m leaving a bunch of stuff out which I fill fill in later but I’m beat now and need to sleep if I want to be up in time for breakfast.
The 2 windows in my room are open, a cool breeze is blowing through and I can hear a lot of crickets and not much traffic. I think that I will sleep well.
More tomorrow.