Ya, it seems kind of boring. But the streets are nice, not too much people, everyone looks quite relax - except that 'half dead' salary man. why there are so many 'half dead' salary men in Japan, are they have to work so hard (like those super overtime) ?
they work silly long hours and get very little sleep. no 9 to 5 jobs here for the poor salary men :P
And they cross at the red lights.
Looks very colourful part of japan, those shop decorations are almost surreal. Seems very clean too, is it really as clean as your photos depict? Quality photos as usual danny ^^
Osaka looks very surreal ^^; The Gilco running man seems to be everywhere. Seen photos of him before. The shopping arcades look the same ^^:
Osaka used to the capital for a while, during Toyotomi regime, and was also known for their economic and cultural +"entertainment" aggregation before Edo so it might look surreal to this day. Unlike many other countries Japan have their political and economic centre in one city; wouldn't be surprised of a relocation to separate the two. However, Japan is also known for resisting change.
Haha the glico running man. I remember learning about it in my Japaense studies class. Someone said that the energy in that glico candy bar had enough energy to power exactly a 300 meters run.
Den Den is probably the closest thing Osaka has to Akihabara. It's about 800m South down the road at the Eastern end of Dotonbori. Are you sure the kids on the bikes weren't getting stopped for doubling? I've never seen anyone in Osaka stopped for riding in a pedestrian area, but strangely the police are always stopping people for doubling.
Relocation Plan: Tokyo: Economic Centre Kyoto: Capital (Political/Cultural Centre) Osaka: Entertainment Centre (Perhaps the New Otaku Heaven)
That puppet looks really creepy. I hope it doesn't grow any extra claw or spine and attack me while I'm not looking. So what usually happens to bikers caught riding their bikes in pedestrian only area? Do they have to pay a fine or gets sent to the nearby police station for profiling?
Lol, what a coincidence. I'm heading to Osaka for a trip next week. I'm going to go around and be the gawking tourist ^-^, I will need to find that Akihabara place in Osaka when I go.
From the looks of it...Osaka seems to be a bit laid back. Not too much excitement radiating from the place. Still, I'd go and visit the place. ^^
I just visited Osaka while staying in Kyoto. It is my sensei's hometown after all. I had fun in Den Den Town, but there weren't many people there because it was a weekday. The Gundam shop was cool though.
i would rather visit tokyo, but haven't haven't even visited japan, so why not.
Osaka is calmer compared to Tokyo in reputation and it seems to be the case here. Looks great, personally I am not a fan of crowded places so this really should be a place for me to visit (Though I'd really want to go to Tokyo).
Somehow some of these pics reminds me of an ep in Nurse Witch Komugi-chan M-Z LOL.
Out of the curiosity for the Cui-daore Ningyo, I read up on the history of it from the link provided by Danny. Very interesting :)
Oooh, Osaka looks quite nice, i don't think ill have time to go there when im in Japan, but maybe the next time i go i will try to go there :D Oh yeah, Danny, when you went to Kyoto, how did you get there? and If you went by Bullet Train, how much did it cost? Because i am looking to go from Shinjuku to Kyoto on one of my days in Japan and i have seen some prices ont he internet, but i thoguth it would be useful to get confirmation.
I think glico and the puppet is a landmarks of Osaka. Cause in Pastel manga both are used to illustrate as landmarks
wow.. the 'half dead' guy there looks real creepy. I wonder do you look like that when you are tired Danny ?
It looks like a mix of the past and the present, I would love to go their some time. Did you get to experience the Osaka dialect?
Oh oh, I recognise that crab~!! Happy memories :3
I like so much Osaka, the first town in Japan where I was. I think your last photo was taken in Shinsaibashi, the covered shopping street. You can eat some good chineese bread (can't remember the name).
I wonder why Cui-daore Ningyo is so famous?
Thanks for the pictures Danny. You show us so much more of the country than any book or TV program could. It makes us feel like we are there. What an amazing country, such contrasts! One odd question, "How is the level of pollution in Japan?" With so many people I would think it would be high. What do they do with all that garbage? ( yes I mean more than just eroge! ) It wouldn't be me if I didn't say one negative thing! ;P
is it Osaka is like gambling town? I see's a lot of slot machine..(maybe)*wink*
What do you know, I stayed in Osaka for 5 days during my trip to Japan last week. The hotel I stayed was Dotonburi Hotel and I frequent Dotonburi almost everything for dinner. I managed to find the Otaku area that you mentioned. Its in a place called den den town. U have to go through Namba walk(the underground shopping arcade at Namba station) all the way to the end of it. Get out from the tunnel and walk further up, very soon you will be able to see quite a number of toy shops, such as Madarake, Gundams(a building full of gundams) and Volks. They also have the fair share of Idol products, eroge and of course adult entertainment shops. Of course, my description aint perfect, since Im typing from memory, do take a look at the map when in Namba walk. Oh and its a very very long walk.
