While I like Okonomiyaki, I do not eat it so often. But recently I went downtown and ate some for the first time in a while. The shops name is ‘Kamon S Okonomiyaki’ (お好み焼 花門 S) It is near Okayama station and easy to find. One of the first things I noticed when looking at the menu is a common problem that shows up, that is, should I get Hiroshima or Osakan style?

I have always found this to be a fun question to ask when food comes up in class. Food is easy to have opinions about, and there is often a mix of ideas. For this question, I have noticed that most people who live here prefer Hiroshima style. We are a little closer to Hiroshima than Osaka, so maybe that is why.  On the other hand, when I ask about baseball teams, there seems to be as many Hiroshima Carp fans as Hanshin Tigers fans. And when I lived in west Okayama there were certainly a lot more Carp fans.

Sometimes it is fun to see what other opinions people have. I like to ask others to rank convenience stores, or types of noodles (ramen, udon, etc.). These often see more disagreement but make better discussion. There are so many kinds of food out there and it is easy for anyone to have a strong opinion about what they like and dislike. Even in my hometown, I often saw a lot of arguments about coffee. My hometown has a lot of cafes, and a strong coffee culture. My friends could never agree about what kind of coffee was the best.

So, which style do you like?

For the record, I think Hiroshima style is better.

Last Sunday, my wife and I went to Seseragi Hiroba for a bit of day-camping. If you’re not familiar, it’s near Sakakibara Heart Clinic and Happy Town Kohoku, just where the Hyakken River splits from the Asahi River.

My wife’s coworker joined us there, and we set up a little barbecue set and some chairs. It was a pleasant place to hang out and chat for the afternoon. The weather was great – sunny during the day, and just cool enough to wear a hoodie when the sun went down. In the evening, the Fulvio family also came to join us, so we walked around and saw fireflies blinking along the edges of the water.

There are a lot of cherry trees around there, so it’s a popular spot for hanami. I’d like to go back next spring for sure!

Y-san (with privacy pineapple) on top of the “pillbox”

NEO Travel CLUB Report

Name: Y-san

Where did you go? I went to Hawaii.

How long were you there? I was there for nine days.

What did you do there? I went hiking on the “Pillbox trail” in Lanikai. I also hiked 5 or 6 hours to Manoa Falls. I relaxed on one of the most beautiful beaches in the US.

How was the food? Hawaii's original malasada from Leonard’s Bakery was good. I ate garlic shrimp near the North Shore. It was delicious. I ordered a Caesar salad, Huli Huli chicken and tacos at the Mavi Brewing Company. Everything was amazing!

Did you use English? Yes, I did. I used English at my hotel, at restaurants, shops and even while hiking in the mountains.

What good or bad experience did you have? My good experience was seeing the very beautiful sea and relaxing on the beach. My bad experience was being carried to an ambulance because I fainted. Don’t worry, I’m ok now!

Do you recommend going there? Yes! I recommend going to Kualoa Ranch. You can do many different things there, such as horseback riding. You can get good energy from the mountains, and you can learn about Hawail's culture and history .

Thank you for sharing your report with us, Y-san!

Some interesting street art that Y-san saw in Hawaii

Last Saturday night NEO held a party to thank Marina-sensei for working here at NEO.

For those of you that don’t know, Marina will be leaving NEO and moving out of Okayama. Her last day working at NEO will be next Wednesday, the 29th of May.

After regular classes finished last Saturday evening, we had an outdoor potluck party on NEO property. A lot of students turned up with a lot of delicious food, there was everything from pizza to chicken to burritos to homemade cheesecake. It was all great.

Marina was able to chat with current and former adult and child students and many of them were sad to know that she is leaving so soon.

There was a fantastic sunset, and the temperature was simply perfect for spending a nice evening outside before the humidity and mosquitoes arrive for the summer.

Nick and Risa were the party’s DJs, and some of the kids were quite happy to show off their dance moves.

Marina-sensei will still be here for a few more days, so please make sure to say farewell and good luck to her!

Back in 2021, I wrote a blog post about a brand of New Zealand cookies called ‘Cookie Time’ that I was surprised to find in Japan. In that post, I mentioned that there was a cookie time store somewhere in Tokyo. Recently during Golden Week, I visited Tokyo and finally had a chance to check it out.

The cookie time bar can be found in Harajuku, not far from the station. The store has a very flashy cute design. There are lots of unique pictures and objects around the store, including even a decorated car. There is also a small counter area on both sides of a long window to the outside making it a great place to eat on a nice day. The store sells a variety of things. On the menu, there are not only freshly baked cookies, but also desert shakes as well as ice cream sundaes. You can also buy gift sets of cookies and memorabilia. The staff were mostly foreigners who were all bi-lingual. They seemed to be very chatty with each other and enjoying themselves. But when I tried to talk to them to find out if they were also from NZ, they mostly ignored me…

I bought myself some fresh cookies. They were about 300 yen each. I bought one chocolate cookie as well as a banana toffee one. Since I had come all the way there, I also decided to get a chocolate sundae. They were all super delicious. If you like deserts and are in the Harajuku area, I recommend you check it out.