Japanese diary. Vol. 1. Osaka

The first impression of Japan was in Osaka as it was the first stop on the Japan 2011 tour.

Being the 3^rd biggest city in Japan, here the impression of the crowdedness of the large Japanese cities was evident.

After getting installed in our hotel in the southern center of the city –a typical Japanese room, a ryokan, with rattan on the floor, a low table and two futon’s rolled out on the floor- we headed out to investigate the closest neighbourhood and find a bite to eat.

The difference from the crowdedness we know from Hong Kong was obvious. Hong Kong has less space for much more people, which forces the buildings in the air, here in Japans 3^rd largest city, they seem to have more space so the buildings were much lower and laid out in small narrow streets. But like in Hong Kong, the major roads and train tracks were constructed like elevated bridges over –and between- the houses.

On street level the traffic was much less so that pedestrians and bicycles had an easy time in the narrow lanes. My first thought was, that it reminded me a lot of Holland, with small cramped houses and loads of bicycles zigzagging in and out between pedestrians and cars.

It was nice just stroll through those narrow streets and breath in how the life went by in an Osakan neighbourhood. Loads of small restaurants, eateries and bars were in the area around the hotel, and all over there were people going in and out. Outside the eateries there were written menus, but these didn’t help us much as they were mainly in Japanese. What did help were the big displays many of the eateries had in their windows, of the different dishes made of plastic. In that way the hungry visitor can visualize the dish they might feel like eating. For me these plastic “sculptures” of food had the exact opposite effect, and was rather repulsive.

Maybe it was the large number of options or was it rather our insecurity about this whole new experience that made us rather too indecisive to go anywhere of the places, but ended up in a little inn, that served typical “Osaka” octopus balls.

After that we literally hit the floor.