Bladerunner, Amerika-Mura, etc

One of the advantages of travelling alone is that when I want to stop and have a rest I can, if I want a drink, or some food or need to take a leak, I change my plans go and do as necessary. The other thing is that when I get lost, I've only got one person to blame. And I tell you, when I get home I'm going to find that person and kick the crap out of them for getting me lost all the time.

Did some wandering yesterday. Went to the Sony showrooms and played with some latest stuff. Didn't really amaze me, except they were selling things from around the world. I picked up some Tiny Teddies, and could have got all 4 different types of Tim Tams. They wen't too expensive either. But generally the tech theme was broadband wireless broadcasting. You have your digital sound system, or TV and it picks up broadcasts by Bluetooth technology ... etc, etc. I didn't find anything I thought was really cool ... except for the GSP USB device, with software that tells you where you are, where to go and all that.

Dotomobori, which has huge neon adverts, and lots of resturants and so on, was the clostest I've got to a Bladerunner environment. I didn't really get that feel in Tokyo because I didn't go at night time. Part of stuffing Tokyo up. But this was really good last night, lots of people, lots of lights. Just needed the light, constant drizzle and Harrison Ford, and it would have been perfect.

I also went to a place called Amerika-Mura, where all the kids hang out. Mostly fashion victims and all, but it was pretty cool. Lots of nightclubs and shops selling clubbing gear. Bought a t-shirt, at great expense (and that was one on cheap sale.) But I liked it. I can't think of anywhere in Sydney that matches this place. If it was Kings Cross I would have been feeling really threatened, but over here I've not been anywhere in Osaka that really freaks me out.

But I should say, I did get lost again. And yesterday was a particulary good example of why I'm dangerous with a map. From where I started, I had the map upside down. Actually no. To begin with I got off at the wrong subway station and didn't realise. So I got lost getting to the Sony Building. But once I did that, I was feeling confident that I had it right. Anyway, set off for Amerika-Mura. About 1/2 hour later I knew I wat lost. I've found Osaka people to be the most friendly and helpful. Except the first set of directions got me completely more utterly lost. After a while, and getting more directions I found Amerika-Mura (maybe, and hour later.) The most embarrasing part, it was about 100 metres from where I had set out from, and I had my map upside down. If I had walked the other way, everything would have been fine. I like walking, just not this much.

The oddest part was meeting an American guy Patrick, selling digeridoos, to Japanese people, in Osaka, in a place called Amerika-Mura. Go figure.

But, I'm getting closer to understanding the homeless situation here. In the park around Osaka Castle, there's all these blue tarp tents for the homeless. Patrick was saying sometimes they were high paid Salarymen, who when they lost their job would give everything to their wife and kids, and go and live in shame, unable to get another job.

But today there's this kids festival in the park near these tents, which is just across from where I am now in a place called Osaka Business Park where quite a few hightech compaines are. The irony is compelling.

Also in the park, during the afternoon the local Osaka Rock, Pop and Goth groups come out and strut their stuff. There were probably about 20 bands all up, with different sets of groupies. No one really famous that I could tell, just the local groups. It would have been a buzz to come across someone internationally famous just having a jam, but alas no. As far as people watching went, the Goths were much better here then in Amerika-Mura, and the bands look pretty cool. As I said in Tokyo, everyone here looks cool, no matter what they look like. Thankfully because I'm a Gaijin (Westerner) and have my stupid hair colours, I think I look a bit scary to some of them, so I don't usually feel threatened. But the atmosphere for this was really relaxed if you wanted it to be like that.

I think I want to be a Japanese Pop star. I don't think it would be too hard.

More Osaka

Had a chance to mellow out today. First things first, note to self: Read Lonely Planet FIRST and check map before finding destination. Yes folks, I took the long way getting somewhere today, and walked for about an hour to get to the Sky Garden Observation Tower, rather than take the shorter, underground pedestrian tunnel.

