Konbanwa! Japan trip day1 part 2

Since I am staying with a local family I really feel more immerse in the Japanese daily lifestyle then if I were to stay at a hotel or even a traditional Japanese inn (called ryokans).

When we sat down for dinner it felt both familiar and foreign to me at the same time. It's a little difficult to explain. Perhaps the eating style (using chopsticks) and the food itself were familiar to me, but the language and the people were quite foreign. But they were all very welcoming. Dinner was really good. The mum (Okaa-san) made really tasty gyozas (Japanese meat dumplings) and the dad (Otoo-san) fried some yummy noodles with pork slices.

Fukuda san's sister's family came over from Osaka (about 1.5 hours drive) specially to meet me and to have dinner with us. It was a truly unique experience. At the rare times when I was able to communicate relatively well with any one of them, with the exception of the children, it was extremely thrilling for me.

Being able to speak Japanese and mostly importantly listen to it being spoken on a daily basis is a rare opportunity. Especially in such a direct and friendly environment. It has really given me a chance to practice what I have learnt in a very practical way. It is no longer a hypothetical situation created in a classroom. Here I am actually trying to communicate and understand local Japanese who do not understand English. Sugoi desune!

After dinner we all went out to a local summer festival held at nearby town. It is organized by the local Shinto shrine. Throughout the summer there will be several other such small festivals held at various places. It was quite similar to the periodic night bazaars (pasar malaam) that we have back in Singapore. But more colourful. It is like a cross between a small carnival (minus the rides) and the night bazaar. Since it was summer there were a number of girls dressed in the traditional summer kimonos called a yukata. Apart from the camera hanging from my shoulder and the language barrier, I felt almost like a local while walking down the streets and peering at all the various little stalls to see what they were selling.

The time here now is already 12mn. The sun rises at about 4.30am here and it sets at about 7.30pm. They have very long days compared to Singapore. So that means I probably should stop now and go get some sleep.

Oyasumi!