Ah, Japan in winter - that heady aroma of a million bakeries and udon noodles on the air. This time I'm here slightly earlier in the year, early enough to see the maple leaves change colour and early enough not toast my legs under a kotatsu while the rest of my body freezes. Of course I've also arrived months after one of the strongest earthquakes in Japanese history, and with the nuclear situation in Fukushima, posters are everywhere encouraging people to save electricity. But despite huge natural disasters and next to no economic growth, there's still stuff going on. Since being here last time the huge train station complex of JR Osaka in Umeda has had what looks like an airline terminal built on top of it. I went out to to Den-den down to see all second had video games and music shops and still busy game arcades with huge Gundam pods to step into and strange multi player online games with cards. There was even Christmas Gundam.. I went out to my old neighbourhood in Kobe of course to see what else had changed - plenty of places closed down, new towers in their place, and Harbourland looking pretty empty. Just as in Sydney at this time of year, Christmas lights were up everywhere but the background music featured many more explicitly Christian Christmas songs, presumably because no one listening can understand the lyrics. I've made sure to enjoy some proper ramen and also tried some cheap (but by far the highest quality I've had in ages) conveyor belt sushi, ordered from touch screen tv's at our table. The coffee is crap, but you can sit down in a big comfy chair in a chain cafe and fall asleep for a few hours without looking out of place!

Took the chance to visit my old neighbourhood today. Mostly the same but the Korean International goodwill centre had been replaced by an apartment building and there was a Ramen place that I remembered opening next to my old apartment had also just shut down. Seeing As I'd missed out on viewing the huge Gundam statue in Tokyo, the next best thing was to visit the giant statue of Tetsujin 28 Go..aka Gigantor..in Kobe. The original animator was from here and by the looks of things it's been put up in one of the most earthquake devastated areas of the city as part of a regeneration project. And in order to promote the whole thing subway trains and vending machines and plenty of other places have gigantor crap plastered all over them.

Finally found out what these little snacks are called today. Had to resort to asking one of teachers in the school what they're called. Theres a small Chinatown in Kobe where they sell these yokes from stalls among other really delicious weird foods that I've no idea how to ask for.

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