This past weekend I was able to have my first bit of free time, during which I went on a walk around my neighborhood and surrounding area. I went out with the intention of being gone for about 15-20 minutes, my goal being to familiarize myself with the Aikawa neighborhood. But, because I took my camera and because it was a beautiful day, I wound up spending nearly three hours out. It was a good thing I had made myself this bento to come home to, because by the end I was pretty tuckered out and hungry.
 |
| my first self-prepared bento box |
My house is really close to the Yodogawa (the Yodo River, which is the main river that runs through Osaka and up through Kyoto and beyond), but I hadn't realized just how close it was until I stumbled upon it on my walk. I immediately decided I had to walk along it. Now that I bought myself a bike (after this walk), this has become my commute to classes as well, because there are so many amazing bike paths in this part of the city.
 |
| 淀川 |
I was happy to see some familiar looking birds wading in the shallows. These cranes or egrets (not sure which) are sure to bring me some comfort later in the semester when I'm feeling the culture shock a bit more. But for now, it was really nice to see that some wildlife still flourishes in the metropolitan area.
 |
| river wildlife |
When I think of Japan, I often think of a scene very much like this next picture. I think of the border where nature meets metropolis. Japan is, in this respect, turning out very much as I expected. There are bustling streets along quiet riverbeds and ringing commuter bike bells making music with singing crickets.
 |
| japanese moment |
On the banks of the river is a large aluminum-lined building with dozens of paintings placed all along its walls. The paintings are supposedly interpretations of the plant and animal life of the Yodogawa, and the entire artistic display so reminded me of something they would have back home in Arcata. Again, I'm sure that later on, things like this will be of great comfort to me, but as of now, I haven't yet experienced the woes of culture shock.
 |
| riverbank artwork |
 |
| happy frog |
Speaking of the Japanese 'harmony with nature,' if you will, I'm really happy to have captured this amazing moment when a passing cloud morphed into a mimic of the footbridge below. So far, everyday in Japan, there has been some moment when I've had to remark to myself, "Quel cadeau de l'existence!" and/or felt the need to recite Shehecheyanu (the Jewish prayer thanking God for enabling you to reach this occasion and to have this experience). I really hope that this amazing excitement doesn't wear off and that I can continue to treasure every little moment, even when things aren't so new.
 |
| footbridge footprint |
One thing I have to say I'm really thankful for, though, is just how friendly people in Osaka seem to be. While I was on this walk, people constantly said "konnichiwa" in passing and bowed as they walked past, but several people actually stopped to talk to me, including one old man as I was taking this picture. This old Japanese man holding 3 cameras (two really nice Nikon DSLRs and one Canon film camera) while riding on his bike slowed as he approached and asked if I spoke Japanese.
 |
| Osaka sky |
I told him I spoke a little so he stopped his bicycle, parked it on the side of the bridge, and hobbled over all hunchbacked. He then started talking to me about photography, most of which I didn't understand except for words here and there, and proceeded to instruct me to take this picture you see below. He told me something something grey bridge something something blue and grey clouds that I interpret to mean that the shot would highlight the similar color tones while magnifying the contrast between the industrial, monochromatic (but still beautifully-designed) bridge and the variation of the colors, shapes, and textures in the sky. When I took the shot and promptly showed it to him on the LCD screen on my camera, his smile multiplied tenfold. He pointed to the girl bicycling off in the distance and made a vertical hand motion from top to bottom of the screen and said that it was a very good photograph. I wholeheartedly agree that it's a great photo, but again it was more about the experience, and I'm just happy to have the photo to be able to tell you about it.
 |
| Osakan friendliness |
So I crossed the bridge and found myself in the neighborhood where my university (Osaka Gakuin) is, which is incidentally how I now know how to commute that way to class every morning. And I made my way back towards Aikawa along the opposite riverbank, and found this おてら or Buddhist Temple as afternoon drew to a close. I could only take a few pictures from the outside on this trip, but my housemates and I are going back this Saturday.
 |
| buddhist temple gate |
As I walked back home along the river, it started to drizzle as it had been on and off all day. As you all probably know, I love the rain, and was even happier to see a GIANT rainbow over the river. When I was little, my mom used to say that when it was raining and sunny out, foxes in the woods were getting married. And when I started taking Japanese, I found out that this legend originates in Japan, where every young child is told the same story. That made me really happy to know that it wasn't just me who thought that (because in America my friends growing up never knew what I was talking about). That's still all I can think about when I see a rainbow, though.
 |
| yodogawa rainbow |
 |
| "sunset rainbow happy forever" |
I came home just before sunset and relaxed with my housemates for the rest of the night. I have to say that it was really nice just being able to take a little while to breathe and recuperate after a busy orientation schedule and so many events that were planned for us CET students. Luckily, Sunday was also a pretty relaxing day, until the evening when we all felt rested enough to go into Osaka. We went to the Shinsaibashi and Dotombori areas. We first went to Amerika-mura (or American Village), which was basically a Japanified American city neighborhood, with lots of "American foods" like ice cream hot dogs (soft-serve in a bun) and stores with "American style clothing" like mickey-mouse boom-box fanny packs.
We then head over to the Dotombori area for dinner and shopping. Dotombori is technically one long street that runs along the Dotombori canal, but it's a huge tourist and shopping attraction that shows the flavor of Osaka in a very concentrated neighborhood.
 |
| venice meets the future |
 |
| dotombori canal |
We sampled some takoyaki (ball-shaped octopus snacks) from an Osaka street-vendor and went on our way shopping. At a 300-yen shop I got a totally awesome hello-kitty-esque headband that I'm sure you'll see in pictures yet to come.
 |
| dotombori |
 |
| osakan alley-way moments after the lanterns first illuminated |
As the city lit up and the sky lit down, it got even busier, which I didn't know would be possible. We explored the area a tiny bit as we shopped, saw the iconic Glico (maker of Pocky and much more) 300-meter running man all lit-up, and then headed into an izakaya (this one even more traditional than the one where we ate for the CET welcome dinner) and dined on tatami mats sitting at a low table. 2000 yen per person later and we were ready to head back to Aikawa.
 |
| dotomboribashi bridge (say that 5 times fast) |
Back in Aikawa, we topped off the wonderful weekend with fireworks on the riverbank behind our apartment. The sounds, smells, and warmth of the late summer air in Osaka made an excellent finale to our last evening before the "study" abroad actually began.
 |
| sparklers by the river |
No comments:
Post a Comment