War Lords of Japan. It was a simulation my 5th grade class experienced. Every day for multiple weeks, we would work together as samurai clans of the late 1500s to compete for the title of shogun. "Student armies amass stores of rice and conquer other provinces by completing a variety of activities, including writing, accounting, calligraphy, and art assignments." And which group was I in?
Osaka.
And here I am, 30 years later, traveling to Japan to live in Osaka for 2 months! Crazy!
Many have asked how we picked Osaka. Well, we started with a few basic preferences:
- not Tokyo (this is what Lucas said)
- need to use public transportation (which eliminated more of a rural stay)
- in proximity to a church or missionary that we could link arms with
- furnished housing, but not a hotel
My original plan was a city on the outskirts of Tokyo -- Tokorozawa. I have some connections with a thriving church network there called Hope Alive. I don't know the people personally but have several mutual friends with the team. But the AirBNB options there were slim.
Osaka, however, loosened their regulations on AirBNBs back in 2019, so there were plentiful options there. We found one that was affordable (especially with the monthly rate!), enough rooms for our family, and three minutes from a train station on a prominent line. AND, it's walking distance to a bilingual church that was recommended to me by a sister of a friend of a friend.
Osaka is also a great base camp because there are many Nintendo-type things to do in the area (and Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan), and it also has close proximity to the nearby cities of Kyoto and Kobe.
Also, as I've been in contact with the other worldschooling families on the cruise, there are about 8 other families who will also be going to Osaka for a chunk of time after we arrive. I'm not sure which of the families we'll connect most with, but we'll have some built-in friends already.
Speaking of friends, I have a few friends that I met in Lexington that will be living in Osaka when we are there. I was playing Ticket to Ride Japan with "Sunny" back in April, and I asked where she was from in Japan on the map game board. She pointed to where she was originally from, but she said, "But when we return next month, we'll be in Osaka." "WHAT? That's where we'll be in October!" So we're planning on connecting in Japan!
Another one of my friends is from Osaka, so she has given me lots of recommendations. Her mom came to Lexington to help with her new grandbaby for 3 months, so I have gotten to know her mom here. And then she'll be going back to Japan around the same time we are. We already have plans to have a "takoyaki party" and meet up at a park together!
Looking back, I see God weaving together all these details to pave the way for us to be in OSAKA!
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