Day 11: part 1 - Saturday morning

It seems that I have been quite tired the last couple of days. I don't know why this might be. Maybe it is because I have finally succumbed to jet lag. That would mean that for the first several days, I was riding some sort of high based on the novelty and excitement of being in Japan. It might also be that I have been pushing myself too much lately, with running from one place to another in order to feel like I am getting the most out of my trip. Maybe I wasn't getting as much sleep as I should have. Or it might be the heat and humidity of this place in this time of year. Maybe it's a combination of those things, or more, or something else entirely. I am disappointed because I feel that my research and writing at this point in the trip are beginning to suffer. I can't quite think of the right words to write, or reasonable thoughts to think.

It surprised me that I slept so much yesterday, and yet today I woke up tired. In fact, yesterday I slept until the afternoon, then went to see Dreamgirls, then came back to my hotel and slept until the next morning. I knew that I would have to travel today, and that there wasn't much that I could do before going to the train station to catch the train to Shizuoka, but still I felt like something was wrong, or not right, or I don't know what. Like I said, maybe I was just tired; I often feel like this when I am tired. In any case, after taking a shower and doing my laundry, I forced myself to take a walk around the neighborhood, and see what Shin-Imamiya was like.

Being in this new place for the first time on Wednesday, I thought it was great, and I noticed how many inexpensive hotels seemed to be in the area, and how well it seemed to cater to the hostel-traveller community. One reason this excited me was because even if I stayed in this hotel for a month's time, I would still pay less for the room than I currently pay for my apartment in New York City. It seemed like Japan and Osaka could be quite affordable!

But walking around this morning, I seemed to pay attention a bit closer to what I had only noticed out of the corner of my eye for the past few days. It seemed as though this neighborhood was devoid of women. Every now and again, I would see a woman riding her bike down through the street, but it seemed that it was about ninety percent men around here (not counting the western faces I saw and assumed to be tourists). And it wasn't just men from across the board who populated this area, but a very specific type of man, it seemed. They were mostly middle-aged, and very thin, and frail and tired looking with faces that the sun had made rough and leathered. When they walked, they were slow in their pace, and moved as though they had just finished a marathon. Maybe these men were coming home from work after laboring all night? If they weren't moving, then they were squatting on the sidewalk, reading the paper, or talking to a friend. Some were sleeping on the sidewalk, and more than a few were in wheel chairs, being pushed by another man. The thought occurred to me that, just as I had supposed the cheap rates at these hotels would make low monthly rentals for living, several of these men might have come to the same conclusion, and were living in the same hotels I was staying at. Indeed, I would often run into middle-aged, leathery faced Japanese men in the elevator of the hotel, making his way to the shower. Perhaps in between the Pachinko parlours I would see several of these men stumble out from, and whatever else they happened to do with their time, these might be their homes.

Day 10: part 2 - Dreamgirls

It felt odd that I slept so late today. Perhaps the ordeal of getting home the night before took a lot out of me. In any case, since I did wake up so late, going to either of the far out places of Sakaiminato or Wakayama seemed out of the question by now. My friend had left me the address of the theater, but not the nearest train station, so I had to figure that out for myself. To be honest, I didn't even know what show I was going to see.

As I made my way through Osaka, following the map that I hoped would lead me to the right place, it started to rain. This reminded me that the night before my friends had told me that a typhoon was expected to come to Japan this weekend. I was worried because this might affect my scheduled train trips, and accomodations. Anyways, that wasn't the problem ahead of me at this moment; right now I had to find this theater.

Although I had doubts that the map was certain, I ended up at Festival Hall, only a little bit wet. Since I didn't know what kind of show to expect, I was very surprised when I arrived at a large theater suited for Broadway-style shows. The show I was about to see was Dreamgirls. I was only familiar with this show as a movie that was released a few years ago, but I later learned that it was originally a Broadway musical in the 1980s. I was even more surprised with I found my seat. I was dead center, in the first box-seat in the theater. I felt like a VIP at this show!

Dreamgirls was enjoyable. It was about a musical group of black women that spanned the years from the 1960s to the 1970s. Although the plot itself didn't have much politics, there were a couple of elements that the director snuck in that really caught my eye, especially in how they used the American flag within the set design, turning it from red white and blue in one instance, to black with white stars to connote difference in meaing. In fact, the set design was rather minimal, with most of the job being done by large video screens that moved around the stage. I thought this was quite brilliant and economical, having moved the American cast and staff all the way to Japan, and the rich costumes stood out much flashier with minimal backgrounds.

Despite my complaint earlier in the trip regarding viewing theater, perhaps this was the cosmos telling me to open my mind a bit more, and pay attention to theater a bit more. I certainly learned a lot watching this show, and I hope to use some of the interesting ideas soon.

Day 10: part 1 - what to do on Friday?

I woke up quite late today. This was especially inconvenient because I wasn't sure what I would do today. Three options lay ahead of me.

