Visiting
Okayama/ Carlos Pueblo
It was
because that I missed one day of my schedule between Kagoshima and
Hiroshima; therefore,
I made up one night stay in Okayama, a few stations east
of Hiroshima.
After Okayama, I would go to Hiroshima and return to Tokyo
according
the original schedule. It was a 3 ½ hours Shingansen ride from Kagoshima
to Okayama,
after putting down my luggage, I returned to the station and took an
express
train across the sea of Setonaikai to Takamatsu city. I thought that I would
reach Marugame
for the famous udonya franchise which I was closed yet no cigar.
I have been
very fond of the Marugame Japanese noodle restaurant in Honolulu
for many
years. The Kuhio street restaurant is the number one in the entire 120
franchise
which I have been very impressed for how nice and affordable in Japanese
standard.
Now I suddenly realize that the historical background is closed to Himeji,
two of my
Himeji friends, Kiyoshi Otani and Minorie Toyotaka. They pointed it out
the
restaurant was from Shikoku Island and I went to Shikoku without any more
details.
Marugame is not far from Takamatsu where I arrive. The first franchise was
built at Kagawa
Citynear Himeji. I only stayed one hour at Takamatsu.
There is a
statue of Peachboy, Momotaro-san, in front of the Okayama Station.
Momotao-san
is a famous folklore of Japanese. I was told when I was a little boy
and we
passed it on to our children in Houston with a kindly help of my mother-in-
law. She
even taught the kids how to sing the song. I followed the Momotaro-san
Dori,
boulevard, toward the Okayama Castle. The has been rebuilt according to the
original design
after the U.S. Army’s bombardment during the War. It is called the
Crow Castle
due to the black color. It’s one of the 100 castles preserved in Japan.
Across the
Asahigawa, river, there is a pretty Korakuan Garden. I ran into a Taiwanese
family of
three visitors who would spend the lunar new year in a pretty city of Japan.
My inn is
located near the Higashigawa Canal, West river canal. There are two sides of
driveway and
four pedestrian all keep very clean and
organized. I like Japan for many
reasons and
I like to point out why. There are so many Taiwanese visiting Japan every
year, about
3.5 million as a fact, we should know the difference. There is so much that
we can learn
from Japan, the education, the good manners, the law obedience etc. I
just learn
that the 6th senior high school, the old educational system, is here
in Okayama
later merged
to the University of Okayama system. My conclusion is that the successful
school
education makes Japan so difference from Taiwan.
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