I’m on the Shinkansen, heading back to Tokyo from Kyoto, listening to Chilean vocal ensemble Coral Rojo and reflecting on the last 2 weeks.
This trip was my feeble attempt to recreate my days wandering the earth and following the voice in my heart each day wherever it led me.
Somehow I both utterly failed and completely succeeded.
As mentioned previously, there was too much to do and too little time and so acting as a digital nomad was out of the question. To succeed at that would require a longer trip with lower stakes.
If there is one take away from the trip it’s that I love Kansai and want to spend more time here. Osaka for the people and Kyoto for the place itself, and both because my personality and way of navigating them seems to bring out the best they have to offer.
If there is another take away, it’s that I truly don’t travel (or live) like most other people.
Instead of a schedule I keep a checklist and try to check off the most important points as soon as possible then take my time with the rest, not stressing if I miss the lower half of the list.
I try to figure out how I can stay for the longest time possible given my circumstance. I’m free to come during the off season so I do because it’s way cheaper. I stay in areas close enough to where I want to go but it’s important for me to be in a place where I have space to breathe.
A lot of people warned Kyoto would be hot as hell in August. I didn’t let that stop me because the hotel had air conditioning and my plan was to go out for a short time every morning or afternoon then for longer once the sun came down.
When you hear “common sense”, remember that you need better sense than that if your goals are not common.
We wanted to meet friends after they finished work and go to events, cafes and community spaces. It’s different from the climbing countless steps and waiting on line at tourist spots. Their packed schedules force them to consider things we don’t have to consider.
This time I wanted to stay in Osaka but I noticed that due to the Expo and to the fact that Kyoto is more of a walking city, this summer had some very very cheap accommodations in Kyoto. Not only that, for a third of the price, we got double the space!
Osaka is only an hour away anyway and a $4 train ticket, so we went 3 times.
Buses are very convenient in Kyoto and Taxis cheaper than Tokyo because smaller and more centralized, so we just wanted to be near our friends and close enough to the train to Osaka.
Most people would probably complain that there wasn’t much around where we stayed but it I knew that anything near Kyoto University would have something to do.
The streets looked empty compared to the popular areas, but Kyoto shops aren’t always on one shopping street. While the busy areas are more centralized, the shopping in other areas is not. Every 6 or 7 buildings is a shop. So a simple google maps search and i found a lot of restaurants and shops and galleries that were worth checking out.
The guides recommend areas with much more going on, but quantity is definitely not quality. Plus we were only 10 minutes by bus or 5 minutes by taxi to the busy area. Saving 10 minutes didn’t seem worth it to me for the room being twice the size, the quiet, the trees and river nearby.
When in Osaka, I went straight to the “slums”. As you probably know Japan is a very safe country so even a slum area (if you can even call it that) is not extremely dangerous. Although I was approached by some very shady looking macho men with tattoos (you probably know who I am talking about), they just asked me to offer incense at a shrine and eat some watermelon, free of charge!
I went to the slums to find a particular community space that I had heard of years ago, but also because I know artists and relaxed local business tend to be attracted to areas with cheap rent.
I spent most of the day at the community space talking to people who work for the NGO that runs it and making friends with guests at the nearby hostels.
On my way back I went to check out a cafe one of them recommended and though it looked closed, there were people sitting there. I almost gave up but my intuition told me to say hi, so i opened the door and asked if they were closed.
He apoligized and said it was to put up posters for a music festival. I asked if he wanted help and he said sure. In Tokyo this wouldn’t happen. They’d think too much about cause you trouble and creating some kind of unspoken debt but Osaka is more chill, and so he said sure.
We went to the street corner and I helped them remove the very stubborn plastic covering on the tape so we could put up a bunch of posters.
After we were done I went back to his shop and he made me an ice coffee and we talked for 2 hours while his daughter did her homework.
I’ve lived in Tokyo for almost 10 years total and this kind of interaction happens once every 3 years at best but in Osaka it happens almost every single time.
I don’t think this kind of thing happens to everyone. My personality seems to fit Osaka like a glove. I’m very aware of my surroundings and take hints well, and I try my best to speak the local language, not only with words but with the flavor and way people interact. Also Osaka is a mildly sarcastic place and I like mild sarcasm much more than i like heavy sarcasm and no sarcasm.
The first time I came to Osaka I teased the hostel owner for coming to her workplace drunk when I requested after hour check in. We ended up drinking together. I don’t think that situation would ever happen in Tokyo and the same joke definetly would have landed differently.
This is why I love Osaka.
People in Tokyo always say Osaka is full of jokesters but I don’t think this is accurate. I just think they are more personable and try to enjoy their interactions with strangers more so it makes it a lot easier to make friends.
I could go on and and on about this trip and how much i love the people of Osaka but I think I will end it here so i can collect my thoughts for another post that is more focused!
EDIT: And by request, tomorrow will be a continuation focused on photos! I gotta collect a few from various devices.
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