The first was to go to Sakaiminato. It is a city in the country-side in the far west of Honshu, the main island of Japan. The reason that I wanted to go there was because there is a special museum to a favorite son of Sakaiminato, Mizuki Shigeru. A few people had discouraged me to go to Sakaiminato because of its distance. However, it is that very fact, that people were discouraging me from going, that made me want to go. That said, two things were working against me going here from the very beginning. The first is that the city is so remote and out of the way that the train ride to get there is quite long, and involves many transfers. It would have been four hours, and three transfers. The other thing that was working against this trip is that I had already gone to a museum exhibition of his work in Osaka the previous day. Having seen that exhibition, and since I am not especially interested in his work, it seemed that the trip to Sakaiminato just wasn't in the cards.

The other option that I wanted to explore today was going to Wakayama. One of my students is from Wakayama, and she was really trying to sell me on going there. In fact, after looking at websites and doing some research on Wakayama, it was a very beautiful place with several outstanding sites and features. However, while Wakayama City was only about an hour away, many of the beautiful features of Wakayama prefecture were quite far away, and really deserved more than a day trip to visit. Unfortunately, it did not seem like this was the right time to go to Wakayama, either.

The third option as to what to do today really came out of the blue. A couple of years ago, I worked with a stage director during a musical theater festival in New York. Like these things go, I connected with him on Facebook, but we never met face-to-face ever again. By chance, he posted on Facebook that his current show was having its premeire in Osaka this week. When I saw this, I quickly emailed him and noted what a coincidence this seems to be, and that I would love to stop by to see his show. He told me that he would be happy to have me, and that he would leave a ticket for me for the 2:00pm show on Friday.

Day 9: part 4 - getting home

It was getting quite late, and I was worried about getting home before the last train ran. They assured me that I would be fine, and that I would be able to catch my train. I was even more scared because I was drunk, and so I might not be able to transfer properly without getting lost, or stumbling on the tracks, or something else.

Once we got to where I was to transfer, my friend told me where to go, and to have a safe trip. Somehow it might have been her reassurance, or even my good luck from catching the last train a few nights ago while in Tokyo, but I didn't bother to look at my watch, so I didn't know what time it was. But when I did get to where I was to catch my train, I discovered that the last train had left the station. Ugh. I wasn't sure how to get home, and Japanese taxis are notoriously expensive after midnight. (One interpretation might be that they are opportunistically taking advantage of stupid people like me who were too drunk to catch the last train. I asked the station agent as best I could what direction I should walk in order to get to where I wanted. He reminded me that it was a far walk, but pointed in a general direction. I figured that I could just follow the train tracks, which were above ground, and as long as I went the right way, I would get to my hotel. So I started the walk.

The first thing that surprised me outside the train station was that many girls were coming up to me and uttering something I couldn't understand. I figure that they were prostitutes. Perhaps if I were more sober and in my right mind, I would have accepted their propositions, but I had a long walk ahead of me, so I decided against it.

After walking for about twenty minutes, I had already lost the train tracks, and had no idea where I was, or what direction I was heading. I didn't really feel like doing this anymore, so I hailed a taxi, and he took me to my hotel. I asked him what price he thought it would be, and it seemed reasonable enough. Taking a taxi instead of walking was probably the right choice from the beginning, anyway.

Day 9: part 3 - visiting new friends

I had an appointment to meet two people who agreed to alleviate my loneliness for at least one evening. They were friends of a friend who suggested that I meet these ladies in order to learn more about Osaka, or eat good Osaka food, or discuss prospects for my teaching career in Japan, or something else entirely. I wasn't quite sure.

While I was still in New York, I had called my friend, and asked her if she had any suggestions for what I should do while in Japan. I wasn't sure what she could offer, and I don't think she and any idea what to consider either. Perhaps I had put her on the spot and had forced her into an uncomfortable position. In any case, she suggested that I meet with her friends, who were also teachers and might be interested in some of the same things that I am. And so I would have to meet these friends tonight. I wasn't sure what I had gotten myself into, and I am sure they didn't know either. At least they outnumbered me, and if I was a bad or uninteresting guest, then at least they could talk amongst themselves.

It so happened that I enjoyed myself with my two new friends. We discussed many interesting things under the intoxication of alcohol and fried food called kushikatsu, which, apparently is an Osakan specialty. Basically they take anything edible under the sun, and fry it. This isn't terribly different from what is done at many county fairs across America. The key difference is that you dip everything in some soy based sauce.

Knowing that I am a teacher, they also gave me a few playful gifts, such as construction paper and scissors, a ball and string, and a party blow toy. A friend who could not make it that night gave me a gift of a pancake with bean filling. THis was supposed to be my breakfast the next morning. I felt grateful, but stupid. I had similar such gifts to give them that I had picked up in New York before coming to Japan. However, I completely forgot to get them out of my bag, and so I was unable to give them away. So I made sure to pay for the meal in exchange. After a wonderful evening, I was very happy to make some new friends.

