where cider meets condensed milk: Okayama Cruisin' with the 'rents

where cider meets condensed milk

Thursday, June 22, 2006

Okayama Cruisin' with the 'rents

After nearly a year of my complete isolation from the fam, my parents arrived to spend a week with me in Okayama. This being their 4th visit to see their 3rd consecutive Japan-residing daughter, they had already done the major tourist spots and are near-experts in all things Japanese. This was a very chill visit, with minimal distances travelled, and my mom spent much of the time stressing about ("planning for") the subsequent leg of the trip, to China. In past years, they would pass through the Okayama station while traveling back and forth to my sisters' town on Shikoku, but hadn't ever really seen Okayama prefecture. So, we went to the city on the weekend and finished the highlights in about 4 hours. Did I say highlights? I meant highlight. We went to Korakuen, which I am required by the Ministry of Tourism to cite as a "Top 3" garden in all of Japan. It's right next to Faux-kayama-jo. The real Okayama castle burned to the ground, and the current one was half-heartedly rebuilt in the 60s and isn't worth the admission price. So, we half-heartedly walked around it from the outside. We considered going to the historical area of Kurashiki, but it was raining, we were all tired and lazy, and my mom suggested saving something for visit #5.

When my parents and uncle visited my sister and me last spring, we seemed to meet about 100 of Annabelle's enthusiastic students, friends, acquaintances, and worshippers. In contrast, they met a few of my co-workers and all... both... of my friends. This year they just met Mister Adam, and only because he had been strongarmed into attending a town eikaiwa night, so I felt somewhat validated as a social-mover/friendly-person-in-the-know when we ran into 9 different people I knew on Saturday while going to the city. I saw one of my primary school English teachers in the station, and when we said we were going to see Korakuen, she responded, "It's raining." We all nodded to fill the awkward pause of agreement-of-obvious-statement. An hour later, we ran into some JETs who pointed out the same (glaringly apparant) fact, and added that we picked a bad day to go to the garden. (Stating the obvious is not just a Japanese trait, after all.)

Travel Glamour Shots at Korakuen! Say, is that umbrella approved by Rick Steves??

An evening of modern Japanese cuisine: cruising to Takahashi to visit my favorite/only restaurant for tofu salada and drinks bar, and an extra dose of the letter L. I'm looking Joyfull, my jet-lagged father slightly less so...

3 months til your birthday, Dad-- would you like your GRECA Snarling Old Man slippers wrapped?

Supermarket cuisine at its finest! Asahi Suupaa "Dry"-- thumbs "up." Asian Salsa Potato Chips-- thumbs down. I rather prefer the consomme, sweet potato, or baby flavored variety. (No need to read Japanese! When there aren't any telling pictures of vegetables, meats, soups, or egg rolls on the bag, but there is a chubby cartoon toddler sitting on a crisp, it should be clear what will be inside.) For the record, baby flavor was, unsurprisingly, a bit like chicken.

posted by Raychaa @ 1:07 AM

0 comments: