I think it's been too long since I last updated, so let's move on to day 4. Our morning would be taken up by a rehearsal at Fukui Harmony Hall, while the afternoon would be spent at the scenic coastline of Tojinbo, overlooking the Sea of Japan and further on, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (aka North Korea).
We started the morning by watching a bit of TV, since we had a lot of time. Paul was watching a strange puppet show, which involved a combination of a talking goat, a talking crow and Osama bin Laden running around with an AK-47 shooting the abovementioned. I am lost for words, but I think G.I. Samurai beats that anytime.
Paul watching the puppet show
Said puppet show
We proceeded for breakfast after a while, which was also a buffet. It was not as good as the one in Osaka, but still nice. A more traditional Japanese breakfast with less westen options, which I normally like. In this case though, some of the items were a bit too exotic for me, although I still had plenty I liked. The 3 of us J2s, plus some of the RI guys, colonised a small private room with traditional Japanese style seats (the kneeling kind). The table was set on top of a pit, allowing us to "cheat" and sit normally.
Lucas and Austin in the breakfast room
3 of us again
So after breakfast, we boarded the bus that would take us through scenic Fukui. Fukui is kind of a major city, but it's not as dense as Singapore, so no high rises here. The most I saw was about 10 stories? Nice place to live, I think, once the Shinkansen line is built.
My first impression of the Fukui Harmony Hall was that it was absolutely beautiful, and I retain that impression. While the Esplanade has a very distinctive shape, the feel that it conveys is more modern, being smack bang in the middle of the city center, which doesn't do much for me. On the other hand, this hall's design reflects its surroundings well, lush grass with a mountain range in the background. I love the hall's grounds with its pools and fountains, and the shape of the buildings.
The place is actually made up of two main halls, similar to the Esplanade actually, but one bigger than the other.
An ornate statue outside the hall near the bus bay
Harmony Hall, Fukui
Another view of the hall
When we got in, Mrs Tan requested Paul and I to be her translators, as it were, despite the fact that my command of Japanese was about as good as my command of the clarinet. Still, we got the job done using a bit of Japanese mixed in with a fair bit of Troll (point and grunt). We proceeded to a rehearsal room to set up and warm up before moving off to the stage.
A large rehearsal room inside the hall. No pictures taken today of the inside, but lots tomorrow.
The interior was perhaps my dream concert hall interior. The scale and grandeur of the Esplanade mixed in with the class and elegance of Victoria Concert Hall. Such a huge stage too, I was practically a metre away on both sides from the others.
Chandeliers line the roof of the hall
I think Paul's photo gives a nicer impression too
Absolutely massive organ at the back of the hall.
The rehearsal was conducted mostly by Lucas, as Mr Oura had to pay a courtesy call to the principal of Fukui Senior High School, the Japanese school we were exchanging with. He came after a while, but dismissed us for lunch.
Singapore band packed meals do not hold a candle to what we had here in Japan.
Where the amount of rice is the same as what we get, for scaling purposes
After lunch, we rehearsed for a while, then packed up and headed for the scenic coastline, Tojinbo. Another nice scenic roadtrip through the Ghibli Hills that make up northern Japan
The "Chuki Bus"
The city of Fukui
Harmony Hall
Paul pondering his surroundings
Japanese road signs
The Ghibli Hills (search TVTropes for that)
Quantum tunnelling has a slightly larger cousin
Always a light at the end of the tunnel, isn't there?
We're on the road
Our home for most of the trip
Road after endless road
Life is a highway...
Trim Park Kanazu
Rural farmland
It was about here we received some indication that we were nearing the coast, with views of the ocean mixing in with the glorious Japanese countryside.
The glowing Sea of Japan
To Tojinbo
Rice fields
A long and winding road
Our bus pulled up in front of Tojinbo Tower about an hour after leaving the concert hall. We parked next to a Lexus LS and Mr Oura led us past a myriad of shops to the beach.
Tojinbo Tower
The small group of shops at the beach
The view was breathtaking... indescribable in words so I guess the pictures will have to do... Or, since music paints a thousand pictures (and since a picture is worth a thousand words), go listen to And Then The Ocean Glows by Satoshi Yagisawa for a million word's worth.
Shuotian and Paul
Friends
Mr Oura emo-ing by the side
Our teachers on a romantic seaside date
Complete with paparazzi
White gulls call...
Bertrand and I
Paul
A scenic inlet. Boats sometimes came in here.
The couple again
The lay of the land
with the couple
The inlet again
At this point, Shuotian remembered NS. He decided to practice standing broad jump.
as shown
However, he decided to practice philosophy instead, as shown
Pondering the sea
The bay area (not the San Francisco one)
All too soon it was time to return. We stopped by some of the shops to buy souveniers for our friends, and sample some food. Then, we took the bus back to Fukui.
Our buses parked below the hotel, where we returned before dinner.
We were taken to a shopping district and left to our own devices for dinner. There was an interesting "Century Clock" there. Some things we bought included models of our favourite cars, a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X for Shuotian and a Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 for me. We also bought some presents and novelties, and visited a Hyaku-en (100 yen) shop.
A statue in the shopping center
My dinner, a "Western" meal. I quite like the Japanese interpretation of western cuisine.
Paul and Shuotian had the omurice (omelette rice)
The streets of Fukui
Shibata Jinja
The 100 yen shop
Again
I bought a stack of 1x10^6 yen notes here, also some Hi-Chews. The ones in Japan are good!
A cute trash can
Globalisation runs rampant. I'm reminded of our GP 2007 Promo paper
The 100 yen ice cream cone
Not much happened after that. We walked back to the hotel and rested a while before going to bed. They were screening Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in Japanese (he's known as Indy Jones).
The next day would be my last concert with the RIMB, two years after my outgoing Investiture.
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