Osaka, Japan

Osaka's Urban-Jovial Japan


stone before stone
Students play climbing at the base of Osaka Castle.
gymnast dancer
Dancer clashes with visitors to Osaka's medieval castle.
Through a gallery tunnel
Passersby walk through an Osaka subway tunnel.
Billy Ken Idol Worship
Children stand at the feet of the golden statue of BilliKen.
osakajo
Osaka Castle, prominent above the city centre.
dotonbori
The neon-lit banks of the Dotonbori canal.
Things as They Are
Two friends are photographed at the foot of the statue of Billy Ken.
pouting
Girlfriends and a baby at a Dog Café in Osaka,
Caraway
Model promotes a former Osaka baseball team.
Ferry Friends
Friends in the Bay Area Ferrys Wheel stage.
The Osaka Oceanarium
The illuminated Kaiyukan Aquarium in the Bay Area of ​​Osaka.
dotonbori
Osaka resident in the shadow of the gaudy neon of Dotonbori.
Asahi Lager
Bright billboard promotes Japanese Asahi beer.
Japanese style souvenir
Visitors are photographed with Osaka Castle in the background.
Reflections of Osaka Life
Osaka Bay Area building generates a curious reflection from its visitors.
Osaka to (many) Colors
Bright decor of a downtown Osaka street.
salaryman
Salaryman passes in the corridor of a Bay Area building.
Osaka CBD
The modern houses of Osaka, the third Japanese city.
Street Tests
Young people practice dancing at the lighted base of a shopping center.
Japan's third most populous city and one of the oldest, Osaka doesn't waste too much time on formalities and ceremonies. The capital of the Kansai region is famous for its outgoing people always ready to celebrate life.

Less than two hours. That's how long the 330km journey between Hiroshima and Osaka.

We arrived at Shin Osaka station around 17:30 pm. We set up shop in a café near Osaka Jo Kitazume until such time as the young resident our hostess with us if you could find.

Mayu arrives after 22pm. We walked her home. When we arrived at his apartment on the 10th floor, we realized that not only are we close to Osaka Castle, right in the center of Chuo-Ku, but we also have a privileged view of the fortress, the surrounding lake and the aligned buildings of the Central Business District. .

Mayu puts us at ease. Offers us cold beers that we share in a pleasant chat in English. Until midnight. By this time, he apologizes but he has to go to bed. From our side, after the long journey from the bottom to the middle of the island of Honshu, her plan seemed fine to us.

We only wake up at 10 in the morning. Mayu he had left for the gym and would not return until the end of the day. We were still somewhat confused about the plan for exploring Osaka.

Conquering the Old Castle of Osaka

With the city's castle close at hand, we bet on simplifying. After all, more than highlighted above the heart of the city, as one would expect, Osaka Jo is inseparable from the history of what is now the third Japanese city.

Osaka Castle, Japan

Osaka Castle, prominent above the city centre.

In 1583 he erected a daimyo that resisted the growing domination of Ieyasu Tokugawa, this, the unifier of Japan, first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate.

A lightning fire nearly consumed him fifty years after Ieyasu had conquered him. And although Allied bombing in World War II damaged it, the Osaka Jo withstood the appalling destruction that took place, above all, in an area to the southwest of the Chuo-Ku neighborhood.

Accordingly, with a rehabilitation that lasted from 1995 to 1997, the castle regained its medieval splendor and an oriental grandeur that had seduced us from the day before. Moments after we pass into the inner domain of the ancient moat, we come upon a small army of young students.

Despite the formality of their uniforms in suit and tie, they had given in to the temptation to conquer the monument, favored by the absence of authorities in the complex and by the size of the arrows between the granite blocks of the structure.

Tiptoe, stone after stone, the boys advanced on this base, more forward than uphill since the climb involved defying gravity.

Is life.

Osaka Castle, Japan

Students play climbing at the base of Osaka Castle.

However unconscious and immature theirs proved, the young people knew that the castle had seen enough tragedies. As such, they turned to us, agreeing with a cool photo or two. After which they tried to return to the ground without sprawl or fuss.

When they do, they ask us to peek at the images. "Sugoi!” they exclaim in approval of the registration. We say goodbye to the little gang. We went out in search of other Japanese and photographable subjects.

