osaka: where my brain got as flat as the city
so i’m sitting here trying to piece together this osaka trip and honestly my brain feels like it’s been through a sushi rollercoaster. i just checked and it’s 10.38°C with a feels-like of 8.83°C, hope you like that kind of thing. humidity’s at 52% which is… fine? whatever.
the city’s flat like my mood today - 225 sq km of nothing but… well, mostly nothing except concrete and neon. surrounded by mountains though? sure. rokkos up north, ikoma east, izumi south. feels like they’re trapping me here. someone told me that osaka castle is impressive but honestly all i saw was a big building and some pigeons.
if you get bored, kyoto, nara, and kobe are just a short drive away. which is good because i’m already bored. kyoto’s northeast, nara southeast, kobe west about 30km. trains are fast but man, the population density here is insane - over 4,600 per km²? no wonder i keep elbowing strangers on the subway.
food? oh boy. they call osaka japan’s kitchen. tried takoyaki - those octopus balls are basically fried dough with a face staring back at you. okonomiyaki’s just pancake with stuff on top. dotonbori’s loud and smells like oil. someone told me that the kushikatsu is life-changing but all i got was stomach ache. maybe i’m missing something.
history stuff: it’s been around since like 7000 BCE? some plateau settlement thing. modern city since 1889. expanded from 15 to 222 km². big whoop. notable people? kawabata yasunari wrote novels. leo esaki did science stuff. naomi osaka hits tennis balls. no one famous here clearly.
culture? locals are loud. they have this kansai dialect that sounds like they’re complaining constantly. 2.7 million in the city alone. 19-20 million in the metro? that’s more than my hometown’s population times ten. mix of temples and skyscrapers - ancient stuff next to neon signs. feels like two cities glued together with sticky rice.
things to know: earthquakes are a thing. winters are dry and cold. summers are humid and hell. public transport? crowded. english? limited. if you’re coming, bring patience and antacids. oh and hope you like that 10.38°C weather because that’s what you’re getting.
that’s about it. my brain’s as tired as my feet. peace out.
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- https://topiclo.com/post/the-global-trade-nightmare-nobody-talks-about
- https://topiclo.com/post/kumasi-its-a-lot-honestly
- https://topiclo.com/post/morelia-so-much-to-grind-with