I never would have thought I’d end up in Osaka for my first ever visit to Japan. Tokyo was the only city I had really been familiar with through my love for the countless video games and anime I’ve consumed tracing all the way back to when I first saved up my change to buy the translucent purple gameboy color and Pokemon Red.

When the opportunity arose to finally make it to Japan I was ecstatic even though at the end of the day job related. Despite traveling two days (military flight) and the 13 hour time difference, I was more than ready to explore and shoot. The first store I visited was Seven & I Holdings which is the Japan version of 7-Eleven here in America. I want to emphasize the superiority of Seven & I Holdings. The food is elite, affordable, and filling. Onigiri ( rice balls filled with meat or fish) might be the best snack on the planet. Chicken on a stick (elite). All of the food in Seven & I Holdings is food you’d find in restaurants but for the fraction of the price, but still quality. Also, Seven & I Holdings sells manga in the store. I took advantage of this and purchased volume 1 of My Hero Academia as my personal souvenir for the trip.

I walked around a lot with my Leica M6 and iPhone mostly for photos this trip. I came across very friendly people, the cleanest and quietest streets, and lovely sights. If you’d like to validate how friendly the Japanese people are, I lost my wallet twice in public and recovered it each time. I’ve heard multiple times the Japanese have very strong morals and values. They were certified in those two instances. Even a random bus driver offered me directions cause he thought I was lost (I probably was). It was actually relatively easy to get around Osaka, with alternate English signs posted nearly everywhere there was a Japanese one.

Visiting Orange Street was reminiscent of SoHo New York. The area contains a lot of high-end fashion / streetwear stores found you may or may not be familiar with such as Supreme, Carhartt WIP, BAPE, Champion, and BBC. I believe I was there on a weekday but teens and their parents were still posting by each of their favorite stores posing for photos while they waited on their favorite store to open. There’s a big emphasis on fashion out there. My only gripe about my visit was when I went to buy my first BAPE tee, it was hard to find any size bigger than a medium.

Other observations I made about Osaka and its people include:

Umbrellas are a staple piece of their wardrobe.
Arcade culture is very much still alive.
Coin yen is very important.

I’m writing this 6 months later, but visiting Osaka was a very interesting experience and an experience that deserves a recap. Lucky for me, I was able to visit Tokyo recently and I’ll do my best through photos and words to capture the similarities and differences between the two major cities. Until then….

Osaka, Japan 2019

Tokyo, Japan 2019

2 Up, 2 Down - Something In the Water 2019