One of my favorite things about being here in Osaka is that there is never any shortage of things to do, especially on the weekends. If you hop on a train from Hirakata station, you can easily travel to Hirakata Amusement Park, Osaka Castle, major shopping districts such as Shinsaibashi, Kuzuha Mall, and much more. This past week has been extremely busy between school and hanging out with friends, as well as getting ready for Halloween.
Halloween itself is not very popular in Japan, and any popularity it does have is either boosted by the small foreign population here in Osaka or is an entirely commercial affair. At Kansai Gaidai, Halloween is celebrated by almost everyone with a large school festival, complete with costume contests, dancing, food stalls, and the like. It’s also popular for the nightlife here in Osaka, with many clubs giving women free or discounted entry so long as they have costumes, decorations all over the walls and ceiling, staff in costume, and seasonal drinks.
For anyone who has ever lived with a roommate before, you’ll be familiar with the fact that having a good roommate can completely change your experience. I couldn’t have asked for a better roommate this semester, and thanks to her (I won’t post her name) I’ve learned so much more about Europe/Germany than I ever knew before. Normally, our schedules are completely different, so we don’t get to spend much time together. These past two days have been holidays from school, however, so we’ve managed to spend both of them together, with plans to spend the rest of the weekend together as well.
Thursday afternoon we made our way to Shinsaibashi, one of the most recognizable spots in Japan. Many people might recognize Shinsaibashi from the Glico Man Billboard, pictured below.
Not far from this area is one of the few Hard Rock Cafe’s in Japan. My roommate, having heard about it, was determined to go. We browsed in shops along the way as we went, occasionally finding gems like this:
After about two or three hours of getting lost, we finally managed to get the correct directions from the wonderful people at Lawson. Trust me when I say that if you ever get lost, just look for a conbini.
We made it! Both of us had begun to doubt whether or not this place actually existed by the time we got there, so seeing the Hard Rock logo was like the light at the end of a long, concrete tunnel. Going inside and sitting down, I was surprised to find this little piece of home at our table:
I wouldn’t go so far as to say I got homesick, and maybe it was just the flood of relief of finally having found the Hard Rock after a long day, but I definitely felt nostalgic for a moment or two.
Waking up early the next morning, my roommate and I set off for Nara Prefecture, a train ride totaling about an hour and a half total, where we planned on seeing something we never imagined we’d be going to see: an official world heritage site, home of the oldest wooden buildings on earth, back when Nara was the capital of Japan (read: a long long long long time ago). The Horyuji Temple, a Buddhist Temple housing several Japanese National Treasures and believed to be about 1400 years old. To put that in perspective, that’s about as old as the Muslim Calendar, taking place six years before Mohammad begins preaching in Mecca. Unfortunately, no pictures can be taken at this temple, so I’ll just have to urge you all to see it for yourselves! It was amazingly beautiful and unlike any other temple I’ve been to.
It’s late here so I’ll end this post here, but I’ll be sure to keep taking photos for next month!