Osaka

Osaka – Oct. 23, 06

I woke up early to catch the first shinkansen into Osaka, 7:00am so that I could make my 10:00 job interview. It was a beautiful day, just perfect for my explorations in Osaka. I slept most of the 2 hour trip and awoke by the time we made Kyoto. It was a pretty dense looking city at that point, like Tokyo. I had little problems making my way to my first appointment and found the people to be more ‘real’. Everyone seems so proper in Kakegawa. In Osaka, I noticed a lot more of a laidback businessmen style. I seemed to get a lot of looks for my business suit and briefcase demeanor. Then again, I didn’t seem to notice any other women that looked in a similar fashion.
Anyhow, the first job interview was distressing. Near the Nishi Tanabe subway station, the area had a bit of a gritty feel to it and had the wonderful big city feel to it with all the concentration of urban concrete. It was basically a daycare center for preschoolers. I was somewhat horrified to find 20 odd 3-5 year olds lined up against the wall reciting constellation flashcards. There were two English native teachers and two Japanese assistants who also spoke English to a certain degree. These kids were being exposed to an all-English setting from 9-5. There English was certainly good, but I felt so sorry for them. I have unpleasant memories of being in preschool daycare and I cringed at the idea of working there. Also, the office people seemed very shady. They didn’t seemed interested in interviewing me, but wanted me to do a trial teaching session in the afternoon after observing in the morning. Well that was not part of my agenda. As soon as I realized that this was probably the last job I would want to take under the “English teaching category’, I made my escape from the premises. The dude who appeared to be running the place struck me as something of a ‘gangster’. I was very happy to make my departure and I felt sorry for those kids who appeared to be in a prison. Learn English while in prison.
I decided to make my way to my next interview in Honmachi, a business area of Osaka. After finding the office and with an hour to spare, I made my way outdoors. I came across a huge temple and had to explore. Turns out, it is a well known Jodo Shinshu temple and I was given a brief tour and encouraged to sit through a Buddhist chant. It was very beautiful, and I was struck with awe by its beauty. After checking it out and taking photos, I went to find some food. Osaka is famous for it’s food, but I had little time to eat, so I grabbed some rice balls and oden from a convenience store and went back to the temple ground to eat. Lots of people were hanging out there on their lunch break enjoying the beautiful day. This is really a comfortable time, weather wise. It is like a beautiful summer day in Vancouver.

I made my way to my job interview with an agency that supplies English teachers around Osaka. It was a very long 2 hour interview and I learned a lot. They were happy to take me on, but I was far more reluctant. I would not get paid as much, as they were the middle men, no doubt skimming paychecks. Less perks, like no vacation pay. I felt like a temp secretary. They told me that had all the contracts for the high schools in Osaka. My heart sank at that news. They would not house me either. They said they could give me some hints. And when I expressed dismay at the pay cut, they said I could work 2 full time jobs and make double the money then. All day at the public schools and in the evenings, teach at the private schools. The possibility of working myself to death and making a hunk of money actually appealed to me. Perhaps I could do this for a short time. The housing feels like a huge obstacle, but they made it sound like a piece of cake. They said that if I had my own housing and was independent from a company, I would be free to make as much money as I like and have more control over my life. They had a way of framing it in a positive light. There was a fee (like a hundred bucks) for registering with them, which made me distrustful of them, but they said that fee would be paid when I signed a job contract. I learned a lot from them though, in terms of the different English teaching jobs available and what would be entailed.

Once I left their office, I decided I was going to make the most of my time by sightseeing. I wanted to check out some tourist sights, so I made my way back to Shin Osaka station to visit the tourist center from maps. I wanted to go to some old temples, but time was running out. Once I got to Tennoji station, I ended up somewhat lost and unable to locate the temple. Rush hour was approaching, so I scrapped the temple and made my way to Umeda to meet up with a friend.


When I got out of Umeda station, I found myself in the hub of a large city, just like I’ve been jonsing for. It was great. Huge streets lined with neon lights and masses of people – a wide assortment of people. I was digging it. People were diverse. Seedy looking men in crumpled clothing (never see that in Kakegawa) women with their midriff exposed (don’t see that either in Kakegawa) and lots of freaks to top it off (a definite void in Kakegawa). I felt at home. I had to meet T-san at the Yodobashi Camera and didn’t realize that I was already in there. It converges with the subway station at some point. I thought that perhaps I was there as there were signs saying Yodobashi-Umeda and I was surrounded by wall-to-wall electronics. When I stepped outside I realized I had been in a huge store. I mean HUGE. I asked the info girl if I was in the Yodobashi Camera store and she confirmed my location. I was where I needed to be. OK, now that I found the spot, I wanted to walk around the area and soak up the big city vibes. I found another ferris wheel, like the one in Nagoya, but I had a hard time trying to take a picture. I wanted to eat, but I was overwhelmed by selection. Somewhat pathetically, I ended up grabbing coffee and pizza at the French bakery near Yodobashi. It was a cop out, as Osaka is famous for food, but once again I did not have enough time to eat and I wanted to save my money to pay for beers later on.





We went to the entertainment section and did some bar hopping and beer drinking. It was great fun, but I had little time as I had to catch the bullet train back to Kakegawa around 9 ish, a pity as things start kickin' at around 11:00 pm in Japan. Ahh the sad fate of being a country bumpkin who must get back home before turning into a pumpkin. Umeda at twilight