It’s always interesting to see cities from high up and compare how they are compared to others in terms of overall colour. Yesterday was a section of NYC which was heavy on the blues. Today here’s a chunk of Osaka which is way more in the orange end of the scale.
I spent a few hours here watching this blacksmith craft a few different knives and swords. I had a translator with me and asked him a ton of questions. I’m an amateur blacksmith myself, and, by that, I mean I only perform blacksmithery in role-playing video games. I tried to explain this to him and he was so confused. Finally he understood and laughed the loudest laugh I have ever heard! And then I got the international high-five and that made me feel better. Just one of the many awesome people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting in Japan.
This was like a little Japanese Anime show made real! I ended up at this cool blacksmith’s place in Osaka where this guy was making Japanese knives and swords in the traditional manner. I almost bought one, but I wasn’t sure how I could take a sword home on the plane. Maybe I should have just gotten one and had it shipped down. Yes, that makes a lot more sense to me now.
I can see why people in Japan like photography so much – there is always something interesting to shoot! I often wonder if because it’s such a photography-driven culture that the buildings and environs are designed to be more photographable. Know what I mean?
I’ve been lucky enough to take Ethan to Japan twice… I’m glad he has fallen in love with the country as much as I have! When we were in Osaka, we got into a pretty extreme street fight, since these kinds of things happen a lot in Japan. Unfortunately, Ethan lost the fight because I was too busy taking photos. I feel kind of bad about that, but he’ll always live on in my memory.
Oh man, seeing this photo once again reminds me of how much I miss Japan! I really want to get over to Osaka more to explore this area. I usually get stuck in Tokyo or far afield and I end up ignoring Osaka like it is a red-headed stepchild. I hope this doesn’t actually turn out to be true, if I end up with a red-headed stepchild. But if they live in Osaka, then I guess it’s a reason to visit.
Here’s a great doco about Brian Rose taking Ayuasca and how it changed him… I haven’t tried the full thing yet, but I have tried the active molecule DMT about 15 times… so… yeah, I get it! 🙂
You can watch for free if you put in your email on his website. Check it out here.
These two guys were totally fun and cool! They were out in the streets trying to get people to come into their restaurant and acting totally crazy. I like that they took their job so seriously, and not seriously at all. They were really happy to ham it up in front of the camera. I got a lot of shots if that, but then I sneaked back by at another time to get them in their more natural element.
I know you love the Peak Design Products – my mom came across this cool video about a guy that was trying to use the Lifetime Warranty!
I’m probably being a bit hard on myself, but I find this photo to be a little bit boring. I was just thinking… if some rando showed me this photo to critique… I’d probably be a bit harsh and say that it is rather boring. And, it’s true! I don’t know. Osaka was such a cool and vibrant city and this photo feels rather staid. Okay, enough self-critique for the day. I’ll see if I can get out there and make something more interesting.
This is a pretty cool video that shows entropy and order in syncopation.
Osaka is one of the most underrated cities in the world! When people think about going to Japan, they think mostly about Tokyo. Hey, I mean, Tokyo is amazing, but it’s also worth it to jump on the bullet train and get over to Osaka. The nightlife is really quite unique and it’s fun to wander around and go into random restaurants and bars to see what is going on. It’s a good goal to try to visit five different places per night and not get stuck in one spot or another. It’s tough because each place you go into is so fun and interesting that you don’t want to leave!
Here’s a fun little video I made while I was in Osaka with Tane. It’s just a bit of quirky stuff that we found while there!
Here is a view of Osaka, a very underrated city in Japan! I’ve been here twice and the city has a crazy amount of energy. People in Osaka area also very proud of their city and how it is quite a bit different than Tokyo. Each time I was there, I was pretty swamped with work, so I didn’t quite get as much time to explore as I would have liked… that’s okay – another reason to go back!
