Things I missed about Osaka:
-Tons of delicious food shops very easily accessible
-A nightlife
-My favorite bars and cafes
-Stores with a wide selection of imported non-food items
-The excitement of city life
-The convenience of ATMs (and here I thought Osaka ATMs were inconvenient and few)
-Ease of transportation (convenience, timeliness, and locations available)
-The amount of friends I have
-Reasonably (comparatively) well-behaved high schoolers
-How it never feels like its "late" out since the city is so brightly lit up everywhere
-How easy my job is
-My co-workers
-24 hour stores
Things I didn't miss about Osaka:
-Public urination
-The smells (see above)
-The rudeness of so many people
-The crowds
-The pollution and litter
-The homeless people
-The many people who are ridiculously way too drunk in public
Things I miss about Okayama:
-Nina
-The peace and quiet
-The conveniently located imported foods store
-Having a super short commute
-My co-workers
-How fulfilling my job was
-Cheap cab fare
Things I don't miss about Okayama
-Being the ONLY foreigner in most places
-Stores closing before dark
-My boss working in the same room as myself
-Trains always being unreliable
-How boring it was
-No bars outside of the city center
Showing posts with label osaka. Show all posts
Showing posts with label osaka. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Another stabbing spree!
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Yube wa..
So last night, two of my private students (who take a lesson together) decided to treat me to dinner to thank me for the lessons. My opinion remains that it was a good excuse to go and eat a delicious dinner, a semi-traditional "kushikatsu" style Japanese dish. And boy was it good!
It was my second time going to a restaurant in the area of Osaka called Shin Sekai (literally "New World") that is famous for its kushikatsu shops and nearby transvestite community. One of the landmarks of Osaka City is Tsutenkaku Tower, which I have yet to go up. (Note: the second picture of Shin Sekai shows the edge of a building to the right - that is a convenience store (convenie in Japanese-English) that I sometimes buy a snack at after work on Monday nights.)
You see, I teach English on Monday nights as a part-time gig at a very chic bar located at the base of the tower. As such, I am in this area every week, and the pictures I have linked are very familiar sites that I see every time I'm in the area.
Ironically, out of the many restaurants in Shin Sekai, both times I've gone for kushikatsu have ended up with me in the same exact restaurant, at the same exact table.
Anyhoo, after dinner the guys wanted to shock me with sights of "real" Osaka City. They drove me first to the homeless capital of Japan, an area where all the houseless people live ("homeless" seems inaccurate since they do indeed have homes, just not houses...). What they didn't know is that I ride my bicycle through the area literally twice a day on my way to work; nothing shocking or new for me there.
Next, they took me on a drive through the local prostitute district. Again, I ride my bicycle through this district every Monday night, to and from the bar I teach English at, so it was nothing new. Granted, the first time I found this place, I had my fair share of shock.
I'm not sure if I posted about it before, but I can't find it after a brief search so I'm going to write the story (again?).
I was exploring Osaka City on my bicycle in the spring of 2007. I was about halfway between my house and one of the "downtown" areas, when I took a street I had never been down before, and after a few minutes I came across an old grandmother-type's house. She was sitting in her living room, except that the living room was in a garage-like opening. And it looked VERY cozy, too! Nice furnishings, comfy looking couch, etc. Everything very bright and colorful.
Another surprise was that the grandmother smiled and nodded her head, greeting me. Quite uncommon in Japan, because people are very reserved. Further inside the house, I noticed her grand-daughter sitting on one of the comfy looking couches and I thought about how nice for them to be enjoying the fine spring weather and visiting each other.
I continued down the street and the next house had the same set-up. "Japan has very unique architecture", I foolishly thought to myself.
The next house, and the next, were also the same set-up, and also had the same old woman / young whore combo. Yes, that's when it occurred to me; I had heard about this area but never expected to actually wander into it unexpectedly!
Needless to say, that was a shocking experience since it was so open and obvious, and in the middle of the day. Last night, the area was a heckuva lot busier, but nothing I hadn't seen before, so their devious plot to shock me failed utterly.
