About Me (-or- why am I doing this?)

I suppose I should start with a little background. Although I'm originally from the United States, I've lived in and around the Osaka area for more than 15 years. I love it here, and I always recommend it to people coming to Japan for the first time. I know everyone goes to Tokyo, and it can be a fun place to visit. For me though, Tokyo is like New York. , You can find anything there, but it's so very internationalized. If you really want to see the real Japan, at least to my mind, go somewhere else.

This isn't always easy though. I can't begin to count the number of times I've seen tourists turning their tour books upside down, or struggling with trying to get directions from the locals. English signage has come a long way since I came here, but it's still a tremendous challenge navigating the city to the uninitiated.

With this blog, I hope to create a place where folks can come and get ideas on what to do and where to go in Osaka. I'll try to cover all the bases, from restaurants, activities, sights, special events, and I'll even through in some simple Japanese once in a while to help you get around.

I hope you find these posts useful, and if so, feel free to drop me a line and let me know.

Thanks for reading, and have a good trip to Osaka!!!