I am starting to have more and more recurring dreams about visiting Japan (while I sleep). Other than checking out the goodies and buying HORDES of stuff, I really want to know exactly what Japan is, who she is, first hand. I am currently in college, so a trip around the world will have to wait for a few years. i will be educating myself on how to speak Japanese, I have already started and am having fun!
Looks like a nice place to visit. Nice picture of that river everyone jumps in during world cup. I'd be interested to see that! I didn't know soccer was that popular in Japan.
Yeah, you can really get lost in that shopping district in Osaka. I found the Akiba-style part after searching an hour an using a map. It's only about 3-4 blocks. The whole area is just too huge. I seem to remember some of the shops in your pictures :). I didn't like Osaka very much, Tokyo is still my fave.
I enjoy Osaka so much, it's my second home. ^^ It's the place I know the best, since it's my fiancee's home town. Actually Sakai is her home town, but when you work in a city it becomes home as well. You did stop and have a meal while in Dotonbori, right? Dotonbori is all about food, food and more food. ^^; You when so close to Den Den Town. It's a shame you missed out on Gundam's, Gamers and Soft Map. You would have felt right at home. Many people do that Danny, so no big deal. Just something about the Dotombori River that make Osakans throw people and things in it. ^^; I always thought unless you where a Southern Colonel in a white suit you where safe. ^^; For those of you not familiar with Osaka, this is all part of Minami. Dotonbori is food and shops, Shinsaibashi and America-Mura -place with the large Uncle Sam/Clown head- are shopping streets and of course Den Den Town which is Osaka's Akibahara. If you have never been to Osaka be prepared to do a lot of walking. You will walk up and down some of these streets several times and in an out of shops. I'm use to doing lots of walking, but have seen some foreigners ready to fall over. Especially people from the home of the free and the brave and the jump in the car to go around the corner. ^^; As Danny said, it's rainy season. I'm not familiar with Tokyo, but it will be humid, muggy and rainy in Osaka this time of the year. For American who are not familiar with Southern Summer weather; have an umbrella handy, take light comfortable clothes and drink lots of water while outside. Just stepping outside someday will make you start to sweat. ^^;
Osaka is awesome! Often noted by foreigners when they spend a while in Japan and travel around, the Kansai area has probably the most outgoing , funny & friendly people in Japan. Tokyo has serious catching up to do. Osaka has THE BEST party / nightlife scene in Japan. This is what Osaka is famous for in Japanese sub-culture. As you may already know the majority of Japanese T.V. comedians & comedy duos are from Osaka / Kansai. Similar story when it comes to Bands & DJs. Awesome talent there in Osaka. My favourite place is this HUGE old Chinese restaurant in Osaka, that has been converted to a nightclub on the ground floor , and the upper floors into hotel rooms & a couple bars & restaurants. How cool is that !?! Go to the club meet a girl - just go straight upstairs to your room! Kyoto & Osaka are also much more left-wing than the Kanto/ Tokyo area which is more right-wing.
Edward, Yes - had a bowl of Ramen. -XYZPDQ, You will love it. Collector, Have no idea ^^; Cosmo, Pollution levels are relatively low. All rubbish gets recycled. Perplexus, Yep. Not that difficult to understand. Setsuna-san, Only when people are not looking. Arekusu, I dont know because my wife booked everything - it was a while ago but my guess is about 20000 yen return trip. Hangmen13, They probably just get a warning. Neito, Didnt see them doubling and they were stopped after coming out of the pedestrianized area. Subaruhess, Yep - its clean. J.L, many stay in the office to impress their boss...
