Close to the main shopping streets of Dotonbori, Shinsaibashi-suji and Ebisu-bashi, Osaka is the condensed, loud version of your Times Square billboard extravaganza, curiously merged with incredibly laid back pockets of cheerful, Kansai-ben speaking locals in the smaller areas around Namba, dotted by shops and chefs who stop to pose for photos.
Make sure you check out the little museum of the history of Dotonbori in a tiny alleyway - there are loads of beautiful decorations and little details to see, even if you can't read the words.
It's hard to describe streets like Ebisu-bashi and Dotonbori, which are the epicenters of shop assistants' high pitched 'いらっしゃいませ!' and decked out in store upon store of consumerism and loud advertising but yet carries a sort of casual playfulness that prevents you from taking it all too seriously; it's okay to be late for your dinner appointment, you were probably stopping for takoyaki advertised by a gigantic two-storey-building-large plastic octopus singing 'taaakoyaki' repeatedly to the tune of Händel's 'Hallelujah' chorus. The night is young.
And, really, the place needs to be visited when the sun is down and their neon-coloured replacements begin to shine
Or maybe we were just in tourist central.
Small note: The candid street photographer in me is still too shy to do a HONY and actually ask people to stop and pose and tell me their stories. I believe all street photos were taken lawfully. That being said, if you do have a problem with a specific photo, drop me a line and I will happily take it off within reason
(☞ﾟ∀ﾟ)☞ JAPAN 2013 MASTERPOST
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