Memories of Matsuko

The International House in Osaka will be screening a couple of Japanese movies with foreign language subtitles in February and March.

They are:

Memories of Matsuko (Kiraware Matsuko no isshô) to be shown on Friday 20th February at 6.30pm with English subtitles

Tora-san’s Runaway (Otoko wa tsurai yo: Boukyou hen) to be shown on Friday 20th March at 6.30pm with Spanish subtitles.

Tickets are 500Yen and you can contact the International House by phone on 06-6773-8182 or email johokikaku@ih-osaka.or.jp or visit their web site http://www.ih-osaka.or.jp/i.house/

Details of how to get there in English are here:

http://www.ih-osaka.or.jp/i.house/english/900/post-15.html

(The Spanish Map is actually in English too)

There’s going to be another street festival along the Midosuji Boulevard this Sunday (11th May). It will be between the Nagahoridori and Sennichimaedori. Roughly between Sogo and Namba if you are not familiar with the road names.

It’s from 2pm to 5pm (opening ceremony at 1.45pm close to the Sogo end) and there will be different theme areas. Starting at the Sogo end, the areas are Art, Fashion, Sports, Jazz and Dance. Highlights include appearances of Osaka Evessa at the Sports Area and the 3 Jazz stages. I do hope that they have made the stages raised after the viewing problems of the last time.

There’s also going to be a guest appearance of the popular comedy duo 藤崎マーケット best known for their La-La-La-Lai Taiso act.

Some other info, if it rains (which is likely) the event will still go ahead.   If you have a baby or toddler and need changing or feeding facilities Sogo’s 9F has a very good mother and baby area.  Finally I haven’t been able to find a web site with information in either English or Japanese!

Have fun if you go, and send us some photos!

As I mentioned in the comments in this post I was thinking of adding the web cams to the side bar if I ever found or received links to others.  Just yesterday I came across the one in the Expo Park so now I’ve added the list to the right side bar under the Osaka Photos links.

The web cams are best during the day time and the Takatsuki one is my favourite.  As always if there are any others (I’m sure there are more than 3), please leave us a comment.  Thanks!

As I mentioned in my previous post, Universal Studios Japan are running a special offer for their yearly passes (until 31st Jan). They are called the Gold Pass and the Platinum Pass. They let you get into the attraction park as many times as you like for a year but there are some exception dates for the gold pass. There are no exceptions for the Platinum Pass.

Here are the prices (regular prices are in square brackets)

• Gold Pass Adult: 11500 Yen [22000 Yen]
• Gold Pass Children: 8200 Yen [16000 Yen]
• Platinum Pass Adult: 17300 Yen [28000 Yen]
• Platinum Pass Children: 11500 Yen [20000 Yen]

Since USJ haven’t bothered to update their page on their English site, here are the days you can’t use the USJ Gold Pass in Japanese. You can only order online if you can understand Japanese, so the best way is probably to go there directly or to ask a friend who can to order for you.

There must be more than one but I haven’t found any others.  It is located at the end of DenDen Town and points to the area around the Tsutenkaku Tower. No, it won’t be any use if you are hoping to spot cute girls around Osaka but it is controllable and it is live.  You’ll need Java to see and control the web-cam.

Here’s the  official and original page (controls are in Japanese):

http://www.us-tec.com/live/index.html

and here is the same cam with the controls in English:

http://webcams.gajda.cz/asia/osaka/osaka.html

If you read Japanese then the original page has some information on the weather forecast as indicated by the colours displayed by the Tsutenkaku Tower.

If you know of any other web cams of the Osaka area please post a comment to tell us about it.

[If you're reading this on an archive page, you can find photos and a review of the Midosuji parade here]

This year’s Midosuji Parade will take place next Sunday (14th October) from 1pm to 5pm. It promises to be the spectacular show of colour, music and people as it is every year. But this year is a special year in that it is the 25th Midosuji Parade and it is celebrating the 70th anniversary of the completion of the Midosuji itself. You can find some photos of last year’s parade here. The International parade itself will have groups representing Thailand, Malaysia, Taiwan, Indonesia, Philippines, China, Russia, Eygpt and Boliva.

