Inside Osaka's Most Dangerous Neighborhood | Bike Touring Japan #13
Nishinari -ku, the most dangerous area in all of Osaka. And I've been staying here for the past two nights. I think I am lucky to leave here with my life. Man, this place is something else.
This is our slummy apartment that we stayed in last night, last two nights. I can't believe Nick would choose such a dangerous area to stay in. Such a dangerous place.
Look at this guy delivering mail. He's probably delivering drugs. But yeah, apparently, this is the most dangerous place in all of Osaka. I don't know. I was watching a video yesterday on Osaka and whatnot.
A video was recommended and I clicked on it and it was like, Nishinari, the most dangerous slummy area in Osaka. And I was like, where is that? I googled it and I'm like, I'm right in the middle of it. And yeah, we walked around a few areas and sure, it's a little rough around the edges. But I mean, you know, compared to slums in India and Indonesia and anywhere else in the world, this ain't that bad. It's kind of nice.
It's kind of nice. It ain't that bad. But today we're going to check out and kind of explore the area a little bit and just kind of see if we can see what people are talking about. I don't know. That's pretty nice slum to me. Just look at it.
So scary. This place. I don't know if we'll survive, man. That guy looks pretty interesting. Let's go check him out. Yeah, it's actually kind of scary looking.
that is not a lady and so yesterday we passed this place on our way to dinner and when I saw it I thought it was a pachinko parlor just because how loud it is how colorful it is it has been the neon lights right here and also the the kanji for this place is ball and exit and so I was thinking you know but pachinko balls or something like that but actually it's a supermarket and yeah you could tell it's been here a while it has a lot of character and one way you could tell it's been here a while is just the the murals and the wallpaper on the outside just looks so retro and so vintage and you don't really see places like this in Japan anymore everywhere else it's super modern and boring let's go check it out inside I mean I wonder if these neon lights work anymore but let's see if the prices are like cheap cheap just like you'd imagine a lot of pre -made bentos and things in here that you could get $3 .98 okay $4 .30 for some karaage some rice you know that's like three dollars nowadays by far the cheapest onigides i've seen so far yeah that's the uh the second cross -dressing og song we've seen is that slummy i don't know it just looks like some construction walls that have been painted over by some graffiti nothing too out of the normal is this a uh shop or somebody living here what do I owe me say oh me say this guy a recycle shop oh okay so we've got a little recycle shop here they got they have these all over the country this one's just like really jam packed and doesn't have much space yeah kind of hard to see what you got but it's a recycle shop They have them all over the country. I would say some very tasteful wall art right here.
Nothing wrong with that. Another recycle shop. Let's see what they're selling.
Yeah, and so that's one of the greatest things about Japan in my opinion is if you want to buy some used stuff, you can find some really good things out there. Like every single city will have a used good store and you can find stuff for really cheap clothes, you know, anything you can imagine accessories, electronics, fishing gear, bicycles. What was that? Bungee guy, what's that? Bungee. Bungee.
What's that? Ko -yu -yatu. I'm sorry, man. Nice, man. What's your name? What's your name? Kononani. Compressor. A compressor.
Are all these yus chuko? Chuko, no ya tsu. Yum chuko. How long have you been here? Ah, I've been here a long time. You've been here a long time? No, I've been here a long time. I've been here a long time.
I've been here a long time. I've been here a long time. I've been here a long time. You know what I'm saying? Don't worry, I'll be right back.
Which is kind of strange. It's right across the street from a station. You would think they would try to clean it up and open up some shops right here.
Alright, gotta be honest here. You don't see a lot of parks in Japan like this. I don't think. No. It's a park that's still very clean.
You look around, there's no trash. I mean, they even have a trash recycling little area over there. But I mean, as far as makeshift houses and tents and things like that, you don't see a whole lot there. You can see a couple dudes over there sleeping with all their stuff.
I mean, to be fair, you don't see this in Japan a lot. No, it's not. It's like the parks in Tokyo are like tents and stuff. Are there? Yeah. But for the vast majority of Japan, yeah, I would say. But compared to other countries, this is not that bad.
This is a beautiful slum, a very clean. I'm sure the people here are super nice. I'd say this is definitely the most concentrated area I've seen of homeless people.
Every once in a while you'll see like one or two people hanging out that look kind of down on their luck but here definitely have more people for sure. Thank you very much Nice to meet you nice to meet you There you go, there's another Cuato I gotta gotta look that up. That's a free little soup kitchen right there. It looks like I Mean you do see a lot of this see a lot of date our morning drinkers people with beers already out I mean, it's 1030. I guess it's doable, but I'm sure a lot of people would just wake up and start drinking around here But that's kind of normal for a lot of places in in Tokyo in Japan. Honestly See a lot of people Drinking for breakfast here But I mean as far as dirtiness goes look at this place Honestly, it's clean There's people Probably down on their down on their luck around here.
