Entries categorized as ‘Photos’
I guess more than a study in Osaka fashion these photos are just to create a sense of the people in this city. The fashion is what originally started me into taking the pics, but overall it’s more about the incredible image consciousness of Japan.
Every Japanese person will admit to the society as a whole being obsessed with appearance. However, as I’ve mentioned before, plastic surgery is very rare here. Most common is the surgery to make their eyelids more “Western”, but all other issues are dealt with by applying a few inches of makeup or an amazing hairstyle. Oh, and hats. Lots of hats. I personally enjoy seeing women in cowboy hats, but that’s not too common, mostly it will be awful trucker caps, or my personal favorite, the fedora.
Of course there are always the different groups in Japan. The hippies, the host boys, the schoolgirls, and of course the poodles. But aside from that there is a pretty solid variety. Unfortunately, there is also a huge population of fashion victims in this country, but I guess that comes with striving to look different.
One fun thing about taking all these pics is that Japanese people are quite different from Westerners when it comes to cameras. In America, if I were to sit in a downtown area and simply photograph people going by, people would get angry and look at me like a pervert. But, here in Japan people smile and pose. If someone does get annoyed, it’s probably because you don’t take their picture.
It’s just a lot of fun to watch people. I’ve always been a big fan. You get to see incredibly interesting human interactions and behaviors. One of my favorite things to watch is the subtle ways that people have of avoiding the sun here. Because the sun is evil. Or, seeing how meticulously put together someone is and knowing that it took them hours to get the look just right, not to mention the touch-ups on the train. I just wish I could get better pics of the makeup because it is truly ridiculous what is done here.
Anyway, I don’t want to write any more. I just want to link this picture and of course, the rest of the album. I’m out.
Categories: Japan · Photos
Part 4, the grand finale, takes us to a little porn shop that Steve and I stumbled upon on Dotombori in an area where we had previously walked about 300 times.
Keep in mind that if you go into a regular bookstore or convini you will find porn mags galore, but all you are allowed to see is boob. If you find a Playboy you will notice that a shopkeeper had carefully gone through page by page to scratch out any possible vagina viewing. And, of course video porn is carefully blurred so as to make sure that no one is sure exactly how sex happens. The shame of this country is that there are no laws at all for illustrations or animation, wherein you can show anything you want (let us not forget the horrors of tentacle porn) including underage girls and robots having sex. The logic in this place astounds me.
The porn shop
Categories: Japan · Photos
Part 3 takes us on a short tour of the neighborhood in which I live. The lead picture you can see here pretty much sums it all up. This is the corner a couple buildings down from our apartment, at which you can find a Yakuza headquarters, a porn shop, and the National Bunraku (marionette) theater.
We live in a hell of an area. One block has the mob, the next is homeless people and the next is a Lamborghini store.
Come take the tour.
Categories: Japan · Photos
Part two of the series takes us into Amemura (America-town) and a little back on Dotombori for a look at the fashion that can be found in Osaka.
The Japanese are very very conscious of appearances, so they put a lot of time and money into fashion. Oddly, they don’t put much money into plastic surgery, save for the “Western eyelid surgery”. The fashion trends are very grouped. There are the hop-hip kids, the princesses, the punks, the goths, the dolls, the Bon Jovis and the surfers. They make up the majority of the groups in Osaka, but outside of that is still a very distinct smattering of hippie fashion and hobo/gypsy influences.
I felt a little awkward taking pictures of people randomly on the street (mostly because they all probably would have posed and flashed the annoying peace sign,) so I took the pics with my arm hanging at my side (stealth style!) As a result the framing is awkward and some pics are pretty blurry.
Osaka Fashion
Categories: Japan · Photos
Recently, I finally got around to taking those pesky “tourist photos” that I felt I should have after having been in Japan for over a year and a half. I’ve split it into 4 parts.
Part one is all of the crazy things that you might see on Dotombori bridge if you were to come to Osaka. There is everything from Elvis, to the Red Army, to Sonic the Hedgehog. Enjoy.
Dotombori
Categories: Japan · Photos
Tsutenkaku tower is famous because lots of famous people from Osaka grew up in the area. However, no Japanese person knows this fact, they all think it’s famous because people say it is.
This is a common trait of the Japanese society. Things are famous for perfectly valid reasons, but no one knows those reasons. If you ask a Japanese person, “Why is this place famous?” the only answer you will get is, “Because it is.”
Anyway, come along and see more photos from what is possibly the worst tower in all of Japan. I mean there is really nothing good to see, but friends are good. So there’s that.
Categories: Japan · Photos
Tagged: Japan, Sightseeing