Day 9: part 2 - Dotombori and Namba

After leaving the museum a bit disappointed that I couldn't get the most out of it because of my lack of Japanese language, I headed to Dotombori, a popular neighborhood in Osaka. Not planning for my trip very well, my friends whom I was scheduled to see later this evening told me this was a popular spot that I might want to check out.

Bascially, Dotombori is a shopping district with lots of stores and restaurants near a canal that runs through the neighborhood. The first thing that struck me is that along the canal, there were almost no people. However, perpendicular to the canal, it was so crowded, where people flocked through what was basically a long street mall. This struck me because in many places that I have traveled in the past, it is along the canal that people enjoy walking, and having a drink or a meal. Perhaps I am unique in that I enjoy the water, and being near the water, and seeing the water flow by as I walk, or relax, or eat, or whatever. However, along the water, it was nearly devoid of people, and instead all of the people thronged through the shopping mall, as well as another street that ran parallel to the canal with many more shops and restaurants. This reminded me of a few years ago when I was in San Diego accompanied by a few Japanese friends. I suggested that we go near the waterfront to eat dinner, but they were much more interested in going to the shopping mall, and eating there. (To be sure, they did already accompany me near the waterfront one day for lunch, so perhaps they were bored, and wanted to see something different: a shopping mall.)

After walking along the canal, I walked back through the street that was mostly restaurants, and ran parallel (about a block away) to the canal. It was here that I saw many of the crab restaurants that this neighborhood is famous for. Though I am not sure if these places are famous for their crab dishes, or the elaborate crab sculptures that serve as signage. (Because I am not much of a food conosseur, I foolishly did not try the crab.)

After walking through this street lined with restaurants, I then walked through the shopping promenade that ran perpendicular to the canal, where I saw many stores that were typical for a shopping mall. More interesting to me than the stores was simply the fact that there were so many. It was basically a pedestrian promenade that went for what must have been about a mile. A mile-long covered promenade with lined with fancy stores! Although I wasn't interested in shopping or buying anything, I could still appreciate this monument to commerce. At first I had thought about what great business opportunities might lie along the canal, but if everything in this neighborhood is within this shopping promenade, then it seems like it woudl be quite a gamble to open a shop or restaurant along the canal. (To be sure, there were a few along the canal, but only a few, and those that were open were not very crowded with customers.

After walking all around this Dotombori neighborhood, I decided to go back to the hotel and rest a bit before visiting my new friends later that evening.

Just to be clarify my own thoughts (and perhaps confuse the reader with information that is probably inaccurate), it seems that the neighborhood is called Namba, the street with the crab restaurants is called Dotombori, and the promenade shopping mall is called Sai-Bashi Suji.

Day 9: part 1 - GeGeGe no Kitaro

I woke up on Thursday morning not knowing what I would do today. All I knew is that later in the evening I had to meet some new friends. In fact, I had never met these people before, yet they were the whole reason that I decided to revisit Osaka. At this point, it seemed like a stupid decision, and I didn't feel like I was in a social mood, reasoning that I would probably never see these folks again. In any case, the plans were made, and I didn't feel like I could break them now. So I had to find some way to spend the time before the evening.

One thing that seemed like it would be fun was an exhibition of GeGeGe no Kintaro, a Japanese comic by Mizuki Shigeru. I had seen ads for it in the Osaka information booths, and so I decided to check it out. I was looking forward to making a significant part of my Japanese tour a trip to a remote sea-side town of Sakaiminato. The reason I wanted to go there was because they have a museum dedicated to hometown hero Mizuki Shigeru. Well, here I was in not-so-remote Osaka, with an opportunity to see a Mizuki exhibition.

However, this museum was in a more remote part of Osaka. I had to take a couple of trains to get there, and then walk a little ways. I think the charm of heading to this area is really the giant ferris wheel and the aquarium. Although of all sea life I love whales and jellyfish, I was fairly certain that they would not have any whales on display (at least not the big ones), so the prospect of seeing jellyfish did not justify the entrance fee for me. So I skipped the aquarium, and went to the museum next door to see the Mizuki exhibition.

Although I am interested in a specific work of Mizuki's that is related to the war, it seems that he is most famous for a children's comic called GeGeGe no Kintaro. I have not read it, but it is supposedly about a little boy who encounters Yokai, or monsters or ghouls, around his country-side home. I was very curious to explore the culture of the Yokai in Japan, and see what I could learn from the exhibition. However, unlike all the other museums I have been to in Japan so far, this exhibition had not English accompaniment at all. So, basically all I could see were his illustrations, along with bronze sculptures and amusement type figure that looked like they belonged in a county fair fun house, though these were much more skillfully sculpted.

Unfortunately, I did not catch the name of the museum, as it was not displayed anywhere in English, but from the ads I saw that featured the next exhibition, it seemed that it was a museum that specialized in illustration of one sort or another. Furthermore, having seen this exhibition, perhaps I would feel a bit better about skipping the arduous trip to Sakaiminato that I had scheduled in a coule of days.