This is about a 15 minute walk from my place. There's a busy road behind you here, but it makes for a pretty view.



I promise these are the last autumn leaves I will be posting! Amazing colours.

This is even closer. Everytime I open my front door I see Elizabeth Montgomery in cartoon form on a big billboard facing the traffic. Pretty cool really. Would have preferred Barbara Eden, but I'll take any 60's sitcom lady I can get. It's an ad for a ka- conbini... offering convenience in a car maintenance and "total" shop. Total is a popular marketing word here. You see disturbing ads that sell Total Human Produce.

On the way to the station.

This is from out the front of my place. I snapped this on a particularly clear day. The mountains in the distance normally are completely obscured by haze. I've zoomed in a lot here. The stylised M you can see above a rooftop is an electrical store 25 minutes walk away, so those mountains are a long way off and pretty big.

I'm now taking you to Osaka. This is along the way, at a pretty major stop called Kawanishi Ikeda. I'm not sure who this samurai is, but I like the statue. It's strange seeing it stradling a busy train station and multiple shopping centres. I imagine these guys galloping about near streams and bamboo groves - hard to picture Japanese urbia (can I say that?) as it once was.

This is in the south of Osaka on a typical weekend. Shopping is a sport here. A lot of perfectly good stuff must get regularly chucked here to make way for shiny new things, as the dwellings tend to be on the very small side. Sad really. But recycle shops seem to have a bit of support in my area at least. I love them.

Also in the south, this is in the Dotonbori stretch. I've blogged about this place before. This is one of the many places selling Osaka's famous takoyaki, or octopus balls... little bombs of superheated stuff ready to go off in your mouth/throat and cook you from the inside. I've scalded myself numerous times. Average ones are very average and good ones are fantastic! many people make them at home (fun!) and put things other than octopus inside them. You'll see later...

Nearby is famous Glico Man.

I should never go to Las Vegas. I will get sucked in by the flashing lights.

I don't know what this guy's story is. But I like him.

Lastly, more pearls from Joi Ito: http://joi.ito.com/archives/japanese_policy/

The stories "Japanese Racism..." and "Planning to be Homeless" are particularly compelling. Just if you're interested in the state of things in Japan and its dealings with the outside world.

Anyway... pretty random stuff tonight. See ya!