| Japan April 2003 | ||
| Day 1 - Kansei to Kochi | Day 0 - Flight to Kansei, Osaka Nicole has already left with the girls from PLC on Sunday April 6 - four days earlier. The trip was very exciting and from what we'd heard she was having a great time in Kochi although busy with all the concert rehearsals. Our flight on Thursday April 10 was via JAL instead of Qantas and very full too so no upgrade. Oh well. It was a comfortable flight and we managed to get a little sleep. We arrived around 10.00pm and the airport looked like a fairyland with beautiful blue and green lights covering the ground. Very smooth through customs and quarantine then onto the JR Rail Green Ticket area to set up reservations for the train trip to Kochi. Nicoles concert in Kochi started at 6.00pm the next evening - Friday April 11. We had no problems finding the Green Ticket office but getting reservations was not easy at all. The ticket officer told us the trains we wanted to catch were "sold out". The only seats available were in SMOKING section on the first train from Okayama to Kochi leaving at 9.32am. That meant we had to catch a 6.30am train out of Kansei and change to the Shinkansen (Bullet Train) at Shin-Osaka to make the Kochi train. Not good and we even looked at flying instead. Issue was the flight from Kansei wasn't until 4.00pm and it would leave less than an hour to get to the concert. Anyway, off to the Hotel Nikko right at the airport - very nice although small with Phil, Kim and Bec sharing the room - and to bed as soon as possible. Day 1 - Kansei to Kochi
"Baseball Bat" on the way to Kochi / Lunch at Kochi
View from Kochi Castle / Ryokan and Concert Hall in the distance / After school in the streets of Kochi Next morning we caught the first train to Shin-Osaka and changed onto the Shinkansen for Okayama. At Okayama we had time to grab an iced cappucino and a "Baseball Bat" bread stick before the two an a half hour slow train to Kochi. The train travelled over a huge suspension bridge that connected Honshu (the main island of Japan) to Shikoku (the fourth island) separated by the Inland Sea. Amazing train ride as we headed over gorges and through tunnels. Around 11:58am, well actually it was exactly 11:58 since the trains run so precisely in Japan, we arrived in Kochi for our first language challenge. The taxi driver had no idea what we were saying and couldn't read English. We couldn't speak Japanese or write it either. Fortunately a person at the station could translate and we headed off to the Ryokan (traditional Japanese style hotel). The hotel turned out to be right next door to the concert hall - fantastic. We went for a walk and found Nicole at the hall. So good to see her and the others. They were obviously tied from all the rehearsals. We headed out for lunch not really know what we'd eat or where we'd eat and stumbled into a small restaurant on the path to Kochi Castle. We had Raamen (noodles in a soup with a bit of pork) and Gohan (cooked rice). Bec also scored some Japanese style deep fried chicken from the owner who should us pictures of when he was in Tasmania. Kochi Castle is very old and on top of a small hill. Great views from the top floor. From the Castle we headed towards the shopping area and found an 88 Yen Shop. Very cool. Heaps of stuff really cheap. The shop was inside a department store that was on the mall called Obamachi. Lots of little shops that were really interesting to look through. We had reserved seats at the concert and had to be there by 5.00pm so we headed back at around the same time children were finishing school. Tulips in the streets and uniformed students on bikes and catching buses. We changed quickly at the Ryokan and headed to the concert hall to take our seats. The concert was fantastic. Japanese students started with drums followed by Mongolia students singing and playing instruments of Mongolia. Next was the Japanese marching band followed by, from our perspective, the main event - PLC Concert Band. Nicoles solo in the first piece was perfect with spontaneous applause from the 2,000+ people that were watching. All the PLC girls did the school proud - an outstanding performance. We then went to a short break before the Canadian band played followed by a combined band of Japan (Meitoku Gijuku), Canada (Dakato College) and Australia (PLC Sydney and Armidale). The combined band played so well it was amazing they had only learnt the three pieces they played from when they arrived at Meitoku Gijuku Academy a few days earlier. After the concert we quickly congratulated the girls and headed back to the Ryokan for our 9.00pm hosted dinner.
At the Concert / Nicole and Amanda
Dinner / The feast
Bec and the "Slug" / Phil and the "Slug"
Kim and soup / The Bedroom - and dining room, and family room, and ... /
Yukatas / Bec in bed What a dinner!! Traditional Japanese with a lady in a Kimono to serve us in the room. All sorts of weird food including a shell with a "slug" in it, a very small abalone, another shell with a piece of rubber, lots of pickles, egg, rice cooked with chicken (we think), prawns, raw fish, and much much more. I'm sure it was the very best and a gourmet of Japanese food would probably be extremely impressed. We were impressed to but by the extreme difference to European cuisine. Still - Phil managed to eat just about anything put in front of him including the "slug". The whole meal took over an hour with all the separate cooking of noodle dishes and fruit pieces for desert and more green tea. It was nearly 11.00pm when we got to our Futons and into our Yukatas. Even though the beds were hard and the pillows had beans in them we feel to sleep pretty quick.
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