"Ongaku-mura, Big Maria & Sky Mail with Kami" Okazaki by tim_japan

Okazaki is a great little city in the middle of Honshu on the Pacific ocean side of the country. It is about 30 minutes by train to Nagoya; Japan's 4th largest city. There was a great community of friends there. We were always hanging out at each others apartments or someone was always having a party of some sort. So much fun. One of my favorite hang outs was Murasaki. They had great little dishes of food. You could hang out and eat and drink all night and only pay something like 2000 yen ($20) at the end of the night.

The Okazaki Gang with Raj

When I'm with her I'm confused, out focus and amused and I never know exactly where I am. She'd out pester any pest. Drive a hornet from it's nest. She could throw a whirling dervish out of whirl. Maria is a British woman that has been teaching in Japan for more than a decade now. When I lived in Okazaki she lived just a few blocks away from me. When you were with Maria you felt like you were in the center of the Universe. She has this boundless irreverence. Couple that with her typical British sense of humor and you've got one big PARTY on your hands. Love shack baby love shack....

Shrine Near Apato

There was a great shopping center that opened up a few months after I moved to Okazaki. We were so relieved because it had some of the places and things we were used back home - Tower Records, Starbucks and gelato! This shop had the best rum raisin.

• Pros:Friendly people, cheaper rent then bigger cities, great transportation, great shops and restaurants, great historic sites
• Cons:Somewhat conservative, really really hot in summer, really really cold in winter
• In a nutshell:I'll always love Okazaki because you can get married, workout and have beer in a beer garden all in one place.