Wow! I cannot tell you how excited I am to be here visiting Japan for the very first time in my life! It is a place that, for some reason, I never thought I would get to see in person. I have not done very much research; I want this trip to be as virgin as possible. To be able to form my own, unadulterated opinions about what I am seeing is what I want. Here are my first impressions of Osaka Japan.
So Quiet!
Oh my gosh, I was absolutely not expecting this aspect to the city. Let me explain. I am located in an area about 20 minutes walking from the heavy tourist zone. I walk these little streets, most without a sidewalk, every day.
The city has been so artfully constructed pertaining to traffic control. The largest volume of traffic has been lifted, about four to six stories, above the city floor. Most of these above ground traffic funnels, have high walls. What this has accomplished is two-fold.
One, there is now very little to no vehicular traffic in each individual neighbourhood. The only cars I see are taxis and small delivery trucks. Secondly, all the noise from regular city trafficโฆ.is gone! I can walk around, down a street, into an intersection, and not see or hear a single car! It feels unnatural! ๐ And I loooovvveeee it. ๐
Organized
From the moment I stepped from the plane at the airport, everything has seemed so organized, thought-out and carefully planned. For my anal and type A personality, this is miraculous! Down to the tiniest detail, things flow so smoothly and effortlessly here.
For example, taking the bus from the airport. Once you know your bus stop, everything is easy. See the associated number, go to that place outside. The ticked machine is right there, and only for that stop (so no lines and no confusion). Man takes suitcase and gives ticket. Hop on bus that is only going to the one single destination. No stressing about missing your stop. I could go on and on into more detail but you probably get the picture. Its all effortless and as stress free as possible. Some would say completely logical too. ๐
Lego Like
The buildings in my ward, remind me of Lego! Not in a bad way, but in the way that new Lego blocks fit together so perfectly and cleanly. The architecture here in my neighbourhood is mostly neutrals, browns and tans. Whether the building is brick, glass or metal, they all conform to a certain degree.
And they are absolute perfection in their linear design. Some might say boring, but I can see a level of artistry in this style. It just fits together and suits this place, this area.
Weather
It is freezing! I was not expecting it to be this frigid here. There was actual snow in the forecast for late one evening. Temps when I awake at 6am are 1-2 degrees celcius and about 4-5 when I hit the road at 8am. Brrrrrr! Also, much more overcast and rainy days than I anticipated. I feel like I’m back home in Canada, yuck.
Ok, Iโm off to go explore more of this massive city. I keep pinching myself, thinking Iโll wake up somewhere else, not in beautiful and amazing Japan!