Oh, postcards are away. I sent all but one today, and I now have the final address (you won't know who you are, so don't worry), so it'll probably be about 10 days I think before they arrive. That of course is a complete guess based on postal mail I used to receive from someone in Germany about 15 years ago. Maybe it's a bit quicker now.

Anyway, once I got to the top of the Sky Garden Observation Deck thingy, it was pretty good. Today was really clear, except for the polution, as is to be expected. One of the information pamphlets put out by JNTO comments about how much of Osaka has been rebuilt recently. It neglected to say because it had been bombed flat by the Americans during WWII. Being that high, with a view over everything gives one the sensation of the imporantance of it all. A sort of spiritual connection between you and everything around you. A concept of being a hovering spirit over the land. With all the Temples and Shrines I've been visiting, a new perspective on things religious is starting to pop into my little head. Oddly enough.

Over here when you pay for something, they usually give you the change on a small plate, usually plastic. In the cafe in the Sky Garden Observation Deck (about 150M above splat level) the dish they had for returning the money was this odd metal one. Upon closer inspection it had the words "Give us this day our daily bread" with a bread motif in the middle.

Am about 1/2 way through Hi Fidelity. Except that it's in London, I think the movie version of this was pretty close to the original. I should of course put in some witty comments about the nature of the book and my own personal state in life, some deep reflection on how similar and different it is, and of course a complete breakdown TOP 5 list of my most painful breakups. But I won't. (Not that I couldn't think of 5 painful breakups, I'm sure I've had at least 5 relationships. Maybe. Definitely.) Maybe I'll do a TOP 5 list soon of something. Maybe. Definitely.

But I did go into a disgustingly huge bookshop today called Kinokuniya. So big that the English book section was more than a paltry few shelves of books but complete sections. They even had other non-Japanese books as well. Harry Potter in German anyone? Anyway, I bought "The Prodestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism." Now you may ask yourself (not to quote an old Talking Heads song, but I am reading Hi Fidelity,) why they hell would I buy a book like that, when I hate working so much. That's a very good question. Because I've been looking at the Japanese structure of work, that nature of why people work in relation to the needs and demands placed on them and I have no idea why we or they do it. Yes, we need money to pay the bills and have all the nice things that we really, really (don't) need. But the Japanese don't have a Proddy bone in them, they're all Shinto or Buddhist, or nothing really. But they have this approach to work, which I think is exemplified by the security guards who stand outside parking lots, with a red lightsaber type of torch (they are actually, really cool looking, the torch that is,) and direct cars coming in, direct them going out and do it with a level of professionalism, including a formal bow on the way out that makes Australians look like a complete set of slobs. I've seen it with teams of people who put petrol in cars. One person to direct the car into the filling area. One to put the pertrol in, and another to guide it out, and let the car know when it's safe to enter the traffic flow. Now the guy who put the petrol in, is giving a formal bow to the car as it leaves. This is really, really ... well really something. When the younger generation of Japanese grow up, with the infusion of American values and ideas, this society is going to crumble because these ideals and values may seem to become outdated. The entire Japanese formality system will crumble.

Anyway, will be visiting Kyoto and Nara again next week to see the things I missed. And also the Osama Tezuka Manga museum is very, very high on my agenda. I'm sure after that, you'll hear about it, constantly.

Must eat.

Nara, Osaka ... it's all just a blur

Hello all. It's been a few days since I last updated the diary/blog/journal/ramblings. I didn't end up dying from a fire in the place I was staying in, in Kyoto. They had lots of signs up saying things like "Beware of Fire Hazards" next to fire extingishers with years of dust on them. The one place you could smoke, in the dining room was so smoke filled my phlegmy throat didn't get any better. It was the cheapest place I staying in, but I'm glad I left in the end.

Went and had a night in Nara in a real Ryokan. Very comfortable place. Large room (probably the largest I've seen,) really confortable Futon (for a change) and a private bathroom, which although small wasn't like the space shuttle ones I've had so far. Shame it was so expensive, but I think it was worth it.