That's about it Check it out. There's another one The neon lights is awesome. Yes, you're right.
The aesthetics is really cool. This one's been beaten up on the top How does that happen yeah, I want to put up the wind maybe Yeah, very nice Nice I'm not maybe he's selling roses or selling something but now this is just his decorations in his kazari. Wow So good nothing I got a bada bada Got some dolls And koriyo nam desu ka? Oh, it's like a band. Banding.
Okay. Kono mai wa? Kono mai wa nani wa kurai pou. Kurai pou.
Nik. Thank you. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. Nisuma de oru wa nihon. Aitsuma de? Ato nisukangara.
Nisukangara. Someone's getting attacked. Can you hear where that's coming from? It's right over there, right? I'm just hearing some yelling, some screaming. Someone's having an episode.
There was some screaming coming from over there, too. I mean, we're just saying, like, this is a very lively area compared to most places in Japan, which is kind of fun to be around. I don't want to just sit here and just, like, look around, because any other park in Japan, it would be boring. Yeah.
It'd be really boring. But here you can look around and just, there's people over there playing music. There's a dude over there that's sitting in a chair that's kind of fun to look out But I mean there's uh, there's stuff going on here Yeah, yeah definitely a lot of like probably mental health issues around here a lot of people that's for sure You don't really see this in Japan a lot not at all very rare I Think there's some places in Tokyo along the riverside. You see a lot of tarps and whatnot, but never like Inside the parks. I don't think you know like Japan does a really good job of Hiding their homeless like they are very Very good at just like okay.
Yeah homelessness does not exist here nothing to see here And so I think they even say they have like zero percent homelessness in Japan, which is obviously impossible. So Yes, sir, yes, yes, where Texas Texas Texas, okay Several years ago. I went to Ohio. Oh, hi. Oh, why did you go to Ohio? My friend had a farm. Uh -huh.
Okay a Japanese friend Or American friend she is half Japanese half Taiwanese half Japanese have Taiwanese. Come come. Okay. I saw is this your hammock? Yes. Nice It's cooler over here out of the sun I Like what you you got a nice set up here I Have a hammock too, oh really? Yeah, but I like my hobby is hammock your habit your hobby hobby So I have three hammocks so how long are you going to stay so far how many days well I've been in I've been in Japan this time for about three weeks but I also I lived in Japan Oh really? And at that time what is your occupation? At that time I was a Yochi and Egonosense Oh really? In Guma In Guma In Guma which city? Myabashi Myabashi Yes sir I've been Ota Ota is good I worked in Ota What is your name? My name is Usami. Usami? So, some European people are my friends, right? Usami.
Usami. Usami. I understand. Usami.
Usami is Usami. A Musi? My name is a meaning. My friend. Italian friends. Oh really? I guess I don't know the Italian meaning for that.
I don't know. In English, Usami. Usami, okay. Usami. So if you remember Usami, you got Usami.
Usami. And I guess, is this, you live in this neighborhood? Yes. Yeah? I'm here five minutes. Five minutes. Okay. And so every day people just come here to hang out? Yes.
Every day? Yes. Where did you learn such good English? I traveled 15 countries. Wow, okay.
Most of the Asian countries. Canada, US, Mexico, Cuba. Wow, interesting. And then most of the Asian countries, I think.
Wow, okay. More so. Not all.
Not all of them, but many. I traveled a lot. I traveled a lot. That's awesome.
The same coronavirus, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then, so I was in Malaysia. And then I step there one year. And then I come to Japan. During Corona, you were in Malaysia? Yes.
Ah, okay. One year. One year, and then you were able to come back here? Yes. I see.
I see. This is a very unique place, I think. This kind of center of this area.
The center of this area. So everybody come here. I see. So I'm riding my bicycle around Japan.
Oh, really? Yeah. My bicycle here, this one. You have a cool one? Yes, this one.
Nice. This one. Nice, nice, nice. Look. Nice, right? Yeah.
Yes. Not in no gear single gear. Oh single gear And also can go really fast, right? Wow Ground is flat can go easy. I learned I learned English long time since I was junior high. Yeah So about 50 or 60 years I learned Even I travel, right? Yeah. Yes, and it's good that you traveled and you could practice your English and then learn more English As you travel.
Yes, that's interesting Perfect perfect Can I ask you a question about this area? Yes, like is there many homeless in this area? Yes. Yes, and so Is it a is it a dangerous area safe area? Not so dangerous. Not so dangerous, right? And so Even though there's homeless people it's still a safe area Yes.
Yeah, right. And so I noticed there's a couple like Kuwato is like a free cafeteria. Free food for people here. Yes.
Yes. I see. The court has a accommodation and then people stay there apartment.
Oh, they have housing too. Yes. So housing and food. Yes. Housing and food. Okay.
