Otaku Day in Osaka

First week of class is over! I was placed in Spoken and Written Japanese 3 (equivalent to 4th semester Japanese at CU Boulder, Genki II textbook chapters 17-23). I also will be taking 2 elective classes in the afternoon for a total of 14 credit hours (dropping the literature class because, although I really want to read the selected works, I don't intend to spend my free-time in Japan reading novels).

Reading material for each course comes in a thick booklet of assembled readings

Thursday, I interviewed for a job at the Writing Center on campus (the only real paid position available to us on a student visa). Found out Saturday that I was accepted! Which means I will be working ~5 hours a week taking appointments and helping Japanese KGU students with essay writing, academic papers, and resumes & job interviews. Should be fun! Job orientation was this Monday, and I will start next week (Feb. 16th).

I did end up buying a bike (paid around $68 at a 2nd-hand bike shop near campus). The registration process is extensive (legally, bikes are in most cases considered cars - a DUI on a bike will likely get you jail-time, leading to being deported, possibly permanently). Most bikes here are single gear with a built-in lock system and a light powered by friction with the front tire.


Saturday I spent most of the day biking around Hirakata City. There are a ton of cool neighborhood areas hidden away that are much easier to find on a bike. And lots and lots of really cool parks!

It's really nice how busy the parks are - there are always families there doing something

I want a giant green slide near my house!

I wouldn't say Hirakata is especially bike friendly, but it isn't the worst

I was trying to meet up with a group of friends, but selected the wrong store on Google Maps which turned out to be one town over... Oh well, I did get to do a full day of biking and see a good portion of the city. 

Sunday, ended up as a full day dedicated to all things otaku (Pokemon, manga, anime...). Woke up early and caught the train into Osaka City to visit the Pokemon Center (a store specializing in all things Pokemon). 

Pokemon Center, Osaka City

People playing on their 3DS everywhere

Hey look, I am in a picture! 

Hopped back on a train and went to the 2015 World Hobby Fair that was happening at the Osaka Dome. It's this giant, admission-free promotional convention for kids to wait in reaaaaally long lines to try out free arcade games. (We went to check it out, not knowing the target audience really was much younger kids).

Common observation, videogames (especially Nintendo) seem to be viewed as primarily for children. Everyone grows up on games and shows like Pokemon, but most people seem to graduate from Nintendo around or before high school. That is true in the States, to be sure, but the divide is much more noticeable in Japan (otaku culture being the exception).

So many people pushing everywhere!
(For every adult head you see in this picture, there are 1-3 children beside them you can't see)

Pikachu!

After escaping the masses, we caught another train over to Nipponbashi to observe the Otaku life (actual class assignment). Nipponbashi is somewhat Osaka's equivalent to a smaller, low-key version of Tokyo's Akihabara district.

Nipponbashi, Osaka City

Found all the manga in Japan

Found all the good manga in Japan

To end the night, myself and a friend wandered through Osaka to track down Fire bomBAR, an otaku bar inspired by the Macross franchise (specifically Macross 7). The place was off some side street of Osaka, tucked away on the 6th floor of some office-like building.

Fire Bombar!!!

The owner runs the place on weekends and weekday nights outside of keeping up a day job. There were about 8 people that showed up, all of them frequent the place and seemed to know each other. While no one spoke much of any English, they were all very friendly and extremely curious how we managed to find it.

Tiny, cozy place that fit about 10 people or so with lots of Macross memorabilia everywhere

Had an awkwardly translated conversation with the owner, who adamantly defended the power of music and anime to bring people together despite language barriers.


The amount of people here can be overwhelming, to be sure. It is really nice to be able to break away from that and find a small, welcoming pocket of people and have more genuinely interesting experiences.