Living in Osaka Blog

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 find a site with details in English but couldn’t. So I went to the immigration office and picked up a leaflet and scanned it in. The PDF is below and it is about 1.5MB in size. (in Japanese, English, Chinese, Korean, Spanish and Portuguese) Tell me if there are any problems with opening it.

PDF of New Osaka Immigration Office

A couple of months back, all the park swings in Osaka were taken away because of safety issues.  There had been accidents involving the swings and although safety checks were promised they weren’t carried out.  After another accident and a public outcry, all the swings were taken away for checks.  Word at the time was that they wouldn’t be back until every one was checked for defects.  That was sometime in the summer, so does anyone have any idea when they are due to return?

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.

I made it down to the Midosuji Parade last Sunday and it was a lot of fun. Some kind crowd members made space for my wife and daughter to sit with them. From what I hear this year’s parade was slightly different in that a lot of local community groups took part, in the past it was just companies and official city organisations. I think a parade like this should really be more for the local people so I hope future parades will keep the same style. I enjoyed the parade, lots of colour, noise, variety and personalities (I don’t mean famous people). The stage area was a bit disappointing as the stages weren’t raised so when a small crowd surrounded a stage no-one else could see anything. Definitely could do with a bit more thought on that aspect. The “Gourmet Street” area was a bit of a joke, we almost passed though it without realising…

So my advice if you are thinking of going next year, is to arrive early and pack some light snacks and drinks. If they are keeping the same format, then watching the parade closer to the end point will let you get to the stage area quicker. And take lots of photos if you have the chance

Here are some photos I managed to take:

And here is the link the whole slideshow (37 photos) hosted on Flickr: Midosuji Parade Photos 2007

[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. ]

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 to improve your website in 30 mins using Information Architecture. Everyone’s welcome, there’s plenty of seats and some standing space too.

More details and a map here:

http://designmatters.to/futuremeetings/index.html

[Update: I've written a little about the whole presentation experience on my personal blog]

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 get a ticket to watch some of the events.

If you need directions on how to get to Nagai Stadium where most of the events are held then this is just the post for you.

The easiest way to get to Nagai Stadium is via the Midosuji subway line (Red). You can find an Osaka subway map in different languages here. If you are in Umeda then it is fairly straightforward apart from one thing. Some of the trains do not go as far as Nagai. Check to see that the train is going to Nakamozu, those trains will go to Nagai. If you get on a train whose final stop is Tennoji (a few stops before Nagai) it is no big deal as you just get off and wait for the next train.

The Nagai station is station number M26. When you arrive at the station, use exit 3 and you’ll be almost there. The stadium where most of the World Championship events will be held is in the middle of the big park (Nagai Park). The park is a nice place in itself with a botantical garden and a museum of natural history, both well worth checking out.

If you want to go by taxi then you can say

nagai koen onegaishimasu

to the driver. Be careful though, it can be very expensive to travel around by taxi. I asked a taxi driver and it is about 4,000-4,500 Yen from Umeda (yikes!). If you do go by taxi it isn’t the custom to tip in Japan.

The official site, where you can buy tickets, find out event timetables etc. is here: http://www.osaka2007.jp/index_e.html

Finally, before you come you can find out more about Osaka via this site or by picking up a guide or map. I can recommend this food guide (Osaka is famous for its food) and this Osaka map, though if you arrive early you probably can pick up a free map at the Tourist Information booths. If you don’t speak Japanese, this little Lonely Planet phrasebook will help you through many situations. I bought mine when I first arrived and it is all dog-eared now.

Enjoy your time here and if this post was helpful, please tell your friends and help digg it. Thanks

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.