A guide for being single in Mimasaka, Okayama Prefecture

"A Tsuyama singles scene?" scoffs single Mimasaka resident Hiroyiki Matsuda. "There isn't one. If you want that, you go to Okayama City." Farmer Toru Mizushima, 55, echoes the statement. "I don't even go there as far as Mimasaka's concerned," he says. "I've lived in Mimasaka for 18 years, raised a family, and can tell you there just isn't a singles scene -- it's a family-oriented town. That's why we moved here in the first place." It is, unfortunately, a common sentiment -- in a community built primarily around families, finding ways for the underrepresented single adults to mix and mingle can be a daunting task. When questioned about such opportunities, Yoshimi Tabata of the Mimasaka Community Center just laughs. "We have open-gym basketball and volleyball, both of which are cheap, co-ed and attract a younger crowd," she notes. "But other than that...." Yet while trendy bars, dance clubs and hip hangouts may still be the exclusive domain of the big city, Mimasaka residents shouldn't lose heart -- even out here, there remain a few local youths where the age-old hunt for love continues. For the religiously inclined, a local temple can be a powerful tool for both meeting other singles and getting over the shock of being single again due to death or now rising divorce. Endaiji Temple is currently in the process of putting together a singles group, and the Endaiji Taiko group, while not host to a group of its own, refers interested lay believers to Endaiji for Re-Singled and Singles in Aso. At Endaiji, single Buddhist band together for a veritable treasure trove of networking opportunities. In addition to its "Bereavement" and "Divorce and Beyond" support groups, the temple helps organize everything from singles dances to hikes, ikebana, tea ceremony, yakisoba socials to house-building trips for the less fortunate in Vietnam. With close to 20 events per month, not counting the regular support-group meetings, singles clued in to the goings-on at Endaiji can quickly find themselves with more fun, upbeat social opportunities than they know what to do with. For the nonreligious, things get a bit harder. While it's always possible to take your chances with the karaoke bar scene -- Jet 5554 and the Sukesan Izakaya appear to be generating the most buzz -- many singles prefer to take a more direct approach. That's where Junichiro Komatsu and Pink Tomato Dating Service step in. Pink Tomato Dating Service specializes in an activity more widely known as "speed dating," is a simple concept. Working with between 15 and 30 adults matching a target age range and set of interests, events coordinators like Komatsu set up a series of up to a dozen six-minute-long "speed dates" at a local bar, caf