Nippon Escape and Fun around Osaka Jo

A tour guide with a yellow flag in the air urges her group of visitors to join her. Next door, in a style that contrasted with the lady's uniform, another subject of the emperor stood out for his exuberance.

He wore snow boots, purple pants, a green T-shirt, and a pink hat.

Dancer, Osaka, Japan

Dancer clashes with visitors to Osaka's medieval castle.

With headphones in his ears and a mini-camera hanging around his neck for whatever came and went, this tourist-dancer gave himself up to movements and choreographies dictated by the music. Indifferent to the surrounding audience and, above all, to what they could find of him, he made the access patio to Osaka Jo his private path.

Other visitors poked their heads into medieval Japanese character models and photographed themselves with the castle in the background.

This way, that way, above and below the seven floors that house the museum dedicated to the castle itself and Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the Japanese warlord who ordered its construction, we arrived in the late afternoon.

Souvenir, Osaka Castle, Japan

Visitors are photographed with Osaka Castle in the background.

We step back below the moat and lake and enjoy the dual atmosphere of the Chuo-Ku neighborhood at night. The one of the yellowish castle that almost seemed to hover above the dark patch of forest.

And that of the CBD's tall, modern buildings, veritable light boxes perched on the edge of the lake, each with its own corporate reason for being. Or rather, with hundreds of them.

OSaka, Japan

The modern houses of Osaka, the third Japanese city.

Osaka CBD and the city's relevance in the Nippon Financial Panorama

Osaka has become one of Japan's main financial centers. Among the world famous multinationals that have their headquarters there are Panasonic and Sharp.

Salaryman, Osaka, Japan

Salaryman passes in the corridor of a Bay Area building.

Despite its business relevance, the city is known for its less ceremonial, more informal, spontaneous and festive culture, in comparison, for example, with the capital Tokyo, with Yokohama and with the traditionalist Kyoto.

Even the willingness of our hostess Mayu seemed to contribute to confirming this.

Located in the subtropical zone of Japan, Osaka has a milder climate but also more rainy throughout the year than its neighbors.

For the next two days, gray skies and showers were expected.

Dotonbori, the Cosmopolitan Heart and Soul of Osaka

In accordance with the weather, informed of its abundance of arched streets, we dedicated ourselves to exploring the Dotonbori area, which stretched between two of the bridges that cross the homonymous river channel, one of the many that furrow the city. from the Great Bay of Osaka.

Osaka Reflections, Japan

Osaka Bay Area building generates a curious reflection from its visitors.

In fact, Dotonbori has confirmed the heart and soul of the city's cosmopolitan life, the network of streets and alleys that reflect its cultural and commercial wealth.

We passed countless restaurants, some traditional, others not so much. we peek salons of pachinko (Japanese electronic luck game) and others from purikura, hypermodern versions of the ordinary photo machine.

Both the open streets and the arcades are covered with vertical advertising banners, some in the form of neons that carry the night with light and color, several accompanied by figurative symbols on their doors.

Osaka street, Japan

Bright decor of a downtown Osaka street.

At one of the intersections, we are surprised by the golden statue of a large baby with a mocking smile, sitting on a throne in the shape of a childlike Buddha. An inscription that identified him as “Billiken – Things as They Ought to Be”, little or nothing explained to us.

The Strange Urban Phenomenon of Baby Grande Biliken

And, however, adults, teenagers and children who passed by paid homage to him and repeated, with the doll, photos and more photos.

It was only much later that we learned where its popularity came from. And it came from far away.

BilliKen, Osaka, Japan

Children stand at the feet of the golden statue of BilliKen.

In the early years of the 1896th century, the figure appeared in a dream of Florence Pretz, an art teacher and illustrator from Kansas City. Fretz gave him the name Billiken which he found in an XNUMX poem called “Mr. Moon: the Song of the Little People”.

Arrived in 1908, Pretz registered the patent for the doll that made a stir both in Canada and in the United States, where it became the symbol of the University of Saint Louis, soon after, the nickname of a series of minor baseball teams.

The doll arrived in Japan, taken by Japanese sports representations that traveled to the United States. One of the most impressive representations of Billiken was erected as early as 1912 at Luna Park in Osaka representing a prolific assortment of Americana .

