Osu

Hmm...

Well, I spent a good portion of this evening in a part of town called Osu Kannon; an area known for its large temple (which shares the name) and discount electronics shops. That, and the numerous other shops, parks, and shrines that neighbor each other on Osu's narrow streets.

Osu is a really cool area, one that I like to frequent on my days off to read in cafes, mainly for atmosphere and pretty decent coffee (which is pathetically rare here). Osu is home of the first public park in Nagoya: one big tree atop a burial mound, three wooden benches, and a sign in four different languages declaring that it is the "first park in Nagoya"; all nestled between a bakery and a shoe store.

Another fun thing to do is checking out the used clothing stores, which I've had mild success in, scoring a pretty kickin' jacket for less than ¥1700 (about $16). Today was more of a wandering day: I checked out a couple new coffee shops, jammed out to The Mars Volta, almost bought a couple CDs, REALLY almost bought a pretty beat-up acoustic guitar (which I may go back and pick up tomorrow), and checked out some awesome "Engrish" shirts. My favorite so far was on a handbag: "The Seven Wonders of the World: It's a mystery why such phenomena happen now and then." To which I reply, "A mystery indeed", and laugh. Every time.

The variety of shops in Osu never ceases to amaze me; so far in addition to "Smash Head Cafe", I've found "Oops Hair and Make [up]", "Jonson's Head Shop" (there's truth in advertising), and today's favorite, "Samson and Delilah Hair Salon". There was even a used American clothing store which proudly proclaimed "Old store since 1978". Makes you wonder what it was before then - a "new store since 1976"?

Americana is amazingly popular here, even the most mundane things - like Coca-Cola bottle openers and old Saturday Evening Post pages - are for sale, which makes me wonder about how the Japanese interpret American culture.

And everything is done to the Nth degree: tonight I saw a guy walk by in a black leather jacket, tight jeans, sunglasses (at 8pm), and the most impeccably greased pompadour known to man. He, apparently, had just walked off the set of Grease. At least that's what I'm telling myself. But it seems that everyone here is the same way: if you're going to dress a certain way, you're going to do it 1000% - if you're hip-hop, you're going to buy Nelly's old underwear; if you're 50's rock, you're going to put John Travolta to shame; and if you're a goth girl, you're going to wear neon pink Little Bo Peep costumes with your bright pink hair. Wait...what? Yep.

All this to say, even after five months in Japan, in the same city, I'm still perplexed and bewildered at Japanese culture every time I leave the house. I talk to my roommates about this, and they agree: we are bound together by this surreal experience because it's SO surreal that it will be impossible for anyone at home to actually believe it. Perhaps the memories will one day fade for me to the point that I'll begin to think the whole thing has been an extremely strange dream, and a reason to not eat spicy food before bed.

Meanwhile, I'm kicking myself for not bringing a camera along to document these strange, local adventures. Tomorrow perhaps...

"Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow..."

Peace,
thom