Wednesday, May 18, 2011

What a Quake would Do to You (8)


Summer is coming to Tokyo...
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Waking up in the hotel in Nagoya, it is still early to meet with Irene for lunch, I put on my running gear and set out to explore the city. I ran straight to Nagoya castle, it is sunny and dry, perfect for jogging. Got back , showered, lunched and left for Osaka. Irene warned me that people in Osaka are very different from Tokyo. What she said was "Osaka people are somewhere between the self-controled Tokyo and rude China, um, they are very Taiwanese. They talk in Kansaiban which is different from Tokyo accent Japanese (um, I can understand a bit of Japanese by now, such as the public anouncement in train station or placing order in restaurants), that worries me a bit - what if I cannot order beer to the table?

Arriving in Osaka station, setting out to find my hotel for the next week, it was not too far out from the station but it took me a while to find (this is the time I regret to have the cheapest plan for my phone, otherwise I could have googlemapped my way around). Anyhow, checked into the artificially made mediterranean theme hotel Monteray, I went out again to find food and drink...

Some Tokyo friends are also in Osaka this weekend, fleeing from the radiation thread or waiting for the planes to leave for London or Hong Kong, we met up for partying through the night. A group of 12 plowing through bars and pubs in Namba area,I think we made a cross of shinsaibashi (心斎橋) about 100 times. Around 3am in the morning, I went home by taxi and my local Osaka friend even negotiate the fare with the taxi driver, cool, this is so Taiwanese.

My local Osaka friend is going to join me for the jog around Osaka castle the next morning, I was so tired (cannot function properly without 8 hour sleep) and couldn't sleep in. We jogged around the castle, and my friedn is so proud to be Osaka-er, very eager to show me around the town. We bid each other farewell then meet up again with the crow for dinner in the famous Kanidoraku - famout crab restaurant for dinner. More party and pub crawling ahead... Fleeing away from danger? I think I am walking into party over doze danger.

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