2018年3月30日金曜日 - 
Stephen G: Osaka
It's been over a year now since I made the
move from the Gold Coast, Australia to Osaka, Japan. It's been a challenge
getting set up in a foreign country not speaking the language, but it's been
exciting too.
I'm really excited to be living in Japan,
everything about this country is great. I find the history to be very
interesting, especially the Sengoku and Meiji periods.
There are a couple things in Japan that I
have found to be surprising and which I didn't expect. The first was how cold
it can get in winter. On the Gold Coast the temperature in winter ranges from 8°C at night and gets to 20°C during
the day, so in Osaka where the day time maximum
was only 6°C was a huge shock for me. Having seen snow only three times in my
life, every night I wish that I could wake up to see snow covering the ground,
however it has not happened yet, maybe next year though.
The second thing that surprised me was how
many people there are in Osaka. Before I left Australia I knew Japan had a
large population, but just how many people there can be in one place at one
time was really surprising. The Gold Coast's population is just over half a
million, so stepping into a city with over two million residences was a big change. It's amazing to see
how everything can run so smoothly. I have never seen lines outside restaurants
during lunch before and rarely during the evening, which I found interesting.
The people also are extremely polite in
Osaka. Whenever I'm traveling and get lost
(which is often), someone will always stop what they are doing and help, and
most of the time they will walk me to my destination.
Cherry Blossoms!
I was very excited to experience my first sakura season in 2017. Having only seen pictures of the blossoms online, I was looking forward to seeing them up close and taking lots of pictures (which I did). I decided to visit Osaka Castle and the Expo '70 Commemoration Park and I was not disappointed. I was completely unaware that there were so many types of blossoms, ranging from white to bright pink flowers. Seeing so many people outside having picnics together under the blossoms made the day feel so festive. The only disappointing part of the sakura season is its short duration.
Osaka Summer
Arriving in Japan during the start of winter
I experienced the chilling Osaka temperature which was great as I love the
cold. It's easier for me to warm up than it is to cool down. However, when
summer came around I was shocked at the temperature difference. Osaka has
actual seasons which is a very different experience. In Queensland it is always
warm and hot with winter still being around
20°C during the day.
Maximum：最高
Residences：住居
get lost：道に迷う
destination：目的地
Expo '70 Commemoration Park：万博記念公園
Unaware：気がつかないで
Festive：お祭り気分で
duration：持続期間