Osaka... sugoii!!! A place where i call 2nd home... The people are friendly and that the key.. I made more then 10 friends just a short 3 days walk around.. haha. Doutonburi was fun! and the Joshua Gundam shop is where i purchased most gundam kit there. Oops, don't ask me how i carry back to singapore.. that the worst part. :p The ladies are nice too... haha :)
really look forward to being there :D great shots, as usual Danny !
oh damn, why do i have to wait until end of september... i'm really looking forward visiting Osaka, Kyoto and so on. Do somebody know why it's easier to get a hotel in kyoto than Osaka? Since it's the 2nd biggest city, it's kind of strange...
When did u go to Osaka? I was in Osaka recently...in fact only 1 week ago i was still in Osaka...ohh the memories...neway what did u think of Osaka and i havent been in Tokyo...so what are the differences there?
I have been to Osaka about 4 times so far, I've also been to Kyoto and Fukuoka. My wife is Japanese and comes from Osaka. We hope to move back over to Japan one day when our two daughters are a bit older. I loved trying all the different foods and seeing all the sites when I've been there. Went to a festival at new year at one the shrines in Osaka. It was packed with with people but still managed to try most of the snacks on the stalls.
I have been to the Universal Studios theme park in Osaka and have been on the Back to the future ride, it's ok, much better than the Backdraft one which was more of a show. My wife tells me the puppet figure outside the restaurant in Osaka is kind of a logo for the restaurant and thinks that it plays music or something at certain times of the day. she also says that people from Osaka don't use the restaurant really, that it's more for visitors to Osaka and is good for them as it has all kinds of food there.
The Akiba of Osaka is called Nipponbashi. And then the one for Nagoya is like Oou or something like that.
Danny, could you elaborate a bit on that big earthquake soon to hit Tokyo thing? Thanks!
Just saw all of this on Anthony Bourdain's show on the Travel Channel. Osaka seems absolutely beautiful, but it's really funny that politicians would want to move the capital to one of the most crime riddled areas in Japan. Especially since Tokyo is the current, populous, capital and has a lower crime rate I'm guessing?
I have definitely been here..it was the first stop of my tour from Hong Kong and we ate at the restaurant directly across from the big building in the 8th picture, where people rode in those capsules like a Ferris wheel. I also took pictures of the Gilco running man and this huge gyro-Crab outside a store there. Unfortunately we got there later than they said we were supposed to, and we were somewhat limited on time to explore too much. Nice touristy area.
would like to visit osaka one of these days. hopefully...
OSAKA! i wanna go back over there. i went with my japanese class last year and we almost got expelled for going to a strip club >_> the city is a great scene every night though.. but then again, you could say that for just about any city in japan.
How sad is this? Out of everything I could have soaked in from those pictures, the one thing that caught my eye was the AM/PM store that didn't have gas pumps surrounding it. Where I live, it almost feels like it's a mandated law to have gas pumps at every AM/PM.
I've been to Osaka! When i was there for 2 days we came to Dotonbori and Americamura only!!
Osaka is a very colourful... Lots of red and yellow everywhere...
Being a fan of the Kansai-ben and Asian culture in general, I can't avoid a visit to Osaka. Good work on this article, Danny. Might've been nice to see what else Osaka has to offer but, I guess there's always another time.
i'd like to visit as many places in japan as possible. i hope to visit japan in future. till then i'll keep drooling seeing these pics.
Does that crab on the side of the wall move? There is one in Shinjuku that does, it's really cool. I guess they must be a chain of crabmeat restaurants or something.
I feel deja vu when i see the photos
Danny... you missed the dog and cute girl who is always at the entrance of BOW WOW cafe/shop. Let me upload it for you. The Ningyo is famous because tourist will take pictures of anything that moves and makes noise I guess.
ahhhhhhhhhhhhh dotonbori ! our hotel was very near the entrance of this place in osaka ! the best place to be will visiting osaka ! that's remind me my stay ... i'll go find my photos right now ^^
Thanks so much Danny, your photos almost brought me back to Osaka! I recently read that the restaurant that owns the clown drummer has shut down and the owner is getting offers by companies to sell them his mascot! I believe it is a takoyaki restaurant (?), the ones that serve octopus balls. Either that or it's just the area in general is famous for takoyaki. Universal Studios Japan really is a great park, we were lucky enough to go during the 1 year anniversary. The "Back to the Future" ride is pretty good, but I recommend the Jurassic Park one for a real treat. You should have gone during the night, that Glico running man is totally lit up at night along with the rest of that block. If I remember correctly that shopping strip is HUGE. It goes on forever in both directions. Great pics!
