Living in Osaka Blog

I’m sure that a quick search will find you this link but just in case, here is the English site of Osaka’s Public Transportation Bureau. Also available in Korean and Chinese too.
Lot’s of useful information including a pdf map of the subway system [UPDATE: I don't know since when but the pdf now does have [...]

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Before the Spring cherry blossom season there is the less famous plum blossoms. They are attractive in their own right and one of the best places to see them is at Osaka Castle. From now until the next couple of weeks is the best time to see them so if you have time, [...]

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Spotted in my local subway station

The multi-talented Ueto Aya warns everyone about the dangers of spyware. And you thought she was just a pretty face :p

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I noticed this new subway map yesterday on the way back from work. I am not sure when they were put up but it must have been the last couple of days. The thing that was most striking for me was the new kinks on the lines (I’ve highlighted them in yellow). [...]

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Sure you can use weather.com but I have found that the local forecasts are consistently more accurate than ones from overseas. So for those of you who can’t read enough Japanese to navigate through the Japanese sites, here is a direct link to the weather in Osaka from MSN Japan. It’s in Japanese [...]

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What’s the deal with bike parking in Osaka?
If you’re in Osaka you might have noticed how bicycles are parked everywhere regardless of whether it is a parking area or a “NO PARKING” area. What’s up with this?

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100 yen shops are your friend if you’re living in Osaka and on a budget (like me). One of the best chains is the Daikoku （ダイコク） chain, which is a drug store (chemist) and 100 yen shop combined. They are easy to spot as they have bright orange signs like this. The thing that is special about them

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What I like so much about Osaka is its people. In general they live up to their collective reputation of being loud but friendly. Osaka feels much more

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