Osaka Part One

testeez: 29th Oct 2007 - 17:55 GMT

Loving these photos. Is the guy in the first picture shaving? The one of the man (and dog) pulling the cart caught my interest. Do you see lots of stuff like that in such a large city? It just seems so third-world. Any idea of what was in his cart? I'm of the opinion that your photos are just so dense in information that they could almost use some explanation or descriptions. They say a photo is worth a thousand words, but for those of us who aren't Japanese, some of these scenes look mysterious and perhaps a touch puzzling.

Loving them, though! I really hope to see more. Are you from Japan?

chiamattt: 29th Oct 2007 - 21:52 GMT

Thanks adam.

Testeez, I am a Torontonian that has been living and working Seoul, South Korea for the past five years. Every year or so I head to Osaka to get my Korean employment visa renewed. It's called a 'visa run' and it's quite common with expats.

The dude in the first picture is in fact shaving. He was sitting on his schooter on a side street getting ready for work I guess. I made the "can I take your picture" motion and he said 'hi!.' People pulling carts don't seem to be as common in Osaka as they are in Seoul. I really can't comment on their numbers in cities like Tokyo, but in Korea they are common. They are basically low income 'gray market' workers who march around a city (usually the same route and to the same locations) to pick up recyclable objects. They mostly pick up cardboard and other waste paper, but some do cans and bottles, old technology, and scrap metal. They then trudge to a recycling center where they are paid by weight. It's damn hard work and cars will drive around them with respect and don't honk like they would toward a parked taxi. Depending on what kind of 'route' these people have established, they can make pretty good coin...and once a route is established, business owners will know the times they come around and give them what they can. Throwing away garbage is expensive in places like Japan and Korea. Garbage is separated into different colour bags which are expensive. Most trash is recycled or incinerated. Grocery stores certainly do not have an aisle of hefty bags and there is no white haired man on TV punting the strength of his bags vs the competition. Recycling is a serious thing in Japan and Korea(more so in Japan, but Korea is getting a lot better). I hated it when I first got here...but now I understand how important it is. In my neighborhood in Korea at least, there are places to put use lightbulbs, batteries, clothes, and other things they don't want you putting in a bag to be incinerated. The only thing I don't always appreciate are the thousands of 'food waste' bags that line the streets on pretty much every day. They leak and often smell terrible. Cats and rats feast on the contents and things can often get pretty messy.