I’ve tried in vain to find the English version of the official site. I can only find last year’s one so here is the link to the Japanese site where you can find the route map. As far as I can tell the parade starts in front of the Osaka City Hall (closest subway station Yodoyabashi on the Midosuji line ) and ends at the intersection of the Midosuji and Nagahori-dori in Shinsaibashi. From there, there is a Matsuri area filled with more performers, events and fun stretching to the Sennichimae-dori past Namba.

I’ll be going if I can, if you spot me come and say hello.

[update: I got a copy of the Official Guide, my picks are the NPO Japan Whistling Association, Shiny Lemon Shower シャイニーレモンシャワー　(just because of their name) and Kinki University's Cheerleading Team. ]

One of the most spectacular fireworks festivals in Japan, the Yodogawa Festival (淀川花火大会) will take place this Saturday (4th August). It might not have as many fireworks as the PL fireworks festival but it has more variety and some special character fireworks. I’ve seen Doraemon and Hello Kitty ones.

I’ve been a number of times and would be going this time except I am attending a friend’s wedding in Hiroshima. I really recommend going, to enjoy the display and the whole Japanese festival atmosphere. All the usual suspects will be there including stalls selling things like yakitori (skewered chicken) , kakigori (shaved ice) and drinks. Also appearing will be this year’s latest fashion in yukatas.

It usually is totally crazily packed so if you’re not into crowds stay away from the main areas. My guess is that it will be even worse this year since it is a Saturday. You can still see the fireworks at certain locations in Umeda like the Sky Building but you miss the crowds/atmosphere.

The fireworks start at 7.50pm and last until about 8.40pm but you really have to get there at least an hour or two before.

Because the fireworks are on the river, you can view them on either side. For the side closer to Umeda, the best stations to get to the main viewing areas are JR Ebie and Noda Hanshin stations. For the opposite side, they are the Hankyu Juso and JR Tsukamoto stations. Follow the signs or crowds to get to the viewing areas. If you’re really stuck you can ask someone using

Sumimasen, yodogawa hanabi mitai, dochira desu ka?

Which is not perfect Japanese but should get you help. It will probably be a 20-30 minute walk from station to viewing area.

If you take any good photos send us some. Have fun!

The annual Tenjin Matsuri (Festival) centred around the Temmangu Shrine (天満宮)will take place on the Tuesday 24th July and Wednesday 25th July 2007.

It is one of the three main festivals in Japan. It has been taking place for over 1000 years. Wednesday is when the main events happen. On that day there will be both a land procession (陸渡御) and a boat procession (船渡御). The land procession begins at 4pm while the boat procession begins at 6pm. There will also be a fireworks display during the boat procession.

The closest stations are the Minamimorimachi Station, the JR Osaka Temmangu Station and the Temmabashi Stations. There should be directions to the festival from any of these stations.

Be warned that it will be very crowded and very hot. Please bring something to drink, and a fan (traditional Japanese uchiwas are good). It is also an ideal opportunity to wear your yukatas if you have one. The festival ends at around 10pm back at the shrine. Have fun!

Check out some great photos on Flickr taken in past years: Tenjin Matsuri Photos

Sorry for the delay… Here are the photos I took in February of the Osaka Evessa versus Niigata Albirex game. Including a couple with Matt Lottich. Hope you enjoy them!

You can find all the photos here or as a slideshow here

Evessa won their second championship in a row a few months back and I recommend any basketball fan to go and watch a couple of games. You’ll definitely enjoy it and will be amazed at the noise and participation of the crowd.

Everyone knows about the fascinating subject of ghost stations on the London Underground system.  Does anyone know if there are any ghost stations on the Osaka subway system or the connecting lines (like Hankyu, Kintetsu)?  And if so where and when were they shut?  The Osaka subway system is relatively young so maybe there aren’t or maybe there are one or two.  If you don’t know, do you know where we can find out?