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