Where East Meets West

Sunday dawned bright and sunny so the weather was perfect for more sightseeing. My plan was to visit Osu Kannon, a Buddhist temple situated in central Nagoya and then take the shortest route home passing by the grocery store. As it turned out, the plan was perfect but the execution was poor. Lead by my insatiable curiosity I walked the streets rudderless, following any scent that arouse my slightest interest.

After taking a right turn from Osu-dori, I imagined that the temple would be right there, visible to the naked eye. Instead all I saw was office buildings one after another. For a second I thought I had already missed the turn but after checking my map I was convinced I was in the right place. A hundred meters further and there it was, hiding in the shadow of the taller buildings. This is something I really love about Japan, that at each turn, you can find something unexpected whether it's a small peaceful temple, a narrow backstreet packed with tiny shops or just something that looks totally out of place.

Osu Kannon.

A statue at Osu Kannon.

The temple area was quite crowded and people of all ages were making offerings, praying in front of the shrine and burning incense sticks. From the eastern side of the temple area starts a maze of small walking streets crammed with tiny shops from ramen booths and vegetable stalls to electronic retailers and clothing stores. Some of the shop names where quite amusing such as the m/c clothing store, with a motorbike parked in front of it, called Skooter or the coffeehouse chain Café de Crié ("café of shouting"). Somehow beauty salons had managed to got their names right such as Beauty Salon Cuore ("heart") or Beauty Salon Dandy House but still most of the attempts to sound original were horrible. It's like Hollywood stars naming their children, it's not their forte.

Lost in the labyrinth.

If you can find your way to the other end of the labyrinth you arrive at the edge of Sakae. Not as colossal or breathtaking as for example Shibuya in Tokyo, the district has more of a Western feel to it. For example Hisaya Odori, one of the main streets in Sakae, has the same kind of mellow atmosphere as Esplanadi in Helsinki with a park in the middle of trafficked streets. But the similarities end there. Especially at night, when all the neon signs are lit, Sakae is the unresting heart of the city with its numerous restaurants, bars and nightclubs.

View of Hisaya Odori from the Galaxy platform.

More Sakae.

After marveling the city for a few hours I had lost track of my position, but owing to the grid-like structure of the city, I was quite easily able to find my way into the right direction and eventually got to the grocery store. After spending a few days more or less just wandering in the city, I'm really starting to like it. Eager words of a newcomer? We'll see...