Vijay and Shefali's TAtW

We’re on the train from the airport into town now and still reeling off of Taiwan. Make no mistake, like most nerds I’ve wanted to experience Japan since I was a child, but as it stands Taiwan has cast a considerable shadow – to be completely honest I would have been fine ending the trip immediately. It was that great. Anyway on to Japan.

Osaka had me waiting to pass judgment. I just couldn’t get a beat on it. I think the fact that it’s Japan had me expecting monorails and future-retro pneumatic transport – not anachronistic ticket kiosks with physical keypads in the subways and vending machines lining every wall and sidewalk like they had just been invented. It’s a city with more grit than charm and a subtle sketchiness that leaves you a little on edge no matter where you go. For all its polish and smartly dressed inhabitants there is a palpable sense of danger walking around Dotonburi – especially (and somewhat ironically) in the well lit areas. We came prepared to enjoy as much of Japan as we could but things are really expensive here. Well, food that’s not from a convenience store is, anyway. In general, it’s cheaper to drink alcohol than it is to get a decent meal. It’s ingrained in the culture to drink heavily. Talking to expatriates here who’ve adapted, it’s a pressure valve. They work long hours, go out after work, get ripshit drunk and talk trash straight at the boss’s gaping maw. The next day, everything’s forgiven and nothing changes. This explains why everyone still uses flip phones. Japan has a great craft beer scene – one of the best we’ve found in our travels (still no match for home, of course) so we made sure to experience a little of that as well. We finished off at the ramen museum just outside of town. Yes, it is exactly what it sounds like. We even made our own custom cup o’ noodles that we have to eat in a month. Maybe it’ll be for date night before we leave.

[1] https://www.flickr.com/photos/97388931@N08/sets/72157643758699943/