Osaka Era 2016-Present
Osaka Hair Flap
Our tasks in Sendai complete, we migrated again. This time, our home is the sprawling metropolis of Osaka, known for it’s congenial inhabitants and famous for it’s…everything.
From the Streets of Minoo
Minoo is a town in the North of Osaka at the base of the hills. It's home to the increasingly well-known craft brewer Minoh Beer. These were snapped on the sleepy neighborhood streets while walking to their annual beer festival (well, one of them anyway) in the park...
B-Sides: Osaka & (kind of) Nara
Today's serving of images features some goodies from around the Kansai area. As Mary and I were coming home one evening from something, somewhere, we found ourselves on the Keihan Main line, which we don't often ride. The waterfront view from the train looked...
The Mist-Shrouded Temple of Murou-Ji
Another week, another temple/shrine post. Just gonna be honest, you visit a lot of these things when you're in Japan. It's one of the perks of living here. That having been said, I do admit to a bit of chronic temple/shrine fatigue. I've been to so many over the years...
![Strolling Through Kobe, With Strangers & Friends [Pt 3 of 3]](https://hair-flap.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/16-11-06.KobeFlickrWalk.DSCF4141-1-400x250.jpg)
Strolling Through Kobe, With Strangers & Friends [Pt 3 of 3]
The Motomachi area of Kobe seems sleepy at first glance but it's busting to the seams with personality. As mentioned previously, Kobe kind of lives in the shadows of its bigger neighbors, at least as far as reputations go, yet it's still part of Kansai and pulls on...
![Strolling Through Kobe, With Strangers & Friends [Pt 2 of 3]](https://hair-flap.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/16-11-06.KobeFlickrWalk.DSCF4077-400x250.jpg)
Strolling Through Kobe, With Strangers & Friends [Pt 2 of 3]
The Kansai region is made up of three major cities all within about an hour of each other. Two of which,Osaka and Kyoto, tend to hog the limelight. But the third, Kobe, deserves it's own share of praise.It's more quiet and relaxed that the others, perhaps, but it's...
![Strolling Through Kobe, With Strangers & Friends [Pt 1 of 3]](https://hair-flap.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/16-11-06.KobeFlickrWalk.DSCF4057-400x250.jpg)
Strolling Through Kobe, With Strangers & Friends [Pt 1 of 3]
Ask most people these days where the happenin' photo community is and there's a better than huge chance that they'll tell you Instagram. Ask me though and you'll get a different answer. I get that most of my complaints about Instagram are rooted in it's roots as a...
A Glimpse of Imazato’s “New Road”
A while back, while I was waiting to meet my wife for an event, I found myself strolling around the neighborhood of Imazato and came across a time portal. Okay, not exactly, but it might as well have been. What it actually was, was a local, 1km long shōtengai (商店街), a...
Spring in Osaka: Exploration Expedition 05
It's getting Spring-y in Osaka these days. Winter clothes are getting put away and short sleeves are coming out. This weekend marked the end of Golden Week in Japan, the string of national holidays that create a week of vacation for most people and it was great...
Grey Hanami at Osaka Castle 2017
After all the hype, this year turned out to be a thoroughly grey and wet Hanami on the day we made our outing under the blooming Sakura trees. That's not to say the whole season was like that, of course. It just happened that the day we met up with some Mary's...
Prelude to Hanami 2017
It's been colder than usual, for longer than usual this year. That means that Hanami is a tad delayed. That's fine though since I still have some photos from last year's Sakura season to tide us over until the skies are thick with pink petals and the parks are full...
Out From the Shadows
Hooooooly smokes, y'all. First post in eight months, that was a rather substantial lapse in activity here, eh? So where the hell have I been and what the hell have I been up to? First things first, 'cause I tend to ramble. Before I lose you in loquaciousness, I...
Lots of Old Crap at Shitennoji Flea Market
About a ten minute bike ride from our flat is Shitennoji (四天王寺), officially the oldest, active Buddhist temple in all of Japan. Pretty darn neato! And while the temple itself seems nice, what took me there was not the grounds themselves but what happens on the 21st...