Return to DenDen Town

One of the things I was keen to do on my return to Osaka was to take some more photos of DenDen Town. This time, I wanted to get over some of my camera shyness (that is, shy when taking photos rather than having them taken) and get more of the atmosphere of this place. I was also interested to see how an area had changed in the two years since I'd been there, considering it hadn't seemed to change in the twenty years before then.

First thing I saw, like a beacon guiding me home, was the Tsutenkaku Tower. Apart from that, the area seemed nicer and neater than before. There were no sellers of old VHS tapes on the side of the road, nor were there any sleeping tramps with crisps down his shirt. I did find a naughty cinema, though.

I kept walking and before long things returned to normal. The fading shop signs, the piped enka music and the room with lines of old men playing Shogi or Go. This time with extra people watching from outside. I took one photo and then noticed a man inside looking at me angrily, so I wandered off before taking a second.

Walking around meant constantly checking for cyclists whizzing past.

And at one point I passed a large covered area full of men with luggage. I though they must be waiting for a bus or something, but couldn't see any timetables or anything. Then it occurred to me that they were homeless. Hmm, I can't be the first person to note the similarities between the destitute and holiday-makers.