Advertisement
Published: February 18th 2009
And so we have said our farewells to China and flown to Osaka. At first, it was not at all what I expected it to be like. We got the train from the airport and passed through what I assume were the suburbs. People seem to live in these small, neat doll houses, with colourfully painted shutters and beautiful little gardens. With the mountains as the backdrop to the east, the calm blue sea to the west, and a clear, sunny sky above, it was very picturesque. But, like I said, not what I was expecting. Then, as we got further into the city, the stereotypes became much more evident. High rise buildings loomed over us, businessmen (with compulsory smart suits and briefcases) crammed the streets, as well as flocks of giggling school girls, with hair gelled to perfection and their neat school uniforms made more colourful by the many pokemon and carebear accessories. It suddenly became very Japanese! Everyone is very formal and polite; the conductor on the train actually turned back and bowed to us all every time she left the carriage! But there are some annoying things, like the fact that shoes are strictly prohibited in the hostel,
so you have to take them off before you even step foot in the place, which is quite embarrassing if you are wearing odd socks with more hole than fabric! One other aspect that I'm not overly enthusiastic about is the many anime and computer game shops that are around. Mark, on the other hand...well...I would say that he was like a child in a toyshop, but that would be an understatement. "Wow, Ceri, look, that game isn't coming out for months at home! Oh my god, the second Tales of Symphonia! Oh, wow, that one isn't even coming out in England! And, look, Final Fantasy Dissidy, I have to have it! That's fantastic!" Etc etc etc... He goes to the Forbidden City and simply shrugs. He looks at the terracotta warriors and shows only the mildest enthusiasm. But you take him to an electronics store, and he runs wild, a huge grin on his face! I think, and this is just a hunch, that he's going to like this country!
Oh and just in case anyone has forgotten, and I'm sure that nobody ever would, but it's my birthday in 10 days!!!!!!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.063s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 8; qc: 48; dbt: 0.0356s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Deborah
non-member comment
Just wait . . .
. . . until Mark sees Akihabara! I think you should both write up that day - I suspect differing points of view LOL. One positive is that I found the really slow post home from Japan wasn't too pricey (think I paid £25 for a proper big box with some books as well as some lighter things), so if Mark does buy some stuff it's not the end of the world. Takes a couple of months to arrive, but you'll still be on the road anyway. Of course I haven't forgotten your birthday is coming up - the date has been programmed into my head over the past 4 years! What are you planning to do? Where will you be?