Winter in Osaka and Ginkgo Trees

Ginkgo Trees in December
Osaka wasn’t significantly colder than Korea.
Perhaps that’s why the ginkgo trees on the streets were in full autumn colors in December.
It felt like late autumn in Korea during October and November.
It was nice that it wasn’t too cold for traveling.

Korean dramas started to become popular in Southeast Asia.
Around the time when illegally copied CDs of Korean dramas started to trend during trips to Southeast Asia.
But when I saw Korean branded cosmetics, Missha in Japan, it somehow made me feel good.

I’ve seen escalators that curve and move in Osaka.
I don’t know much about physics and mathematics, but they looked different from the straight escalators going up and down.
Since that day, I haven’t seen any curved escalators.

Sony VAIO Pocket PC (P series)
Until 2009, Sony and HP laptops were widely used in Korea.
Relatively, Samsung and LG laptops didn’t have a high market share.
Among Sony laptops, the P series was the one I wanted, and it was nicknamed Pocket PC because it fit perfectly into the back pocket of jeans.
I was impressed by TV and magazine advertisements featuring a beautiful woman putting the laptop into her back pocket.

Sony VAIO P series print ad
I wanted to own that laptop, but in Korea, it was not easy to buy due to the price exceeding one million won.(USD 800)

I was greatly tempted when I saw a price tag in Bic Camera in Japan, showing that I could buy it for less than 700,000 won. (USD 550)
However, I couldn’t buy it in Japan, so I came back to Korea and purchased a used P series laptop for a more affordable price on a second-hand market.
Even now, the P series laptop with broken monitor is still in my house.
If I have time, I would like to replace the monitor and experience the nostalgia again.

[A whole New World]

I stopped for a moment on my way in front of a music store in Shinsaibashi and listened to the flowing music being played.
It was enough to give my tired body and mind a rest.

Korean, with wrong grammar

I think I understand the message they wanted to convey.
But if possible, I wanted to see perfect Korean, Hangul.
Still, I was satisfied that Hangul wasn’t completely absent.
At least the Hangul was correct.

I didn’t go in, but I saw Yoshinoya, Japan’s largest gyudon chain.
I wanted to go in and have a bowl of my favorite gyudon, but I resisted.

Osaka House, the Guesthouse in Osaka
While traveling in Osaka and Kansai province, I stayed at a guesthouse called Osaka House.
On the previous night, I couldn’t find accommodation late at night, so I dragged my heavy suitcase through the streets of Osaka.
I can’t forget the Japanese person who brought me here when I was lost.

In the Osaka and Kansai region, having the Kansai Pass helped save a lot on transportation costs.
I heard that transportation fees in Japan are expensive, but thanks to this Kansai Pass sold only to foreigners, I could travel around without the burden of transportation costs.

Watching Japanese dramas on Japanese TV in Japan.
In that, I met Takuya Kimura.
I was immersed in Japanese dramas at that time, so I was delighted to meet him and greeted him aloud.
Even now, I occasionally take out the dramas and movies featuring Takuya Kimura, who played the leading role in the drama “Hero.”

Dec. 12. 2009