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Most of the attractions around the Osakako area including the Kaiyukan Aquarium and the Ferris Wheel will be closed this Wednesday (27th June 2007). The Suntory Museum will remain open.
→ No CommentsTags: news & events
There’s going to be an informal meet-up of members (non-members welcome too) of the Osaka Flickr group this Saturday (16th June). The plan is to meet up at an photo exhibition of Brad Crawford, one of the members of the group. More details here:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/osaka/discuss/72157600227522155/
The place where the exhibition will be held is Slice’s Cafe in Shinsaibashi (page has map). Some of us will meet at 6pm while others will drop by during the day and later at night.
I’m really looking forward to seeing other fellow photographers there. 
→ No CommentsTags: photos · fun · news & events
Found this reading my friend Daniel’s blog. It’s a B2 sized full colour shopping map of the underground area in Umeda. If you know about the area, you’ll know that there is a labyrinth of shops and malls down there. There are some gems of shops, and it is perfect for shopping during the rainy season 
Daniel’s company Mojoworks art-directed and produced the map.
Unfortunately, the map is only available to guests staying in the major hotels in Umeda. If you’re one of the lucky ones, don’t forget to ask.
→ 3 CommentsTags: map · shopping
It’s always sad to see someone leave Osaka, I have so many friends that have left after 2-3 years. It is also a real pain in the butt for them to get rid of their stuff. So I’ve been thinking of adding a new section to the site for everyone to advertise their sayonara sales. That way people leaving Osaka can get rid of their stuff and current residents and newcomers can pick up stuff that they need cheaply.
There are still a few details to sort out but I am thinking that if the seller creates a web page in which the items to be sold, (pictures, prices, other details) are displayed then I will just link to the page free of charge. If the seller wants a page to be made up I can do so for 500Yen. They just need to send me photos and details. The money will be used for hosting charges of this site.
Details required would be name, rough location in Osaka, contact details and end of sale date (has to be less than 3 months).
What do you guys and gals think of the idea?
→ 1 CommentTags: shopping · general · first-time
Summer has officially started here in Japan so you’ll see a lot of beer gardens and stand-up beer stalls springing up around Osaka. I love the beer stalls, which can be found in station areas like the Hankyu Department Store area.
It has almost nothing to do with Osaka but what the heck, vote for your favourite beer (or happoshu) in the comments. I’ll start things off.
→ 6 CommentsTags: fun
I’ve added a couple of links to the sidebar, quite a few of you recommended An Englishman in Osaka as a funny read.
I’m still looking for more Osaka related blogs or Flickr photo-sets so keep on sending suggestions in.
→ 3 CommentsTags: general
The Hyatt Regency Osaka is a 5 star hotel but unlike most of Osaka’s 5 star hotels it is not located in Umeda. It is located to the west of the city, in the port area (Nanko). It makes for a more relaxed environment but of course it is less convenient. It is however very convenient for exhibition visitors or exhibitors since Intex, the main exhibition complex in Osaka, is literally right on the door-step.
To get to the Hyatt Regency Osaka you take the Chuo Subway line (Dark Green) until the Cosmosquare station and then change to the Nanko Port Town aka New Tram line (Light Blue) without exiting the station. The station to get off is Nakafuto P11. There will be directions at the station to the hotel or Intex.
Here’s a google map if you need it:
→ 3 CommentsTags: whereis · map
I’ve been neglecting the link list down the side of this blog for too long. I need to show it a little love and add some good links.
Do you know of any good sites or blogs on Osaka that I can add to the link list? Or do you have a blog that you want me to add a link to? If so, just leave a comment below with the site address.
→ 5 CommentsTags: general
When I first came to Osaka the first thing I found out was where to find English books. Most book even very big ones only sold Japanese books and maybe the odd imported US magazine (Cosmo, anyone?).
There are two bookstores I recommend, one is Junkudo and one is Kinokuniya. Kinokuniya is the shop that is beside the recommended meeting point Big Man while Junkudo is in Dojima in a big building called Avanza.
Of the two, Junkudo has a better range of books especially design and IT-related books, and is definitely more relaxed. You can take a book and sit in the book reading areas and skim through books. Kinokuniya is convenient (meeting point). Price-wise they are about the same, which means books are a little more expensive than I’m used to.
Because Junkudo might be a little hard to find by foot, I’ll add a map below:
→ 4 CommentsTags: whereis · map · shopping
If you are looking for a Softbank shop with staff that speaks English I heartily recommend the one in Shinsaibashi, Ebisubashi (see below for link). I went there after my mobile bill went a bit too high and asked for advice. I was pleasantly surprised that they had staff members who speak English (Arabic and sign-language too). Not only that but the staff member in question was knowledgeable, sincere and helpful. In the end, I managed to shave about 5,000 Yen off my monthly bill.
Ask for Ahmed and tell him that Ian recommended you. And yeah, if you are looking for phones with English predictive text input he can tell you which models have them. They do have a web site but it is all in Japanese which is disappointing. I’ll include the link because there is a map and contact details which might be useful even for non-Japanese speakers.
[Update] Ahmed’s moved to the Namba Ebisubashi branch. Although the Shinsaibashi branch may have English speakers I’ve had my fair share of problems with some Japanese staff. Mainly they don’t explain everything, just things they think you need to know. And another thing, they have an annoying habit of asking for my Alien Registration Card info when I am waiting in line. What’s that all about??
→ 7 CommentsTags: shopping · first-time