It is now week three of my stay in Japan, nearing a month and a lot has happened! Classes began for the local Japanese students and it has become much more lively.
Over the week, I have made my way to the city of Osaka, ate many different dishes and explored more around the school and town.
One thing that stands out in Japan is the easy access to consistent public transportation; the trains can get you just about anywhere you want for little cost, except for the Shinkansen, or bullet train. Making use of the trains, myself and a few of my new friends made our way to the city of Osaka, about 40 minutes away from my campus in Hirakata by train. Until this point, I have not been to a big city outside of Boston, Mass. for a day, so bearing witness to what I consider to be a step up from most cities in America was a welcome sight. Osaka’s layout is delightfully interesting. Being able to look down a street and see straight ahead for miles due to the grid-like layout while seeing many small alleys with stores and signs was awesome.
Upon stepping out of the subway, the first building in view held a whole rock climbing tower right in the middle of it, with the glass walls warping around and continuing for some six more stories. While that took me by surprise, one of the very next buildings held a Ferris wheel above a river surrounded by buildings and signs.
While walking around Osaka, of course we had to try some of the various foods they had, so we stopped at a spot squished between two buildings. This restaurant, as it could not expand outwards, went three floors upwards with little spare room.
Okonomiyaki and Takoyaki were the staples of this place, the former being a “cabbage pancake” so to say, as it was constructed as a circle of dough, cabbage and meat while topped with mayonnaise served on a hot plate built into the table. Takoyaki is another doughy food, being a ball about two inches in diameter containing octopus and topped with Bonito or fish flakes.
The other primary visit to Osaka was to explore the buildings holding a huge collection of different stores. These skyscrapers were tens of stories tall packed wall to wall with all kinds of furniture, clothing, accessories and memorabilia stores including Studio Ghibli and Nintendo. After riding our way up 10 floors worth of escalators, we found these spots where we got pictures with Noface from “Spirited Away” and various Pokemon. All in all, seeing the sights of Osaka was an awesome experience, and I look forward to going again and discovering more of the city, and visiting other need-tosee locations like Kyoto, Nara and of course Tokyo. Once again, I will see you next time!
Collin Haberbosch can be
contacted at chaberbosch@kscequinox.com