Still, the guys I teach are a lot of fun and I was happy to enjoy a fine meal together and have them give me a bit of a tour of the seedy side of Osaka.
Anyways, thought I would post about it to share some of my experiences in this urban jungle, and give some context to my life in Japan.
It was my second time going to a restaurant in the area of Osaka called Shin Sekai (literally "New World") that is famous for its kushikatsu shops and nearby transvestite community. One of the landmarks of Osaka City is Tsutenkaku Tower, which I have yet to go up. (Note: the second picture of Shin Sekai shows the edge of a building to the right - that is a convenience store (convenie in Japanese-English) that I sometimes buy a snack at after work on Monday nights.)
You see, I teach English on Monday nights as a part-time gig at a very chic bar located at the base of the tower. As such, I am in this area every week, and the pictures I have linked are very familiar sites that I see every time I'm in the area.
Ironically, out of the many restaurants in Shin Sekai, both times I've gone for kushikatsu have ended up with me in the same exact restaurant, at the same exact table.
Anyhoo, after dinner the guys wanted to shock me with sights of "real" Osaka City. They drove me first to the homeless capital of Japan, an area where all the houseless people live ("homeless" seems inaccurate since they do indeed have homes, just not houses...). What they didn't know is that I ride my bicycle through the area literally twice a day on my way to work; nothing shocking or new for me there.
Next, they took me on a drive through the local prostitute district. Again, I ride my bicycle through this district every Monday night, to and from the bar I teach English at, so it was nothing new. Granted, the first time I found this place, I had my fair share of shock.
I'm not sure if I posted about it before, but I can't find it after a brief search so I'm going to write the story (again?).
I was exploring Osaka City on my bicycle in the spring of 2007. I was about halfway between my house and one of the "downtown" areas, when I took a street I had never been down before, and after a few minutes I came across an old grandmother-type's house. She was sitting in her living room, except that the living room was in a garage-like opening. And it looked VERY cozy, too! Nice furnishings, comfy looking couch, etc. Everything very bright and colorful.
Another surprise was that the grandmother smiled and nodded her head, greeting me. Quite uncommon in Japan, because people are very reserved. Further inside the house, I noticed her grand-daughter sitting on one of the comfy looking couches and I thought about how nice for them to be enjoying the fine spring weather and visiting each other.
I continued down the street and the next house had the same set-up. "Japan has very unique architecture", I foolishly thought to myself.
The next house, and the next, were also the same set-up, and also had the same old woman / young whore combo. Yes, that's when it occurred to me; I had heard about this area but never expected to actually wander into it unexpectedly!
Needless to say, that was a shocking experience since it was so open and obvious, and in the middle of the day. Last night, the area was a heckuva lot busier, but nothing I hadn't seen before, so their devious plot to shock me failed utterly.
Still, the guys I teach are a lot of fun and I was happy to enjoy a fine meal together and have them give me a bit of a tour of the seedy side of Osaka.
Anyways, thought I would post about it to share some of my experiences in this urban jungle, and give some context to my life in Japan.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Morning Musings
I woke up early today and decided to take a bike ride through downtown Osaka since I'm basically never awake during the morning commuter rush, and wanted to see what it was like. There is a TON of folks in Osaka! Apparently the city's population is around 2 and a half million at night time, but during the day another million commuters come to the city to work.
While riding my bicycle, I passed a coffee shop called "Ko Hi Kan", spelled out in romaji. (That's what they call the English alphabet here.) Being a sophisticated expat, I was able to use my powers of deduction to figure out it was a coffee shop because I knew that coffee is pronounced "co-he", or phonetically in kana "ko-hi", and I seem to recall that "kan" is used to describe a hot drink or something like that, though I could be wrong. Also, there was a big picture of a cup of steaming coffee on the window, which I was able to utilize in my scientific deductions.
