Ollie Diary day16

May the 30th

This day, which had been decided at the last minute, ended up being spent entirely with Kei-san, who first took us to the south of Maniwa to visit what will soon be his future home, where he plans to move in soon with his girlfriend. It is a nice old house, very spacious, with tatami mats, a small first floor and a wide garden, which needs a good clean! We walked among the remains and mementos of the former inhabitants. Above a sink, a small altar next to an old toothbrush, and in a drawer, a magnificent wedding photo and old kimonos... I have to say that I love the atmosphere of these abandoned houses that will soon come back to life; you can still feel a little of the previous presence and in a short time, new stories will come to life in a place that won't die just yet.

I then take the opportunity of Kei-san's need to go to Okayama to visit the town a little, even if only for an afternoon. Once we've arrived, we split up and I wander through the streets leading from the station to the castle until I find a tiny, slightly hidden local okonomiyaki restaurant, run by an old lady and perhaps her son. I love the atmosphere of these non-touristic everyday places, where workers drop in for a quick bite at the counter.

I then visited the gleaming Okayama Castle, destroyed during the war and rebuilt identically, which extends over five floors and presents the history of the clans living here.

I had the unexpected good fortune to see a small temporary exhibition dedicated to painted screens inspired by the tales of Gengi. I hadn't even noticed that this was the subject, as everything was in Japanese... I am currently reading The Tales of Genji, written by Murasaki Shikibu, and I regret I didn't realise that the screens evoked it before, so that I could look at them with more understanding. A special dedication to my sister-in-law who gave me this huge book before I left for Japan!

I was also able to take a brief stroll through the Korakuen Garden, one of the most beautiful in Japan, which features marvels of flowers and trees, tea plantations, islands in the middle of a vast lake, a small tea pavilion and rice paddies.

I ended up meeting Erica-san, a very nice young woman I had met in Yono at the big education meeting, for a coffee in a lovely kissaten きっさてん, a very ancient Japanese-style wooden café where an old lady knits next to us.

Then we bought a delicious little peach tart (which is a typical fruit of the region). Japan, which loves onomatopoeia, even has a specific term for the sound of peaches falling into the water: donburako donburako どんぶらこ 🍑!

In the evening, Kei-san took me with him to Soja, his hometown, to have dinner with his family. His lovely mother had prepared a delicious meal, made from meat soup, rice with the most delicious umeboshi I have ever tasted, chicken wings and tofu with ginger and green onion. They thaught me typical expressions from the region. I am very thankfull for everything that happened today :)