Hideki Noda
Born in Yokohama in 1973, Okada attended Nagatadai Elementary and Nagata Secondary School there. In 1992, he started attending Keio University under the Faculty of Business and Commerce. Being a fan of Jim Jarmusch and Wim Wenders, Okada aspired to be a movie director when he was in middle school, which led him to join a theater club in Keio University. During this process, he gained experience in writing scenarios and scripts, which piqued his interest in stage directing as well. In his first year at Keio, he learned of Hideki Noda through Noda's troupe, , who had their final performance in 1992. Noda's modern and "unexpected" style influenced Okada's earlier works.