The Period of Last Times

AM

At nearly 9:00am after barely sleeping, I opened the sliding window to a cool-ish day. After the brutal summer, which locals seem to think was the hottest in memory, Autumn may just be arriving. I began to get a nagging feeling last week that I was now entering a time in which I'll be experiencing things in Japan for the last time - at least in this phase of my life. It was a nice thought, though to think that I will never again have to drip through another summer in Osaka. I may never again eat a bowl of cold soemen noodles, a drink another yuzu-laced shochu. These thoughts also have a darker tone when projected into next year. I actually imagined last week the last time the sushi conveyor delivers up a treat,  the end to the delights of kastuo tataki from the supermarket and the end of badly slicing my own sashimi. Awful thoughts.

PM

At about 2:45pm, I walked out the end of a lengthy arcade into an amazing Namba sunshower. Through the glittering (and massive) raindrops, I noticed that it was only 29 degrees. It finally felt like summer was being dismantled in readiness for the Japanese weather switch to be flicked to the Autumn setting. I took a quick photo and skulked into a popular coffee chain for a yuzu iced tea - possibly my last!

Puffer Fish Lunch

Thursday 5th November 2009

AM

Least: At about 10:20am, I finally got out of bed after hitting the snooze button so many many times that the alarm simply gave up. I'm not sure if it was the early day yesterday, but today I felt exhausted. I might have to invest in a series of alarms, each with an increasing volume that will force me out of bed early.

Most: At nearly 11:45am, I rode through Tezukayama on my way to Life supermarket. A huge (and previously mentioned) white house that I often ride past, has finally been completed and appears to have occupants. The ultra modern building, has been tempered with a small garden on one side. The garden has a moss lawn and a few small trees. The interesting feature though, are some obviously ancient stone water features that help make the house accepably Japanese. I just wished I lived there. (photo right)

PM

Least: At 2:35pm, as I walked into work at Nakamozu, it became obvious that the week had dragged on for too long. The overdose on Halloween festivities probably didn't help, and the day off on Tuesday made it feel like ages since I'd walked through the glass doors of the school. It is strange how time plays tricks, both flying by and dragging at the same time.

Most: At about 1:00pm, I sat down to a plate of Puffer Fish sashimi (Fugu). I'd bought it at the supermarket, attracted by the picture of the deadly fish on the label. Given its notoriety it was a little exciting to taste the flesh for the fisrt time. It had a very delicate flavour, but was delicious. It came with a small sachet of soy sauce, a spicy sauce and chopped spring onions. For a supermarket meal, it was amazing (see photo top). I was left with a numb mouth for a few hours, but otherwise I was unaffected and remained alive to tell the tale. Apparently recently, Japanese scientists have been mass producing non-toxic puffer fish so maybe it's not so deadly after all.

Takoyaki and Tuna

Saturday 31st October 2009

AM

Least: At 8:30am, as I packed my takoyaki costume into my back I was horrified to see that amound of hair it had extracted from my head. I'm no sure whether it is takoyaki-related heair loss or simple the accelerating onset of male-pattern baldness. One positive though, was that today would be the last time for a year that I would have to worry about a wretched costume. After five days, halloween was a crashing bore.

Most: At about 9:35am, I sat on my usual Saturday train in my usual Saturday carriage (number 7). Looking around, I saw all the usual suspects heading off to work in the sticks, but also a sixty-something salary man completely asleep in his seat. This is not unusual, however in the earlyish morning it was incredible to see how comfortable he had made himself. He had taken off his shoes and was laying tangled up on his seat with one of his be-socked perched on the window sill (see low res phone photo right). At least his slumber style guaranteed a seat to himself.

PM

Least: By 1:45pm, I was beginning to feel rage towards a temporary assistant that had been seen to my Wakayama school. She was comically officious and marched around like a woman on a mission. I think she'd forgotten that she was actually in a school full of kids trying to learning English in a fun way. The low point came when she entered my classroom to take the obligatory halloween photo and insisted on speaking in Japanese the whole time she graced our presence despite being a head trainer. This was especially galling after having to remind the kids so often that the room is English only. She was even ruder during my next class. A shocker.

Most: At about 9:00pm, Rosie and I entered a Sushi bar in a dirty street in Namba. The bar was bedecked with wrestling and sporting memorabilia with a suspicious number of celebrity autographs. The main feature of the bar was its selection of Tuna, a corpse of which was laying dismembered in a glass display cabinet. We ordered a platter of sashimi, sushi and tonkatsu of varous flavours. Upon hearing that Rosie liked tuna and tofu, the chef made a bizarre stack, which in its pinkness looked rather phallic. The food tasted incredible, epsecially the tuna sashimi of various grades and fattinesses and the beers kept appearing in front of us. When it came time to pay the bill, the chef said "ichiman, ichiman" to the cashier. The 10000yen bill was a shock and we reeled out the door unsure as to whether our extravagance was worth it. I suspect it wasn't - but the tuna was sensational.

Oncoming Bicycles

Thursday 29th October 2009

AM

Least: At nearly 11:15am, I rode down to the Kohyo supermarket to buy some lunch. On the way, I groaned audibly as time and again I had to swerve to avoid oncoming and erratic cyclists. I'm not sure why, or if it's actually true, but people seem to ride on opposite sides of the footpath to where they ride on the roads. I wish that someone would make a cute cartoon about it to teach people to at least be consistent.


Most: At about 11:25am, I waded through the mothers to the fish section of the supermarket. To my joy, they had a special on sashimi. For a paltry 500 yen I bought two trays of incredibly good fish. I'm still amazed every time I buy fish at the amazing quality and price. I wish that the same situation existed in Australia.

PM

Least: Just after 8:50pm, Rosie confirmed that pizza was to be on the menu. By the time I arrived home however, a dark uncertainty hung over the ordering process. We could not find a menu anywhere. Even on the Dominos website, it was impossible to find a number to call for delivery. It seems that in Osaka they still require customers to call the specific number of each store. After a forensic look at the site we did find a number, however it seemed to be for some other service. Thankfully, they gave us a number for the Sumiyoshi branch and the evening was saved.

Most: By 10:00pm, the doorbell rang and the pizza had finally arrived. To my astonishment, the pizza boy proceeded to give me the pizza, take the money then bow continuously as he took off his at. This cartoonish display left me puzzled as to how to react. I just said thank-you and inhaled the pizza. The longer I stay here the stranger Japan and it's people seem to get.