I am often surprised at the "gambare" work ethic of the Japanese people. It is a noticeable cultural difference when you interact with staff at minimum wage jobs, especially. (Note: I'm not saying this to offend anyone who does in fact try their darnedest even at minimum wage. This is a stereotypical example and I would say that you would be an exception to the rule, at least in my own experiences in America. End of disclaimer.)
At McDonald's, for example, the Japanese people are extremely friendly, smiley, and polite. Everyone, at every McDonald's, without exception. I remember going to a floating McDonald's in St. Louis, built out of an old ferry boat or some such, and being particularly unimpressed with the service and outright hostility of the staff working there. This type of situation is basically impossible to find in Japan, due to it being a matter-of-fact cultural difference; it is unfathomable that someone wouldn't try their best, especially in a service industry.
A shame that it isn't similarly unthinkable that a guy might cop a feel off a middle school student in a crowded subway...
Japan can be pervy. The Japanese view on sexuality is quite different from the Christian-influenced culture of America. In some ways I find it kind of refreshing; a lot less hypocritical nonsense. In other ways I find it quite disturbing, as the lack of restraint can manifest itself in molesting middle school students on crowded subways. After inquiring around, I was surprised that most of the girls I know, gaijin and Japanese alike, get groped or fight off an attempted grope at least once a month.
Of course this isn't to say that the average Japanese man is a sex offender; bear in mind, what I'm describing is a depraved minority... but they are able to operate with a lot more freedom than would be tolerated in America, due to the cultural differences. Japan is a very "don't make waves" society, so it tends to leave victims feeling powerless to inform an authority that someone is perving out on them.
Thankfully, there have been campaigns recently to empower women to report the chikans (train molesters) and the climate is definitely changing. Depraved perverts everywhere are wistfully remembering the good old days while crying into their sake.
And now I think it is time for me to take a nap.
While riding my bicycle, I passed a coffee shop called "Ko Hi Kan", spelled out in romaji. (That's what they call the English alphabet here.) Being a sophisticated expat, I was able to use my powers of deduction to figure out it was a coffee shop because I knew that coffee is pronounced "co-he", or phonetically in kana "ko-hi", and I seem to recall that "kan" is used to describe a hot drink or something like that, though I could be wrong. Also, there was a big picture of a cup of steaming coffee on the window, which I was able to utilize in my scientific deductions.
I am often surprised at the "gambare" work ethic of the Japanese people. It is a noticeable cultural difference when you interact with staff at minimum wage jobs, especially. (Note: I'm not saying this to offend anyone who does in fact try their darnedest even at minimum wage. This is a stereotypical example and I would say that you would be an exception to the rule, at least in my own experiences in America. End of disclaimer.)
At McDonald's, for example, the Japanese people are extremely friendly, smiley, and polite. Everyone, at every McDonald's, without exception. I remember going to a floating McDonald's in St. Louis, built out of an old ferry boat or some such, and being particularly unimpressed with the service and outright hostility of the staff working there. This type of situation is basically impossible to find in Japan, due to it being a matter-of-fact cultural difference; it is unfathomable that someone wouldn't try their best, especially in a service industry.
A shame that it isn't similarly unthinkable that a guy might cop a feel off a middle school student in a crowded subway...
Japan can be pervy. The Japanese view on sexuality is quite different from the Christian-influenced culture of America. In some ways I find it kind of refreshing; a lot less hypocritical nonsense. In other ways I find it quite disturbing, as the lack of restraint can manifest itself in molesting middle school students on crowded subways. After inquiring around, I was surprised that most of the girls I know, gaijin and Japanese alike, get groped or fight off an attempted grope at least once a month.
Of course this isn't to say that the average Japanese man is a sex offender; bear in mind, what I'm describing is a depraved minority... but they are able to operate with a lot more freedom than would be tolerated in America, due to the cultural differences. Japan is a very "don't make waves" society, so it tends to leave victims feeling powerless to inform an authority that someone is perving out on them.
Thankfully, there have been campaigns recently to empower women to report the chikans (train molesters) and the climate is definitely changing. Depraved perverts everywhere are wistfully remembering the good old days while crying into their sake.
And now I think it is time for me to take a nap.
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