Back in 2014, I had the pleasure of visiting a friend and being shown the mostly lesser known sights of Osaka. It’s a city I really like. Similar to Tokyo, and yet at the same time quite different. It’s somewhat rougher around the edges, which appeals enormously, although in some parts there is truly shocking poverty rather than just shabby urban decay. Glimpses of which can be seen in images 6 & 7. The park in the latter is the only one I know of with a TV. It was showing the sumo when we we there, although what it broadcasts, and indeed when, is all controlled by the authorities.
Also, and obviously in general, the people are noticeably more open and direct, which makes a nice change from Tokyo. In fact, a few interactions around that park area in particular were some of the kindest and most touching moments I’ve ever experienced in Japan.
Below then are some of the photos from that visit. A variety of locations representing what was a similarly varied exploration of Japan’s second city.
Denise says
You always show us a Japan we aren’t used to seeing. Thank you so much for always sharing.
Lee says
You are very welcome. Living in Japan allows me the time and opportunity to seek out such places, which is a huge advantage.
cdilla says
Seeing the Tower of the Sun Museum still standing and operating (covid allowing) after 50+ years makes me think back at the optimism of the 70s and the future the Expo it presided over and others like it promised. The excitement and anticipation, hope and belief that it would come to pass were strong in me (as was a dodgy taste in fashion and music), and have eroded only slowly. But now, sometimes, it feels that progress is slipping backwards and perhaps that the best of times for humanity has passed.
But then I’m a curmudgeonly old scrote who should tolerated but paid scant attention to 🙂
A great collection. Time for a second visit I think.
Lee says
Thanks a lot, and yes, a second visit is very much overdue.
I’m sadly in complete agreement with you. Technology continues to advance and evolve in amazing ways, but humanity all too often appears to be going in the opposite direction. I dare say even Okamoto Taro’s infectious optimism would have been tempered if he were alive today.
Richard says
My wife and I enjoyed a brief visit to Osaka in November 2019. Based on our experience and your photos I think that ‘gritty’ describes the city.
Thanks for sharing these. I hope your visit in the UK is going well. Another ‘heat wave’ is due there! Parts of Japan are sweltering. Other parts are getting pounded with intense rain.
Lee says
You are welcome as always, and yes, gritty is definitely an aspect of the city. At least parts of it, anyway.
Thank you. Happy to say it’s going very well. Exactly what I needed. Not as hot as Tokyo thankfully, but way hotter than it usually is. Extreme weather, but certainly not as extreme as that affecting Japan. The far from normal new norm it would seem…
Richard says
I have read and seen BBC reports about the heat in the UK this summer. And another wave is supposed to be coming this weekend. They don’t have as much AC there as in Japan or here in the USA. Try to stay cool! And continue to enjoy your visit there with loved ones and friends.
Lee says
Thanks a lot. Tis a bit on the hot side, and houses here definitely aren’t built for such temperatures, but it won’t be long before it’s cooler again.
Matthias says
Scrolling through these pictures is almost like watching a movie. Especially when continuing to the drinkers and Muroran. I absolutely enjoy these latest series, thank you for your re-edits, for those on instagram too! And I also agree that it is a sad thing how the optimism we all felt some years ago has become faded… I live directly where the Berlin wall was standing, my area is now colorful and affluent, but the next cold war seems just around the corner. How weird!
Lee says
You are welcome, and thanks a lot, that’s really good to hear. It’s been interesting going back through older photos, finding some I didn’t do anything with at the time, and then putting them all together. Been a very welcome distraction from stuff in my own life, and the wider world too. Talking of which, it really does feel that way, doesn’t it? Being back in Britain, there are lots of reminders from my life here many moons ago. I left in the late 90s when there was a new government and a real sense of change/optimism. It’s a very different feeling these days…
On a brighter note, that sounds like a fascinating place to live. Heard so many positive things about current day Berlin.
Matthias says
Yeah, you’re right. Spent last night watching the sun set at the former inner city airport Tempelhof which is now a public park.
Great places like that here. And peaceful.
Richard says
My family and I were in that area of Berlin a few years ago. We really enjoyed it despite the record heat in July for a few days. It was amazing to walk along the sections of the Wall that were still standing because I could remember when it was first built.
With large reductions in natural gas from Russia it could get VERY cold there next winter!
Matthias says
Of course things have to move on, so most remains of the wall have given way to new buildings etc. Hard to imagine now that the person on the balcony across the street might have lived in a different universe – the eastern bloc or the capitalist west, depending on which balcony you’re on. And now we’re told to freeze for peace.