Blogs from Okayama, Japan, Asia - page 4

日本語あり、文のread more をクリック後View Full Entryをクリック！I moved to country side of the Kibikougenniryou Rehab center. It's a lot chenge for me. I would like to back to the old rehab center. but this is the sistem in Japan. 岡山の吉備高原医療リハビリテーションセンターへ転院してきました。ついつい前居た所と比べてしまうのと、ホームシックって奴でしょうか？愚痴らせてください。 まず設備が古い！車椅子の乗り心地イマイチ！ 女子トイレが少ない！ 暖房が起床後三十分はつかず、消灯の三十分の前には、消えてしまう！病棟やリハ室、風呂以外は暖房が効いている様子なし！ リハ時間はほぼ自主トレと軽い筋トレにストレッチ、リハの先生はすごく忙しそうで３人くらい同時に診てる状態。前はたっぷり３時間で一対一。今ほぐしは前の十分の一、前が甘やかされすぎてた？そのギャップは大きい！ でもだからって前の病院にはもどれないのですが。。。（回復期病棟の期限は私の怪我だと１８０日そこからは、ここのような障害者病棟か自立支援施設になるらしい） でも色々新しい事にも挑戦してて、立った状態から直接マットに手をついてマットに座れるし、ただそこからはまだ１０センチ程の台に左手で支えないと立ち上がれない。４点杖なら自分の体調次第で院内ひとりで歩いてよいし、リハ室では一本杖で一人で鏡見ながら自主トレしたり、時にはリハ室横の小さな中庭を４点杖で５分程一人で歩いて自主トレ、なんだか新しいことをするのは、できる様になるのは楽しい。 そうそう、部屋でインターネットがつながるのです。それは前つながらんかった分、良い変化！ それからもう一つご報告！ついに身体障害者手帳二級が発行され、医療費、入院費などが大幅免除予定！なんと障害者年金も貰えるかも？と喜んでいたら、一年半後に診断書持って行ってからだそうです。 そ... read more

Every year on the 3rd Saturday in February, one of the coldest night of the year, a crowd of 100s gathers around Saidaiji Temple in Okayama city at midnight. Pushing, crushing each other they vie for space and wait for the chance to receive a blessing, good luck for a year. When the stroke of midnight finally occurs the lights are shut off and the head priest throws three shingi (sacred sticks) into the masses for the participants to grapple for. Of course what I’m leaving out here is that the crowd is entirely composed of nearly naked men clad only in fundoshi (a Japanese style loincloth) and who are completely juiced on sake. Hadaka Matsuri literally means naked festival. There are several in Japan every winter, but the largest and most notorious is held in ... read more

...... read more

Yes, every single week there is at least one festival happening somewhere in Japan! This weekend it was off to Okayama on the shinkansen (bullet train) to watch the Hadaka Matsuri (English translation: NAKED FESTIVAL!) I was keen to get there early on Saturday to get my sightseeing fill. Laura “I don’t do mornings!” Lewis decided to join me later on so I arrived in Okayama around lunchtime and after a drink and sandwich set off for Okayama castle and the famous Korakuen Garden (translated: Garden of Pleasure After) and is listed as one of the top 3 gardens in the whole of Japan. As the sun was shining, I visited the garden first and had a fabulous time trying out all the settings on my camera to capture the beautiful flowers which had started to ... read more

Kōrakuen translates as 'the garden for taking pleasure later'. Apparently it is named after a Chinese proverb which says the emperor should suffer sorrow before his people, and pleasure after them'. Kōrakuen is rated as one of the top three parks in Japan. I personally disagree with rating everything, I prefer my own opinion to the official version ;-). That said, it's a nice place and even with the thankfully not too big a crowd (comes with being in the top three I guess) there's spaces to sit and soak it in. It was a beautiful day, but at that time of year you have to go without the cherry trees in bloom, the leaves turning red and the snow scenes. "You've got to check out Kurashiki" I'd been told. 'Hmm, yeah, I spose I have ... read more