A Brief Slice of Osaka

I had to go to Osaka for a work related meeting yesterday. I managed to navigate the city mostly without use of my phone for once. I finally used my phone after the meeting to search for vintage American apparel shops. I'd heard American-made clothes could be sold for a lot of money. I had a few thirty-five year old neckties that actually were that--they were made in the 1980s, before all American clothes were made in China, Taiwan, Vietnam, or Bangladesh. The one shop I found willing to buy them would only give me 300 yen per tie (around three dollars) so I held onto them.



The shop was in a part of town called "America Village" (アメリカ村). There are a bunch of vintage American clothes shops but they mostly seemed to sell boots, denim, and torn canvas jackets. Ain't that America. I suppose no-one's looking for neckties in those parts.



There were a lot of pigeons chilling out on Nishiki Bridge. Covid numbers have necessitated a state of emergency in Osaka so crowds were light and some stores were closed.



I can't seem to find any info on this amazing building nearby. It appears to be home to a life insurance company now.



Seems like an architectural marvel worthy of bigger things than that, though. Especially in a country known for devastating earthquakes.



Meanwhile, this place is the "Organic Building", whatever that means.