Akihabara guide

You know your dreams of being a model are completely over when you are standing next to a robot, and they name the robot, but not you.

Or you know you're in Akihabara when...

The Robot got a secret camera in his left hand?

Osaka.... sure if you like to walk around cars parked on sidewalks. Osaka in general is an industrial town. Even in the biz district I would say 90% of the groups (salarymen) all have a cig hangin out their mouth and an abundance of litter can be found on most sidewalks. I live near the castle and I was living and working in Tokyo and (Yokohama--super clean). It is incredible how different the people are and they even stand on opposite sides of escalators. I rarely see foreigners except bus loads of Koreans and Chinese hitting the castle. They are always building raggly things in Osaka and 100yen car parks decorate the city. Anyone could do it in a day. See the castle, have a bit of okonomiyaki, a beer in Umeda, done. It hasnt changed since you saw 'Black Rain' (1988) with Michael Douglas and it leads the country in crime now. And I wont bother making a comment on the school drop out maid....she is in Tokyo. Stick with Nara and Kyoto and if youre a smoker youre in 7th heaven in Osaka.

PS that tower is a waste of time.

PPS.... the girls have zero cash.

The maid is cute.

Japan is known for lack natural resources but now it seems short of human resources as well !

cool robot !!!! i likee girls in french maid uniforms

my2sense you showed your lack of class in that final post. I was almost agreeing with you, but you've gone and blown it. Osaka, You Rocka! Love the grit. The girl's have sass. Go Tigers, Go!

Osaka, rocks, people are way more layed back than Tokyoites. Been here for almost 2 years now and still haven't seen the Tsutenkaku. Is that bad? :S

oh sorry.... I meant the girls have less money but very down to earth... in that sense Osaka girls are great. Well after all my wife is from here.

Maid is a fine looking woman :-)

@ bamboohat

How do you work out she is a high school dropout? She might be a uni student.

If she was ineterested in modeling, this photo would probably help, rather than hinder...

I actually love Osaka.

Osaka is a hole

I think bamboo is right, if they didn't name the poor girl she has no future as a maid or a model. But if that was really Akihabara wouldn't the robot be in a skirt too?

Crumpets and Robots

Japan in a nutshell - robots and fetish wear. Also gimpy pose by both for the camera.

my2sense - no wayyy! there's a LOT to see in osaka! i've been there six times and have yet to see everything, let alone TASTE everything. soooo much good food there! okonomiyaki is great, and the takoyaki is outstanding!! i could spend hours and hours eating and only cover one block! the people i've met are really nice. went to an kaitenzushi place where every item was only 100 yen. amerikamura was interesting! i skipped the castle as i'd already been to supposedly the most beautiful castle in japan (himejijo). LOVE people-watching in the "sketchy" area :) oh, and as far as crime goes...four people were shot to death in the last two days in a city one city away from me here in california. i'm not too worried about crime in japan. also...if you go to osaka, you will find no shortage of really interesting and really cheap love hotels! that's one of the things about osaka that keeps me coming back. my mrs. is from tokyo, but she loves osaka too :) if you want to see the osaka that i've seen, check out this video of Anthony Bourdain in Osaka: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmxk2FvZtKo

Anyone could do it in a day. See the castle, have a bit of okonomiyaki, a beer in Umeda, done

Osaka has a lot more than the castle. Although the Tsutenkaku isn't worth going up the area it is in (shin-sekai) is well worth a visit.

The Dodonbori has the biggest neon signs I've seen in Japan. A lot of tourists come to Japan and expect lots of neon but this is the only area that I think lives up to expectations.

Mino is a great area for walking, especially in Spring and Autumn to see the waterfall and Katsuoji temple.

The sky building in Umeda gives great views of the city. On clear day you can see all the way to Akashi Kaikyo and Awaji shima right at the other end of Kobe. I've been to the Metropolitan building and Mori arts building but their sky decks just weren't as good.

Even if Osaka has the worst crime rate in Japan it is still very low compared to most other big cities in the world.

@tanakataro - completely agree! dotonbori and namba itself can both take days to explore. last time i was there, i didn't feel like i had enough time to eat everything that i wanted to try. and you really need to sit there and savor the food to appreciate it.

actually, i wasn't too much of a fan of the area where the tower is either, but right near that station is Spa World, which was one of the best spas i'd ever been to. just no tats ;) http://www.spaworld.co.jp/

I completely retract my post. I have absolutely no idea what I am talking about....

Osaka is well worth a trip. Nearby Tsutenkaku for history/culture buffs is Shitennoji, the first officially chartered or licensed Buddhist temple in Japan, founded by Prince Shotoku himself. The area was flattened during WW2, so the temple is a reconstruction, but the original torii remains. Also nearby is the Sumiyoshi Shinto shrine, one of the greatest and most historical in Japan. Moreover, the food in Osaka is great, and on my several trips, I found the people to be very nice. I love Japan, but Kansai is always my primary choice of destinations.

I think that maid often is used for documentary and pictures.

bamboohat at 07:45 AM JST - 14th April

You know your dreams of being a model are completely over when you are standing next to a robot, and they name the robot, but not you.

Let's not fault the girl just because her publicist isn't pulling his weight. He should've demanded it in the contract!