Billiken, Osaka, Japan

Two friends are photographed at the foot of the statue of Billy Ken.

In 1923, this wooden statue disappeared when the park was closed. And in 1980, a replica was placed in one of the city's famous towers, the Tsutenkaku. From then on, the notorious, almost divine Billiken from Osaka kind of toured inside Japan and even the United States.

It only took a few steps to find another of the cultural influences with which the North Americans filled the void left by the Japanese defeat in World War II.

Baseball has become Japan's number one sport. It moves billions of yen, part of them in foreign player signings.

Next to it, two models, players or ex-players, displayed the equipment of a team from other times, Osaka Gold Vilignes.

Baseball Model, Osaka, Japan

Model promotes a former Osaka baseball team.

America-Mura. Where Japanese Culture Merges With United States Legacy

We walked along the America-Mura, better known as Ame-Mura, a sector in the Minami area, the fulcrum of culture and youth fashion in the Japanese region of the Kansai region, which the presence of a few gaijin (foreigners) makes it more cosmopolitan.

Dotonbori, Osaka, Japan

The neon-lit banks of the Dotonbori canal.

Ame-mura stretches along Naga Hori Street to the neon culmination of Dotonbori. When we get back there, it's still daylight. A crowd roams the alley shopping or savoring different appetizers, such as the okonomiyaki, the kale pancakes that make Japanese and foreigners travel from far and wide to enjoy them in Osaka.

Above, imposing, one against the other, rival billboards of Kirin Lager and Asahi Super Dry beers are imposed, in any case, appropriate drinks to accompany the intricate okonomiyaki which, invited by Mayu, would still delight us.

Outdoor, Osaka, Japan

Showy billboard promotes a Japanese beer.

Without leaving the scope completely, when it gets dark, the victorious athlete of the food brand Glico, also from Osaka but present in more than thirty countries, stands out on the channel and reflected in it.

Notwithstanding your signature in English “Good Taste and Good Health”, this multinational exports chocolates, French fries, chewing gum, ice cream and several other mismatched products.

Dotonbori, Osaka, Japan

Osaka resident in the shadow of the gaudy neon of Dotonbori.

An already unexpected rain shower attests to the Dotonbori channel. It sends the crowd out into the arched streets. With fatigue gathering at the same pace as the night, we retreated to Mayu's comforting shelter where, until bedtime, we went back to drinking cold Asahis, chatting.

Bay Area: The Most Marine and Open Version of Osaka

The next day, we dedicated it to the Bay Area, the estuary area that reminded us of an Osaka-style Expo 98. There is also a large oceanarium, the Osaka Aquarium. Nearby, Universal Studios Japan and a huge Ferris Wheel.

Kaiyukan Aquarium, Osaka, Japan

The illuminated Kaiyukan Aquarium in the Bay Area of ​​Osaka.

None of these attractions was a priority if we wanted to remain faithful to the discovery of the exotic and creative Japanese culture.

Even so, unobstructed by the sea, the Bay Area made us walk more than we counted and go up to the observatory of the Umeda building, from where we watched the urban lights come on.

Hip hop. Osaka, Japan

Young people practice dancing at the lighted base of a shopping center.

We finished the tour of Osaka in an underground floor of that same building. On the skids, we sat watching a happy community of breakdancers and hip-hopers from the city, perfecting their acrobatic dances.

Ogimashi, Japan

An Historical-Virtual Japan

"Higurashi no Naku Koro never” was a highly successful Japanese animation and computer game series. In Ogimashi, Shirakawa-Go village, we live with a group of kigurumi of their characters.
Tokyo, Japan

The Endless Night of the Rising Sun Capital

Say that Tokyo do not sleep is an understatement. In one of the largest and most sophisticated cities on the face of the Earth, twilight marks only the renewal of the frenetic daily life. And there are millions of souls that either find no place in the sun, or make more sense in the “dark” and obscure turns that follow.
Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo's fashion

In ultra-populous and hyper-coded Japan, there is always room for more sophistication and creativity. Whether national or imported, it is in the capital that they begin to parade the new Japanese looks.
Tokyo, Japan

