I miss Osaka!

So this last weekend I made the 300+ kilometer journey to the second largest city in Japan, Osaka. I called Osaka home for close to a year when I was 19 years old, the year after I graduated high school and the year before I entered college. I attended a high school in the middle of the city and therefore pretty much stayed in the city all day.



Having returned to Japan, I knew I was going to go back to Osaka it was just a matter of time before I could take a day off work and come up with the funds neccessary to pay for the expensive trip. That day came last Friday when I arrived Osaka by night bus. My previous experiences with the night bus were not good-in the past I could never sleep and I would sit there in envy as the entire bus faded off into peaceful slumber. However, this time was different. I slept for about 6 of the total 9 hours-taking a little time to sleep in the beginning, waking up to use the bathroom, and waking up early in the morning. Either way it was nice arriving to Umeda withdecent sleep.

I went to Osaka for a number of reasons-to see my friends from the states, my old school, my host family, and my ex-girlfriend. All of those encounters made my trip back extremely wonderful and even two days after the fact, I'm depressed that I couldn't stay there for the rest of my time here.

I have gone to see friends in other cities before, but I never felt so good about those trips as I did with this one. It was my first time since returning in over two years. On top of that, the year I spent in Osaka was my first year out of the house and I believe I grew up a lot during that time.

The only way I can describe the feelings I had was that it felt like home. I stepped off the bus, walked into the busy Friday morning rush hour and felt like saying "tadaima".When I wasn't too hungover there was a constant smile on my face because the sights, the sounds, the smells all conjured wonderful memories for me. Even more so, seeing familiar faces and hearing familiar voices, some of which I hadn't seen or heard in what felt like ages made me even more grateful for participating in rotary youth exchange and for spending all the money I spent that weekend. I can sincerely say that every yen of the 50,000 I spent on the trip was worth it.

Even though parts of the city have changed a little, the warmth in the hearts of those who accepted me over the weekend hadn't changed at all. In fact, I think returning to the city and meeting some of these people cemented in me the fact that during my year I wasn't just a burden and that people truely cared about me. It was nice to see that kind of reciprication.

Even though I'm not Japanese, haven't lived here for a very long time, I can truely say that while I'm in Japan I will always have a home in Osaka. Not so much because of the city but because of the wonderful people I know who live there.