Osaka

Osaka* second city of Japan and I`m thinking it will probably turn out to be a bit of a little introduction to Tokyo: a taster without quite the intensity.

First things first though some surprises straight of the bat:

Japan for all its technology is a cash society. This means no ATM s at the ferry terminal. This meant that the Japanese students volounteered to pay for the westerners train tix to get into Osaka. See?? Told you they were amazing.

Okay so far so good. I`m now in central Osaka. I`m carrying a now huge pack (almost going home time you see so filling it up.) I try one ATM but it doesn`t like my cards. Nope the second neither nor indeed the sixth. Add to this that the Kita area is mostly below ground so maps don`t help. Add to that the fact that everything is named Umeda. Add to this further fact that street names often don`t exist in Japan, fewer still feature on a map and that numbers run in the order that the buildings were built and you have a recipe for wandering around carry 25 kilogrammes for four hours. After being thoroughly confused and extremely pissed off I reconsulted the guide book and discovered that in good old technology filled Japan only post offices have ATMs that work with international cards. Post office quickly found and money gained. Thank f**k!! (In retrospect this was my first experience of Japanese isolationism in action)

Surprisingly with my now intimate knowledge of Kita (yeah right) I found my capsule hotel pretty quickly. Surreal. Men only and blokes wandering around in slippers and dressing gowns. The capsule is really a glorified enclosed bunk bed and if I slept incredibley well in it. Its a bit like the enclosed feeling you get in a tent and its a bit womb like truth be told. You get a TV and radio too but thats not much use if you can`t understand it. You also get tired immediately of watching people on game shows forced to eat bizarre things. Welcome to Japan and thoroughly bizarre it was too. Loved it of course.

So Osaka?? It has a vibrant street life and some mean clothes. Well not really mean. More posturing at mean. Its hard to feel intimidated by a guy who weighs a lot less than you and spends more time on his hair than your gf. Nah they`re not mean at all. Still they do look outrageous and this isn`t even Tokyo yet. Oh yes and ladies, I`m not sure that thigh high stockings are legal street wear.

Did I tell you?? I`ve embarked upon a pilgimmage. A taylor made tour of Japan. In my past I was big Tadao Ando fan. He is in case you@re not an architect Japans most famous architectural son. Of course this being the east everything is the opther way round and he`s known as Ando Tadao...go figure. Still I gamely set off in search of his work and found a couple of peices. They were surprisingly real but none the less powerful for all that. The more time you spend in Japan the more his architecture makes sense too.

Japanese food?? sushi for every meal?? Well initially perhaps but at breakfast sometimes you want fruit or something greasy that doesn`t involve spices. I do occasionally hide in starbucks I can`t deny it. Still the food here is amazing and so damn healthy. Udon noodles are great cheapy snack and conveyor belt style restaurants whilst reminding me of the Generation Game rock on all counts. Food awesome and the entertainment of having infinite food options just can´t be beaten.

Okay..gotta dash. More later!!

More notes on Osaka. Apologies for the repetitions!!

Osaka

My first taste of Japan. It turns out that it’s a bit like Tokyo but at the time it was quite and introduction to youth fashion and love hotels. It has a vibe all its own of course. I really liked it despite getting unbelievably lost in the Kita region. In Japan a complete lack of street names does not aid a visitor. Indeed the problem is compounded by the fact that not all streets appear on maps and that building numbers run in the order they were constructed – not sequentially along the street.

Still managed to find cash at the post office eventually and then to my surprise almost stumbled upon my capsule hotel for my first night in Japan. Incidentally if you ask for directions in Japan that person is likely to actually take you there even if it far out of their way. Incredible eh??

Capsule Hotel section already written??

Capsule Hotels and weird male culture and lift racism

Oh yes, thanks to the numerous poor Japanese receptionists and 7/11 assistants who wasted a surprising portion of their lives attempting to get me a concert ticket. Thanks to them Crystal Castles were able to rock my world and rock it they did. For the uninitiated go check them out...amazing.

Minami, Shinsaibashi, Namba, Little America.

To my mind it was all sort of the same area. Basically youth culture ground zero for those outside of Tokyo and the counterbalance to Harajuku. It took me a while to get used to the fashions the girls were wearing but I rallied after a cold shower and a lie down. The worship of American culture is hilarious and the predominance of Hip Hop rather depressing. Small Asian men using black style posturing and calling each other homies fails to be threatening and I had to almost wipe the tears from my eyes at some of the low trousered fashion ensembles sported by the more daring gentlemen. Loved it all of course. Hypocritical moi?? Bien sur.

Suntory Museum.

Sorry to non architects for this will be of little interest to them but I started my Ando pilgrimage here. He didn’t disappoint although the reality of his buildings was interesting since I had only ever seen pristine pix and models before. Still the genius is undeniable and the Japaness of his architecture actually quite obvious when you see them in Japan itself.

Manga Kissa

Okay so I didn’t stay in one but it’s possible to do so. These are manga style internet cafes. They have a manga library and comfy chairs and PCs with lightening fast connections. I used the latter together with the free drinks but wasn’t tempted to pull an all nighter. My loss I’m guessing. Would they work in the UK? They come into their own in Japan when you miss the last train home. In Japan they work but I doubt Londoners would be so quiet or respectful. Indeed the police being called and bouncers would be an everyday reality I fear. Sometimes it makes me sad to be British. What is wrong with us and how many opportunities do we miss out on because of all the idiots in our society??