Gingko goes nuts!

Living near Umeda certainly has its perks, but sometimes do you ever worry that you’re becoming an urbanite, just by nature (or unnature, let it be known!) of being surrounded by concrete madness, 24-7?

Hmmm, me too. Like, when was the last time you saw a tree, let alone a leaf?

Oh gah, and this is supposed to be the uber-famous autumn leaf-viewing season. Yes, 紅葉 or ‘kouyo’ as it is known in the native lingo, is simply the word on everyone’s lips at the moment, and I’m feeling quite left out, it has to be said. Yet such an Umeda-existence lends itself towards about as much chance of spotting nature as a polar bear in the Sahara.

These autumn leaves…don’t drift past my window. Quite emphatically. What’s a boy to do?

The only place in my frazzled memory that bears any resemblance to nature in central Osaka is Midosuji Boulevard, which boasts a splendid canopy of Ginkgo Biloba trees all the way from Yodoyabashi to Namba, my old neck of the woods. Cheesy pun intended, geddit?

Hooray! A splash of orange here, a tidal wave of yellow there. It must be the city version of hiking, surely.

Walking through my old haunts, I realise I love Dotonburi for no apparent reason whatsoever. Maybe it’s the neon sleaze (takes one to know one). Or maybe it’s Glico Man celebrating the autumn leaves, with his arms thrust up in victory manner. Or the grandmas battle-axing their way through the crowds on their bikes with no manners whatsoever. Well, maybe not that. But you know what I mean.

Whatever the season, Osaka rocks my world.