Nara was a lot better than Kyoto. I went and saw most of the sights. The big, big, huge Buddhist temple and hall was swamped by school kids. It was like there was a machine that excreted these kids with about 4 variations of school uniforms, pushed them through the gate with identical tour guides carrying a microphone, flag and speaker. It was actually quite fun really. There are deer that wander around pestering people for food, and you can buy deer biscuits for 150yen. There was also a carp pond where food for them was 100yen. I fed the carp, they were big suckers. Make a tasty meal, but they're probably involved somehow as religious icons, and so eating them would a really, really bad thing.

So now I'm in Osaka. I discovered the Japan Rail Passes I bought are next to useless. The area they cover is so small, and the Australian Dollar value was so much, and they don't allow Shinkansen use, that unless I spend all day on the train (which I might do for a day,) they aren't worth it. The other rail pass I have for Kyushu (which is 7 days,) should be okay, but I don't think they have Shinkansen down there, so I miss out big time. Must come back one day with a 7 day pass, and just go by Shinkansen up and down the country every day, for 7 days.

I've finished reading Catcher in the Rye. I picked up a lot more this time (compared to before when I was 15 and forced to read it in High School.) Holden Caufield is seaching for meaning in his life, and is surrounded by what he calls "phonies." But the trouble is, almost everyone is a phony. Which makes it very hard for him to understand what is important, and what he wants to do. He'll probably find what he wants, but won't know it. Then leave it behind, and sometime later realise the mistake. Considering he's only 16 or so, he's got a lot of living to do. His story is one of constant travel, he never stops, never takes time to really sit and stop.

It also means I've only got High Fidelity and the Kafka book left to read and 5 weeks to go. Might have to think about buying another one or two over here. Books aren't that expensive, or I might re-read No Logo.

My Japanese is still going okay. Every now and then I'll come across something that I really like. Take for example street names. A lot of smaller towns have a street outside the train station: "Eki-mae dori". Eki = station, Mae = in front of, doori = street. So, it's the street in front of the station. The one I like better is for a runny nose: "hana-mizu ga demasu", hana = nose, mizu = water and demasu = to exit. So it's "My nose water is exiting." Just makes it sound so much better than "I have a runny nose."

Osaka is a real commercial city. It has the electronics section called Den-Den town, trendy Amerika park where the kids/fasion victims hang out. It has a castle, and the park around the castle. In the park there are lots, and lots of homeless people living in blue tarp tents. It's the first place I've seen homeless people on this scale, and the first time I've seen graffti.

I should probably post more, but I've been quite sick with this throat, and haven't done much on the internal reflecting, wandering, just thinking things. I didn't really like Kyoto. It was the first place I didn't feel safe in Japan. It also rained when I was doing the sight seening things, which meant all the picture perfect sceens you'll be seeing on the post cards and books didn't happen for me. Kyoto was like Tokyo (and they are anagrams of each other, wow.) But this time I made sure there was only a few things I really, really wanted to see. And the rain didn't help, nor being sick or staying in crappy accommodation. So for me, Kyoto sucked, and being in Nara for only a night meant I had to keep moving as well. And having to go from Nara to Osaka, tramping around the Kyoto station tring to find the right JR Office (of 5) that would accept my JR Pass, only to discover it was usless, and then travel to Osaka ... walk for ages to get to the Youth Hostel ... so I've not had the chance to stop for a while. Which I can do now, so I might just go and do that.

Oh, and I've got postcards written and will be sending most of them today. If you want a postcard, or "e-hagaki kado," send me your address. I've already got quite a few written, and yes, they are personally created for each person/couple. These aren't like Christmas cards with the same message for each of you ... oh, maybe I wasn't meant to say that ... but it'll be a Kyoto card, probably sent from Osaka or Himeji.