A Matchmaking Sanctuary

Tokyo's Meiji Temple was erected to honor the deified spirits of one of the most influential couples in Japanese history. Over time, it specialized in celebrating traditional weddings.
Kyoto, Japan

Survival: The Last Geisha Art

There have been almost 100 but times have changed and geishas are on the brink of extinction. Today, the few that remain are forced to give in to Japan's less subtle and elegant modernity.
Tokyo, Japan

Japanese Style Passaport-Type Photography

In the late 80s, two Japanese multinationals already saw conventional photo booths as museum pieces. They turned them into revolutionary machines and Japan surrendered to the Purikura phenomenon.
Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo's Hypno-Passengers

Japan is served by millions of executives slaughtered with infernal work rates and sparse vacations. Every minute of respite on the way to work or home serves them for their inemuri, napping in public.
Tokyo, Japan

The Emperor Without Empire

After the capitulation in World War II, Japan underwent a constitution that ended one of the longest empires in history. The Japanese emperor is, today, the only monarch to reign without empire.
Tokyo, Japan

The Fish Market That Lost its Freshness

In a year, each Japanese eats more than their weight in fish and shellfish. Since 1935, a considerable part was processed and sold in the largest fish market in the world. Tsukiji was terminated in October 2018, and replaced by Toyosu's.
Tokyo, Japan

Disposable Purrs

Tokyo is the largest of the metropolises but, in its tiny apartments, there is no place for pets. Japanese entrepreneurs detected the gap and launched "catteries" in which the feline affections are paid by the hour.
Tokyo, Japan

Pachinko: The Video - Addiction That Depresses Japan

It started as a toy, but the Japanese appetite for profit quickly turned pachinko into a national obsession. Today, there are 30 million Japanese surrendered to these alienating gaming machines.
Japan

The Beverage Machines Empire

There are more than 5 million ultra-tech light boxes spread across the country and many more exuberant cans and bottles of appealing drinks. The Japanese have long since stopped resisting them.
Esteros del Iberá, Pantanal Argentina, Alligator
Safari
Iberá Wetlands, Argentina

The Pantanal of the Pampas

On the world map, south of the famous brazilian wetland, a little-known flooded region appears, but almost as vast and rich in biodiversity. the Guarani expression Y bera defines it as “shining waters”. The adjective fits more than its strong luminance.
Herd in Manang, Annapurna Circuit, Nepal
Annapurna (circuit)
Annapurna Circuit: 8th Manang, Nepal

Manang: the Last Acclimatization in Civilization

Six days after leaving Besisahar we finally arrived in Manang (3519m). Located at the foot of the Annapurna III and Gangapurna Mountains, Manang is the civilization that pampers and prepares hikers for the ever-dreaded crossing of Thorong La Gorge (5416 m).
Bay Watch cabin, Miami beach, beach, Florida, United States,
Architecture & Design
Miami beach, USA

The Beach of All Vanities

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Tibetan heights, altitude sickness, mountain prevent to treat, travel
Adventure

Altitude Sickness: the Grievances of Getting Mountain Sick

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Bertie in jalopy, Napier, New Zealand
Ceremonies and Festivities
Napier, New Zealand

Back to the 30s

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Sheets of Bahia, Eternal Diamonds, Brazil
Cities
Sheets of Bahia, Brazil

Lençóis da Bahia: not Even Diamonds Are Forever

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Cocoa, Chocolate, Sao Tome Principe, Agua Izé farm
Meal
São Tomé and Principe

Cocoa Roças, Corallo and the Chocolate Factory

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coast, fjord, Seydisfjordur, Iceland
Culture
Seydisfjordur, Iceland

From the Art of Fishing to the Fishing of Art

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combat arbiter, cockfighting, philippines
Sport
Philippines

When Only Cock Fights Wake Up the Philippines

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very coarse salt
Traveling
Salta and Jujuy, Argentina

Through the Highlands of Deep Argentina

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Jingkieng Wahsurah, Nongblai Village Roots Bridge, Meghalaya, India
Ethnic
Meghalaya, India

