a couple of weeks ago i got to hang out with a good friend from vegas who now lives in japan with his awesome wife and kid. not only did they let me crash at their place for a couple days while i was temporarily homeless, but they also took me around and showed me some of the neat places okayama (岡山) had to offer.

kourakuen park, okayama (岡山の後楽園)

we first went to a famous park/garden called kourakuen (後楽園) where my friends, incidentally, got their wedding pictures taken years before. kourakuen is one of the Three Great Gardens in japan (日本三名園), and it was easily apparent why it was so highly thought of; it was definitely one of the most beautiful parks ive seen in japan.

vegas friends in japan!!

though the park was absolutely beautiful, the incredibly hot and humid weather made it quite unbearable to walk around it for very long. luckily for us, the comfortably air-conditioned okayama castle (岡山城) was just on the other side of the park. it was neat to look at from the outside, but all of the modern conveniences like elevators and AC were constant reminders that the original had unfortunately been destroyed in world war 2, and that we were only experiencing a reconstruction. that being said, it was still fun to walk around and explore it with good friends.

okayama castle (岡山城)

last weekend was the first time i had the opportunity to witness what the cosplay scene in japan is all about. "cosplay," for people out there that dont know, is short for "costume play." it usually entails people dressing up like their favorite video game and/or anime characters and sometimes even acting the parts. on saturday, some friends and i heard about a world cosplay parade in nagoya and we were curious enough to go check it out.

since my friends had press badges, we mainly hung out near the press boxes which were great places for people watching. i saw hundreds of anime and video game fans from around the world wear interesting makeup and sport awesome handmade costumes and props. aside from a few uncomfortable moments dealing with the occasional weirdos, as cosplay events have a way of attracting, the parade was pretty fun. and even with my very limited knowledge of japanese anime and video games, i was able to recognize a couple of characters myself.

a character from "one piece" named sengoku, at the nagoya cosplay parade

after the cosplay parade, we came back to okazaki to check out a 2 hour fireworks festival at okazaki castle. ill say it now: no one does fireworks quite like japan can. since more than 70% of japans fireworks are designed and manufactured here in okazaki, the annual fireworks festival here is used as a showcase of the latest models and arrangements. it was pretty awesome to sit next to hundreds of people on grassy castle grounds and enjoy our picnics, drinks, friends, and the explosions in the sky together.

my first weekend living in a modern city in japan has opened my eyes wider than i could have imagined. it was more than just the physical aspects, like the social options and conveniences of living in a big city, that affected me. and it had more to do than changing jobs from a teacher to student. the move to okazaki was merely a catalyst to an overdue self reflection, and helped bring about a readjustment of perspective on who i want to be and what i want to do with my life.

i feel like an entire layer of confusion has been peeled back to reveal the person i used to be. i lived an entire year caught up in self-inflicted hardships while complaining about it the whole time. i went one year staying clear of technology and the software industry only to realize how much i miss it. and i spent an entire year pushing myself further down the rabbit hole of adventure, all the while not noticing how far ive pushed myself away from my friends back in the states.

JET was supposed to be my sabbatical; i was burnt out from two crazy years of full-time grad school and full-time work and needed a break to sit back and relax my brain. but somewhere along the line i got caught up in the web of my own adventures and lost sight of the things i really love most.

to the friends out there who have almost given up on me for being a selfish masochist who pointlessly seeks out new adventures just to complain about them to the world: i hope you can understand that i needed to come here and do what i did, but that i realize now what it cost me. i plan on finishing up these two months of study and then getting back to the things i love.