03月17日2011年I now realize why pachinko is so popular. It turns out gambling is illegal in japan. Which is very ironic cause pachinko is like the Japanese slot machine. Many people including Ayako's dad go to south Korea to gamble. Now I know what to get him for his Southern hospitality. A deck of cards.
On the Osaka subway line Ayako was quick to forget her ticket once we entered. Luckily the worker was helpful enough to issue us another one for free. We got on the midosuji line and I quickly noticed a girl sitting in the corner give me a glance. I'm sure it was cause I was a gaijin but looking back at her I couldn't help to notice a sad face. I asked Ayako if you were that girl, what would cheer you up? Unfortunately a random gaijin talking to you was not on the list. She was quick to point out that most people on the train were unhappy or exhausted. When I looked around that seem to bare truth to every female on the train. She asked what can I do to cheer everyone up? If I had dance moves like Kenny I could （＾Ｏ＾☆♪
From the reviews the neighborhood sucked which was not a big deal cause i grew up in what was once considered a shitty neighborhood. Walking to out hostel the neighborhood reminded me of the South Bronx. The place was called Hostel Toyo. It was packed because all the gaijin left Tokyo. The good news was I finally got wireless but the place was cold ass fuck. Also the unfortunate news for the ladies (thats Ayako) was that it only had a duo bathroom and shower. The place was full of Europeans and Asians. Ayako quickly became cold and scared. I cant blame her, it was like we were in the projects of Japan. We didn't stay indoors to long cause Ayako quickly rushed me to get going and I can't believe I didn't grab more mixtapes.
Before heading out to the Umeda district for lunch, I wanted to get lost and explore the neighborhood. We walked through a rugged looking shoutengai (shopping district) The place reminded me of Chinatown but the more I walked around the more it became clear it was the south Bronx if it had a Japanese population. To help keep herself warm, Ayako bought these heat pads called hokairo.
Walking through these hopeless alleys Ayako became scared and held my arm. It was all eyes on us or me I mean every Japanese person was staring at us and I kept taking us in random directions until I felt like I was in a movie where something bad was about to happen. We decided to head back and go to a livelier neighborhood for lunch.
We hit a downtown district called Umeda. We were walking randomly until i spotted the ferris wheel and wanted to see what was there and maybe even ride it. Heading towards it I see a trio of Japanese dudes who look like they came out of the 36 Chambers. It was my turn to meet some new Japanese people and I roll up behind them and begin as polite as I can 失礼します。Broke the ice with a simple question like "where's a delicious place to go eat at?" from there I already knew they were Hiphop heads and passed them the mixtape. It turned out that they were street dancers. I immediately put em on the spot and they didn't hesitate to bust a few moves. I invited them to eat ramen plates on me and they agreed. Funny thing was they never performed on the street before and were planning to do it for the first time today （＾Ｏ＾☆♪ not only that but on the way to the ramen place they gained some fans off the first street performance they did for us. Two kids had followed us fir about 3 blocks until they built the guts to ask for a picture. 'SNAP SHOT'
At the ramen spot we talked hiphop and these cats were def heads that grew up on the 90's music. They barely spoke English but our enthusiasm for wanting to learn about one another made communication the easiest I ever had it in Japan. I thought it was my turn to show my skills off and spit a verse and a freestyle at the lunch table. They didn't understand a word but respected the flow (>_<) haha that was fun. Even Ayako was surprised. Then out of no where they snag the check and pay for everything before I even knew what happened ！(◎_◎;) I thought they were my guest?
Keep it 元気
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