Li Wei– Author –

Step off the subway at Komagawa-Nakano, and the air itself seems to shift. The polished hum of central Osaka, with its gleaming towers and crisscrossing train lines, fades into a different kind of rhythm. It’s a cadence of bicycle bells,...

Step out of the sleek, quiet efficiency of an Osaka subway car at Namba Station, and you are immediately reborn into a different world. The air itself changes, thickening with a palpable energy, a riot of sound and scent that pulls you f...

In the grand, neon-drenched theater of Osaka, Namba is the dazzling main stage. It’s a place of colossal glowing crabs, of thunderous pachinko parlors, and rivers of people flowing through covered shopping arcades. It is spectacular, und...

There's a rhythm to Osaka that everyone knows. It’s the pulse of Dotonbori’s neon heart, the sizzle of takoyaki on a hot griddle, the spirited chatter that fills the shotengai shopping arcades. It’s a city of vibrant, concentrated energy...