Remiscing Japan

I needed to choose a photo for a workplace newsletter the other day, so I promptly went onto Facebook and started scrolling through my picturer and further down I went, until I realised that I'd hardly any pictures of Osaka, Kobe, or several other places in Japan that I'd been to and loved.

Facebook in the past couple of years has become, for me, a great platform to remember and reminisce about the past. Looking back on where I've been and what I've done helps to bring to mind happy times, beautiful places and wonderful friends. When I'm down, it reminds me that I've had some great experiences and that there will be more to come; when the weather is - quite literally - putting a damper on my mood, I am reminded that even Ireland can have lovely weather and that I'll be ready to enjoy it when it comes.

I therefore decided to dig up photos of my time in Japan and post a selection on Facebook, so that they'll be just a few convenient clicks away when the mood hits. I was struck by nostalgia browsing through the photos of my neighbourhood in Osaka - it's the simple things and once-familiar places that threatened to bring tears. The sight of my apartment brought to mind smells of the tatami and the feel of the cool kitchen floor; the shot of clear skies over the Yodogawa evoked clearly the sense of freedom and peace that I felt when out on my bike, cycling around the neighbourhood on restless evenings and quiet weekends.

Yet, I was surprised and disappointed that there were so few photos of the city I love so dearly and once called home. There were none of the touristy shots of frequent haunts like Shinsaibashi, Namba and Umeda. Nothing more than my memory of the Glico Man, the Dotonburi crab, the plastic food figurines in Sennichimae, the HEP 5 ferris wheel, JR Osaka station, Yodobashi camera, LoFT, Crystal Nagahori, Namba Parks... nothing from the cycling route from Sagisu into Umeda (like the mural at a junction and the long slope that was so scary yet thrilling to go down; the wind in my hair and adrenaline in my veins); nor the Ebie junction; nor the Fukushima-dori; nor even Nodahanshin itself or Jusco.

It scares me to realise that I have nothing tangible of Osaka - even if the memories I have are so real and so clear. I don't know why I didn't take many pictures then, when I spend so much time photographing bits and pieces of my life here - the food, the city, the everyday. Maybe it would've been different if Instagram had existed back then. But now that I know I will one day be looking back on photos of my life, I'll bear in mind to continue snapping away as I go through the days.

Visit Kansai, Visit Japan

A friend posted on facebook her intention to visit Japan and Korea, and I offered some accommodation suggestions and asked if she would be visiting Kansai.

Her reply, though not surprising, unfortunately summed up perfectly the general – and grossly inaccurate - perception most have of Japan and Kansai:

“Is it worth a visit?”

Everyone thinks of Tokyo when Japan is spoken of, while others wax lyrical over the ‘wonders’ of Harajuku, Shibuya and Shinjuku – it’s now time to set the record straight:

Kansai is the best place to be for a one-stop, catch-all visit to Japan.

In Kansai, you can visit two ancient capital cities (Nara and Kyoto) and a port city (Kobe) within an hour’s train ride from a bustling, vibrant and exciting city (Osaka).

Tokyo doesn’t offer any of much of those; a visit to Tokyo is very much a visit to a modern global city. Also, Tokyo is a big city and travelling within it will already take 20-45mins (due to its size and horrible subway connections) – Akihabara, for example, is 10 stations away from Shibuya, and the Yamanote Loop Line is not a small loop at all.

To elaborate slightly:

Nara was the first capital city, established 1000 years ago, and is home to freely roaming deer and the largest Buddha statue in Japan:

Todaiji, where the largest Buddha statue in Japan is housed, and the deer which you can touch and feed.

Kyoto was the capital before Tokyo and is the best place to visit for traditional Japanese houses, temples and shrines, as most of its buildings escaped bombings during WWII, unlike most cities in the rest of Japan.

Above: everyday items and gifts made from kimono material

Below: The Fushimi Inari Shrine, location of the famous scene in ‘Memoirs of a Geisha’

Kobe is a charming, walkable city – it also has more sights, better architecture and a stronger European influence than Yokohama.

The Kobe Port Tower and the museum to its right (above); Kobe has a ferris wheel (below) and a Chinatown too.

And Osaka? Osakans are the most flamboyant among all Japanese – this city is the place to be for crazy fashion and Japanese funk. It’s small and compact, making it easy to explore. Osaka is also known as “the kitchen of Japan” – the food is more delicious and slightly cheaper than in Tokyo. With its proximity to all of the above, its attraction as a base from which to explore the rest couldn’t be clearer.

Osaka is also where you get okonomiyaki, a ‘pancake’ of cooked cabbage, egg, seafood/meat eaten with a sweet-salty sauce with bonito flakes.

You get a theme park – Universal Studios Japan – right in the city too; Tokyo Disneyland is actually in neighbouring Chiba prefecture.

Considering the above, how can anyone not consider visiting Kansai??