Living in Osaka Blog

Bear in mind that I’m writing this on the morning of 20th May, the situation will change with regards to numbers.
There have been about 130 reported cases of swine flu in Japan.  In Japan it is referred to as 新型インフルエンザ which roughly translates to new form of flu.  There has been wide spread panic about [...]

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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 [...]

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There’s been a lot of hype and publicity about the Kobe IKEA store that opened in April. It definitely lives up to its hype, being massive, fairly good value and with a huge range. I’m eyeing a bean bag tray for my laptop.
Strangely, what hasn’t been publicised is that IKEA will be [...]

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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 [...]

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Only 5 more days until Christmas and you know what that means, right? It means that the Osaka Immigration Office (actually called the Osaka Regional Immigration Bureau) is moving. It is moving to the Nanko area, and the closest station will be Cosmosquare on the Chuo Subway Line. I tried to [...]

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[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 [...]

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I’m going to be giving a presentation to the Design Matters group on Tuesday 18th Sept. at the Apple Store in Shinsaibashi. That’s about a week away and I am already freaking out
The talk is about Information Architecture but don’t let that scare you. The title of the talk is How [...]

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The World Championships in Athletics will take place here in Osaka. Only another 7 days or so to go! If you are going to be coming to Osaka for the World Championships then I want to welcome you to our wonderful city. If you are living here then I hope you can [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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