The Bridges of the Peoples that Create Roots

The unpredictability of rivers in the wettest region on Earth never deterred the Khasi and the Jaintia. Faced with the abundance of trees elastic fig tree in their valleys, these ethnic groups got used to molding their branches and strains. From their time-lost tradition, they have bequeathed hundreds of dazzling root bridges to future generations.
ice tunnel, black gold route, Valdez, Alaska, USA
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio
Got2Globe Portfolio

Sensations vs Impressions

Candia, Tooth of Buddha, Ceylon, lake
History
Kandy, Sri Lanka

The Dental Root of Sinhalese Buddhism

Located in the mountainous heart of Sri Lanka, at the end of the XNUMXth century, Kandy became the capital of the last kingdom of old Ceylon and resisted successive colonial conquest attempts. The city also preserved and exhibited a sacred tooth of the Buddha and, thus, became Ceylon's Buddhist center.
Graciosa, Azores, Monte da Ajuda
Islands
Graciosa, Azores

Her Grace the Graciosa

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Era Susi towed by dog, Oulanka, Finland
Winter White
PN Oulanka, Finland

A Slightly Lonesome Wolf

Jukka “Era-Susi” Nordman has created one of the largest packs of sled dogs in the world. He became one of Finland's most iconic characters but remains faithful to his nickname: Wilderness Wolf.
Baie d'Oro, Île des Pins, New Caledonia
Literature
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The Island that Leaned against Paradise

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Crocodiles, Queensland Tropical Australia Wild
Nature
Cairns to Cape Tribulation, Australia

Tropical Queensland: An Australia Too Wild

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Sheki, Autumn in the Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Autumn Homes
Autumn
Sheki, Azerbaijan

autumn in the caucasus

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Torres del Paine, Dramatic Patagonia, Chile
Natural Parks
PN Torres del Paine, Chile

The Most Dramatic Patagonia

Nowhere is the southernmost reaches of South America so breathtaking as the Paine Mountains. There, a natural fort of granite colossi surrounded by lakes and glaciers protrudes from the pampa and submits to the whims of meteorology and light.
PN Timanfaya, Mountains of Fire, Lanzarote, Caldera del Corazoncillo
UNESCO World Heritage
PN Timanfaya, Lanzarote, Canary Islands

PN Timanfaya and the Fire Mountains of Lanzarote

Between 1730 and 1736, out of nowhere, dozens of volcanoes in Lanzarote erupted successively. The massive amount of lava they released buried several villages and forced almost half of the inhabitants to emigrate. The legacy of this cataclysm is the current Martian setting of the exuberant PN Timanfaya.
View from the top of Mount Vaea and the tomb, Vailima village, Robert Louis Stevenson, Upolu, Samoa
Characters
Upolu, Samoa

Stevenson's Treasure Island

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Tarrafal, Santiago, Cape Verde, Tarrafal Bay
Beaches
Tarrafal, Santiago, Cape Verde

The Tarrafal of Freedom and Slow Life

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Mount Lamjung Kailas Himal, Nepal, altitude sickness, mountain prevent treat, travel
Religion
Annapurna Circuit: 2th - Chame a Upper BananaNepal

(I) Eminent Annapurnas

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Train Kuranda train, Cairns, Queensland, Australia
On Rails
Cairns-Kuranda, Australia

Train to the Middle of the Jungle

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Society
Markets

A Market Economy

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Saksun, Faroe Islands, Streymoy, warning
Daily life
Saksun, StreymoyFaroe Islands

The Faroese Village That Doesn't Want to be Disneyland

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Newborn turtle, PN Tortuguero, Costa Rica
Wildlife
PN Tortuguero, Costa Rica

A Night at the Nursery of Tortuguero

The name of the Tortuguero region has an obvious and ancient reason. Turtles from the Atlantic and the Caribbean Sea have long flocked to the black sand beaches of its narrow coastline to spawn. On one of the nights we spent in Tortuguero we watched their frenzied births.
Napali Coast and Waimea Canyon, Kauai, Hawaii Wrinkles
Scenic Flights
napali coast, Hawaii

Hawaii's Dazzling Wrinkles

Kauai is the greenest and rainiest island in the Hawaiian archipelago. It is also the oldest. As we explore its Napalo Coast by land, sea and air, we are amazed to see how the passage of millennia has only favored it.
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