Izakaya Street in Osaka, Japan, 🇯🇵

in #photography6 years ago (edited)

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One of the many narrow, and paper lantern illuminated streets you could find in big cities in Japan. This one was taken in Osaka, but I cannot pinpoint the exact location... But since we were eating close to Dōtonbori before that picture was taken, it has to be somewhere near there. Dōtonbori is the most famous tourist spot in Osaka, with big illuminated signboards, lots of restaurants and very crowded at night.

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The red lanterns you see on the left are called Akachōchin (赤提灯, "red lantern") and usually indicate that you'll find an izakaya (居酒屋) there, a traditional Japanese pub. What I did not know (until I searched the name of the lanterns) is that both terms are basically synonyms and can be substituted (there, I learned something new today, yeah!)
We've only tried izakaya once, I think it was in Takayama ; a much smaller city I mentioned in one of my previous post. I remember the warm atmosphere, just a few people besides us enjoying their evening, it was very small but cozy, and the food was simple and delicious ; basically Japanese tapas, accompanied with your beverage of choice (beer or sake... or both 😵)
The reason we did it only once is that often everything is written in Japanese. But next time we'll hopefully be ready, and able to order food in Japanese 😅

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If you want to know how an izakaya looks like and be entertained at the same time, you can check Netflix's Midnight Diner. It's about a fictional one, only open at night, in Shinjuku. Each episode is about 30 minutes, so it's a quick watch. I won't say more though as I think I'll talk about it in a lengthier post since I love his show. I just saw there are supposed to be 4 seasons, but only one is available in Canada, why??


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wow... I love this photo very much... It shows "real" Izakaya!!
And I didn't know there's "Midnight Diner" on Netflix... Yes, that's great TV show... Not so super attractive maybe, but I think everyone can see how Japanese people communicate each other or let's say... kind of "cross-communication" in "Izakaya" space. Thank you for sharing and restreemed.

Hi @yo-yo! Thank you very much!

Yes, there is Midnight Diner, but unfortunately, only the first season. I know what you mean by "not super atractive, I agree. It's hard to sell to other people a series about a guy running a pub that's open only the night ;-) I have to explain that it is in Shinjuku, where there are plenty of people working on the night, and that those are short stories, some ending badly, some well, and some... just not ending at all :-)
But somehow, I like it. The characters, the Japanese play-on-words jokes that are untranslatable, the music, AND the food! 🤤

Is it popular in Japan? It definitely seems that nobody knows about it where I live, I feel like a fanboy 😉

hi @jalayn yeah, sure, this is popular in Jpn too, but I think there's more big fun of Manga series. I haven't read Manga yet, but I love TV one and the main cast(the chef) actor Kaoru Kobayashi is a cool guy... so I really love to watch it. And hey, you should check this "Kodoku no gurume(孤独のグルメ)" too... it seems there's no English version, but still you can find out the story... because every time the story has the same kind of patterns. This is also from Manga series. Anyway I'm glad you like it and try to understand that delicate/subtle atmosphere in Japanese Izakaya... Arigato.

Oh yes, you are absolutely right, the actor playing the chief, Kaoru Kobayashi, is just perfect!
I was wondering what Kodoku no gurume was, until I saw it was from Jiro Taniguchi and that I had read it in fact, but in French (it's called Le Gourmet Solitaire) !!! Do you know that he's well known in France?! Many of his works have been translated into French in fact, including my absolute favorite 遥かな町へ, aka Quartier Lointain. There even was a movie in French language based on the books.
I still remember closing the book, so many emotions coming at the same time...
Ah well, I think I need to re-read it again someday...

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