Adventures in Osaka

I've just got back from a fantastic weekend in Osaka. It was great to be in a big city for a change - since I moved to here from London I've missed the hustle and bustle of city life. I love all the nature in Asahi, but I'm afraid it can't really compete with Osaka for nightlife.

This weekend also saw my first experience of a Japanese capsule hotel. I've been dying to stay in a capsule hotel ever since I saw one on a TV documentary a few years ago, so I was pretty excited when we checked in on Friday night. I think they're such a great idea - they've got the ultra-low pricepoint of a youth hostel, but with a bit of added privacy and a personal TV thrown in. Another bonus is that, unlike most youth hostels, you can roll in at any time of the night, and can even expect to be served some food and drink. That's not to say they're without their downsides of course... For one thing there's no soundproofing, so you're forced to put up with the sounds of about twelve other men as you're trying to get to sleep, which isn't always pleasant. If you get a noisy neighbour, it can be downright hellish. It can get a bit stuffy too - sleeping in a box may be cheap and convenient, but well ventilated it ain't. Still, it was a good experience overall, and one I'd definitely do again. Though, having said that, if money wasn't an issue it would definitely be better to pay extra for a proper hotel.

Osaka was a great city - it had great shopping and some fantastic (as well as rather random) bars and clubs. Most of the bars we ventured into seemed to be absolutely tiny. The bars in Fukui prefecture are pretty small by British standards, but the ones in Osaka were literally the size of my living room. We went to a place called "Who's Who" on Friday night, and managed to clear out their entire supply of Corona in one round. We weren't even drinking that much - the fridge was just miniscule. The barman had to keep ringing a pub down the road for more beer.

Architecturally, Osaka is very much like most Japanese cities. In other words, hideous. As in Fukui, most buildings are made of pre-fabricated concrete, and seem to have been knocked together without so much as a thought for how they might look. There are plenty of exceptions (take a look at the Umeda Sky Building below for an example), but mostly Osaka is an ugly, grey, high-rise, urban sprawl. It's almost as if Japan has grown too fast, and everyone was in too much of a hurry making money to stop and say: "Hold on, look at what we're building here - this is hideous. If this building is going to be around for decades, shouldn't we make something that people will actually want to look at?".

However, despite its looks, Osaka was a brilliant and vibrant city - definitely worth a return trip.