Pumping in Hirakatashi

Hirakatashi as expected of any shopping center area, is far more busy and crowded. The flow of people and it’s intense lights and billboards compete or attention.Also you will find in Hirakatashi the main taxis points and bus stop, administrative buildings, shopping malls and karaoke.

However this flow of people decreases around 8pm and from that time Hirakatashi receives a different public. Moving contrary to the every day routine, garage bands make their concerts at the corners, an Indian tunes songs without extending the hand and with no hat aside; turning your head to the other side you will see groups of young people exchanging street dance steps as break, house and hip-hop.

One night I decided to go beyond the sight study and spend some time with one of those street dancers group just to have an approach of their feeling and also I was striving on making a conversation. I overcame my shyness and insecurity about communication barriers. Finally I had a deep breath to get in one of the dance circles and the group understood that I had an affinity and interest in them, giving me permission to take pictures as you can check it out.

Neighborhood

Hirakata is a nice place to live in Japan. As expected, on the boundaries of college campuses there are banks, markets, post offices, 99 shops and even bars. So, it has all the basic facilities next to you and usually you can get there by foot or by a short bus ride or by subway in Hirakatashi station, which takes about 10min away from the Availstore.

A few decades ago Hirakata grown exponentially because of residential housing projects and what was once a suburban farming village, nowadays it has been transformed into a residential city. In my view this residential area covers such a huge space that I must take care to not get lost in the ecstasy of adventure... The houses’s architecture are very similar, the streets have no name and also there are few points of reference that really make a difference. The location of houses depends on it’s block number but sometimes this information is not enough even for people who live very close from where you are planning to go, then you are supposed to had some signs kept in your mind before. The name of the family, gardens, flags, stickers on doors, bicycles, dogs or religious symbols stamped in front of the resident’s house can help you to find your place.

The lack of space naturally reflects on residents behavior. On this way, the residents of Hirakata cho appreciate the silence and day-by-day it is remarkable that among neighborhood there is a mutual respect for the home environment.You will see that it is quite common during the day old men and women walking back and forth (they are incredibly active), children riding a unicycle or couples running together around the park.Motorcycles and bicycles are in everywhere, sharing space with a certain flow of cars but I have never witnessed a chaotic traffic since I got here.

Describing the space and the inhabitants of Hirakata may sound a bit confused and confined however the order outweighs any limitation. Concerning the beliefs of a country which ensures order and discipline as human values in several ways, it makes sense that everything seem works without accidents or claustrophobia.. at least by now.

Japan: first Impressions

Post 1: report the first impressions of Japan. At first, for those who may pass by here, I apologize for countless grammatical errors and vocabulary that you should find. English it is one of the challenges of studying in a university abroad but I'll do my best to make you understand a little of my vision.

But lets get what really matters!I'm in Japan for about 20 days and each one of these brought me a completely new experience. The differences between Brazil and Japan go far beyond the geographical location, language, culture and customs.. While some of these differences are obvious others are hiding among details . I could spend a long time writing and reporting every single curiosity from what I already noticed in Hirakata, Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe but there are some facts that really made me feel impressive about the Japanese way of life speaking in terms of cross-cultural sight.

Place the coins in the exact amount for the bus?In Brazil it would be very difficult if there is nobody to confiscate. Leave the shopping basket on the bike without turning the head the whole time to ensure that your stuff is in the same place? Far from now, it seems that here you can feel safe in a certain way ( I'm trying to get used in trusting my environment ). Another interesting fact it is the concern for environmental clean-up not only at home but also on the streets ... The selective gargabe is part of everyday life.

Anyway, for now these are the first impressions I would like to leave here and I drew much attention as Brazilian and as a participant of it all.