And food free, right? And the housing is about roughly 40 ,000. Oh, so 40 ,000 yen. 40 ,000 yen. For a month.
A month. So that's like maybe $300. $300. Something like that.
I see. How would you say, is there any mental health options here for people? Like people who have mental health problems? Is there help? Yes. Yes.
Yes. Yesterday had a meeting at a church gathering. Oh, okay.
Oh, through a church. Church gathering. But yesterday was half for mental people. So people come, right? Is drugs a problem in this neighborhood? Maybe.
Maybe, yeah. It used to be. Oh, used to. And then they sit here.
Oh, really? They sit here. Are you speaking Japanese? Very heavy. It was so heavy. So heavy. You heard that one, eh? I lived in Japan 11 years.
Yeah. So a couple of other foreigners rocked up. And it's Wednesday. And so they have a little church service out here. And they were just explaining how, yeah, this is, you know, I'll ask them about the mental health stuff. And they're like, yeah, well, there are options there.
out here, it's just whether or not they take advantage of it and whether or not it works or not. And so, it's pretty interesting they come over here every Wednesday and it's always a different show, different people, you know, just hearing them. There's a lot going on here obviously, other than compared to other places in Japan because, yeah, even though people here don't have as much, what they do have is time. And so, people in Japan, they work their butts off and they don't have the time to just hang out and just, you know, just enjoy life in a way and so that's one thing that these people have plenty of.
This is my church, he speaks English. Very cool, okay, thank you. Nice car.
Thank you. Thank you. Bye cyber, bye cyber, bye cyber, bye cyber, bye cyber. Bye cyber.
Bye cyber. He's got a... Golden bike. Yeah, nice.
Must be time to eat. Everybody's standing in line over there. Alright, so if you know anything about Osaka, you know that they're famous for takoyaki, octopus balls, and of course you can find takoyaki anywhere in the country, all over the place, but they're just a little bit better here, I think.
This is their home. Mm -hmm. I'm sorry.
But I like it here. They serve you the takoyaki with some green onion and some ginger. You don't get that anywhere else.
And so today we're heading towards Dotonbori, next to Namba. We just hit up the little, this quote -unquote slum area, and behind me over here is one of the most interesting places I've ever witnessed here in Japan. This neighborhood back in here is essentially just one big red light district.
And so it is the most, the weirdest, most bizarre setup I've ever seen in my life. You have, there's two girls sitting in front of each shop. One of them is an old lady, they call him a mama -san, and then next to her in the middle of it, almost like a trophy sitting in the middle of a room, is a young girl sitting on a pillow. And the whole idea is you get to go in there, and I guess from what I've been described as, it's like a tea time. You pay for like a meal.
You go in there and you're served a small snack, maybe some tea, and then I'm sure you can imagine what goes on after that. But it's just bizarre. Wouldn't you agree? It's very strange. Very strange. It's very strange. Very strange to see.
But yeah, the whole idea is it's kind of a legal grey area because... You're paying for the meal, but then the girl just decides to fall in love with you. That's the premise, huh? Completely separately. That's the loophole. You pay for the meal and the tea, which I can imagine is...
The most expensive tea ever. The most expensive tea you can imagine. And then the girl just falls in love with you and then, yeah, you can... Why are you...
You're paying for the meal. Okay. And this is still a thing here in Japan. I thought they...
I thought they banned this, but... I knew you could do this in Tokyo, but... Fuck yeah. Don't believe! Don't believe! It was an interesting time. Alright, next thing you gotta try when you're in Osaka is the openom yaki.
And usually you can do it yourself, but we can't be a place and they're gonna do it for us. A little fancy place. That is the biggest Takoyaki ball I've ever seen in my life.
I love it. Everything here is just like exaggerated. Like, bigger smiles, bigger fucking...
But that's a big ol' sushi. Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa! A pigeon! Pigeon's coming at me. Yeah, there's a big sushi over there.
Everything's exaggerated here at all. And that is the iconic Glico. There he is. Signboard right there.
That's actually a Filipino runner. Do you know that? I didn't know that. That's a Filipino... Filipino guy. ...from like a race in the 1920s or 30s, and the owner of this company liked the picture so much that he used it. And so, that's a Filipino runner right there.
And the video that I watched also said that there are more bridges in Osaka than there are in Venice. Really? Yeah. That's surprising. We gotta fact check that, but... Considering the, like, extensive canal system in Venice, but... That's impressive.
All those bridges over there, Osaka in the... Yeah. In the distance. Yeah, well... Yes.
Found a nice little place to call home tonight. Way back in the middle of industrial town. Nothing but warehouses and factories.
and big trucks all along here so should be quiet though mix all set up i'm doing the hammock tonight doing the hammock nice and easy feels freaking awesome outside too so shouldn't be cold pretty pretty miles tonight yep see y 'all in the morning
2024-06-30 13:42
