December 2022

A walk around the park

The year is coming to a close as we’ve entered December, the twelfth and final month of the year.

The temperature has begun to really settle into a constant state of chilly compared to a rather balmy November.

I feel like I’ve grown quite a bit this year and it’s been filled with more ups and downs than the last few years, it feels like.

I decided I should take some time to unwind and took it upon myself to make use of the camera my brother had given me as a hand-me-down after he upgraded to a newer model.

And so I decided to spend Sunday afternoon strolling and taking pictures, not bothering to check the time really and without any plans. It was good just being in the moment.

However, with modern festivities the park can be a noisy place with large speakers blaring out loud bass sounds as part of some outdoor musical performance somewhere else in the park.

If you want to enjoy nature in its purest form without the disruption of noisy speakers, I’d recommend going to the mountains or somewhere out of the way like a bike tour in the countryside.

But if you’re willing to compromise, the park can be a relaxing place to be as there is a grove of trees that is regularly maintained with plenty of benches and space for people who have a picnic sheet or are okay sitting in the dirt.

For me it was nice walking across the fallen leaves, but the trees here just don’t have the same dry, crispy, crunching sound that comes with being stepped on like back in the neighborhood I grew up in in Minnesota.

Unplanned visit to the museum

After wandering around for a bit I decided to visit the Osaka peace museum for the first time in about ten years. The alcohol and thermometer at the entrance reminded me a lot had changed over the years.

I didn’t think much about it in the visit those years ago, but this time I’ve come to realize how one-sided the US version of the history was that I was taught in school when viewing things from the Japanese side of the events.

Long story short, I think Japan’s brief stint as an empire was quite rational in terms of choosing to play the international politics of the Western countries and it could be argued that the White countries refused to accept or acknowledge the possibility of a colored country being allowed to get the upper hand on them in their own game of dividing and conquering the world.

The US version of the war basically portrayed America as the reluctant hero who swept in to save the day at great cost in lives sacrificed. But really, the only time American soil was ever attacked could be said to be Pearl Harbor, and I recall that the higher-ups intentionally allowed the attack to come as a surprise rather than using the intelligence they had to order the troops to properly prepare for battle.

I think when you get both sides of the story in the war, no one could have been said to be the good guys. Everyone stood to gain something from winning the war and it was never really about doing the “right thing” from the start.

Wrapping up the day

After I finished looking at the exhibits, I left the museum and it was starting to get dark with the sun less than thirty minutes from setting completely. It was a strange time as the remaining daylight seemed to serve as a guide for all the crows to flock back together from wherever they’d been all day.

With the festivities gone and visitors gone or on their way back to wherever they came, the park became a much quieter place. I read that the building outside the castle that looked like a fancy restaurant from the outside was mostly occupied by gift shop tenants, and decided to go in.

Unsurprisingly, the goods catered stereotypical Japanese souvenirs like ninja and samurai themed items that jump out at foreign tourists. There was more general fare as well, like Osaka Castle themed snacks and sweets or stuff like towels and t-shirts.

In the end as a resident of Japan and Osaka, I didn’t really see any need or feel any desire to want the things being sold, so I left without buying anything.

By the time I meandered outside, it was dark out, as expected around this time of year, just past 5pm. Having already been around the park at night, I decided it was time to make my way home.

Of course, in winter there’s the illumination at night that draws visitors as well in a separate paid area, but I wasn’t interested in spending the whole night out as well, so I’ll save it for another day.

Thank you for reading and I hope you will come back for more!