Shinsekai (新世界) unter dem Tsutenkaku (通天閣)

Eine weitere in jedem Reisefuehrer erwaehnte Strasse ist die Shisenkai. Dieses ehemalige Vergnuegungsviertel, liegt es doch neben dem Tennoji Zoo, gilt heute als das gefaehrlichste Viertel Osakas.

Die Wiki fasst zusammen: "Many Osakans claim to be afraid to step foot in the area. The travel guide Lonely Planet Japan, warns visitors to "keep their wits about them" as this (Shinsekai) may be the "closest thing in Japan to a dangerous neighbourhood". However, Shinsekai's status as a dangerous area owes much to criminal activity that flourished in the decades before the 1990s. Continuing the area's chequered fortunes of recent years, in place of rampant criminality, Osaka's large permanent settlement of homeless has taken root in the areas around Shinsekai. Homeless men, often elderly, from all over Japan come to Osaka to escape the stigma of hometown societal shame and wander the streets around the area. The neighbourhood is also home to a large presence of prostitutes and Osaka's transvestite community."

Zumindest die Obdachlosen sieht man auf jeden Fall, wenn man mal durch das Viertel spaziert. Schade eigentlich, denn unter dem Tsutenkaku Turm (dem Wahrzeichen fuer den Aufbau Osakas nach WWII), sollte es anders aussehen.

Osaka - Billiken

Was es mit diesem Kerl fuer eine Bewandnis hat, weiss ich nicht, aber er der sitzt ziemlich oft hier rum.

** Inzwischen weiss ich es, hier die Wiki zum Billiken: "Billiken enshrined on the fifth floor of the Tsutenkaku Tower, is the God of Happiness or "things as they ought to be." Billiken, a popular American charm doll that came to Japan in about 1910, was enshrined within Luna Park when it opened. When the park was closed in 1923, the wooden statue of Billiken went missing. As a part of an effort to revive the tower, a copy of Billiken was made from an old photograph and placed inside the tower in 1979. The statue of Billiken became closely associated with the tower and is a popular symbol of good luck. Each year thousands of visitors place a coin in his donation box and rub the soles of his feet to make their wishes come true."