In the fall we went back to Osaka and since we’d already been recently, I wanted to focus on a lot of city shots. Shooting mostly with a manual lens (Voightlander 40/1.2) meant that I was going to have to just set my focus and hope for the best, or work more static subjects. I think I did a decent combination of both and I’ve picked some highlights to share here. As always, thanks for taking a look!
We arrived later in the day and got checked in, and went right to an Izakaya for dinner. It was quite a lively place! The little head on the table is called a “daruma”, and they come new with no pupils in their eyes. You’re supposed to “make a wish” and fill one of them in, and then when your wish is fulfilled, you fill in the other one. Kind of creepy but also kind of cute! This one is much larger than I normally see, maybe it was a big wish!
Leaving the restaurant we went to walk around the city. This guy making a “poot” on the wall is hilarious. Also a street vendor selling takoyaki – fried octopus dough balls. It is a local favorite!
Here’s two pictures I thought looked cool next to each other. The view of the same river but on opposite sides of the bridge in the middle. This is one of the most iconic views of the Dotonbori region of Osaka.
The next day we headed to the castle. This is probably the most famous Japanese castle and it is entirely a reconstruction. There was a very famous battle here in 1600 that paved the way for the modern Japanese era, so many people come to the museum attached to the castle. As this trip was in the fall, you can see the leaves are starting to display some very pretty colors. I don’t have any photos of the museum, but here you can see some good shots I got of the castle exterior. You can go inside this castle and it’s pretty surprising, because the inside looks like a very modern building, with elevators and gift shops, even a place to eat. There are other castles in Japan you can visit that are relatively unchanged over the last 400 years, and they are not very nice, especially if you’re over 5′ tall, haha.
After this visit, it was time to walk around Osaka’s food markets. In addition to the historical areas of the city, there are many long covered regions with shopping markets and plenty of FOOD! I like this first picture with the big lantern. Also, there’s a manhole cover there with the castle wrought into it and then painted! I’m not sure how many countries view these as opportunities for artwork, but it’s a good idea!
I also grabbed some black and white shots of the same area. The tower with HITACHI on it is another famous Osaka landmark. The original tower dates from 1912 but was destroyed in a fire. This one was built in 1956! You can see the gas lamps hanging along the walkways. Obviously these are now electric, but the local community has kept the same aesthetic from the original park in the area from over 100 years ago.
I also got some candid street shots just walking around. A lot of these were blind clicks from the hip, so you kind of get what you get. But hopefully you can see some of the “vibe” of the city coming through. It’s a fun place – really reminds me of Chicago.
This guy in the Ferrari jacket is pretty cool. The stickers / graffiti on vending machines is something you’d almost never see in Japan, especially Tokyo or Kyoto, but Osaka is a little bit different so you see a lot more “street culture” type things here. It’s a cool city!
The yellow long man in this graffiti picture is terrifying!
I like this one of the girl and the bicycle, and also the people walking in front of the chicken skewer place with the yellow awning. Thanks for following along on the adventure!