I am a big fan of people watching. I do it all the time in New York but I live for the chance to do it while traveling. Architecture and museums are great and all but what interests me the most (besides food) are the people. Or should I say the "hitobito" ( 人々 ) in Japanese.
Take Osaka for example. I ventured away from Tokyo to spend one night in Japan's third largest city and met some interesting people. I arrived on a rainy night after having spent the day visiting Buddhist temples in Kyoto. After checking into @RockStarHotel and taking a quick shower, my trusty Canon and @Osirisandco strap joined me on my adventure to Dotonburi. I ate a quick dinner at a local joint (Densetsu no Suta Donya) and then set out to explore. Little did I know how interesting the night would become.
Being well aware of Osaka's Reggae scene, I followed signs to what I thought would be a bar with reggae music (images of a Rasta flag). Instead I ended up inside a 4-seat, pitch dark psychedelic bar on the second floor of what looked like a residential building. The adventurer in me said "f*ck it" and stayed. For the next hour, I sat here, enjoyed this Hemp beer (no, really), and used a translator app to chat with the Japanese hippie barkeep. We talked about art, food, partying, and Osaka's Tobita Shinchi area (Japan's lone remaining police-sanctioned red light district).
Soon I left that trippy bar and sauntered back into the excessively illuminated streets. Not more than 5 minutes later I befriended two 6ft+ black Americans guys who happen to play professional basketball for Osaka Evessa. On their night off, they were out looking for some fun so naturally I tagged along. That's how I ended up in @PURE_Osaka, listening to Hip Hop and Dancehall reggae. We partied with the stylish party promoter @aoi_takase and crew. It was dope to see Osaka Reggae culture in the flesh.
My night ended some time around 3:00am. I hopped in a taxi and did my best to pronounce the address of my hotel. When I awoke the next morning, I shook my head and smirked at how perfectly weird my night had been. It was exactly what I had hoped it would be.
From the wonderfully weird people in Osaka to the Kimono/Yukata -clad men and women in Kamakura, Japan's "hitobito" were great people watching subjects.
