The main Kansai Gaidai campus is in Nakamiya, a neighborhood northeast of central Hirakata. Northeast of that is Katahoko, home to the international student housing and a number of small shops, several of which seem to cater to the ryuugakusei (foreign exchange student) population. On the other hand, we were told that the school gets, on average, two complaints per week about how obnoxious and loud we are. So we're a mixed blessing for the residents, I guess.
On to the photos!
WE WANT YOUR BUSINESS
Here's an example of the gaijin-catering. A man named Hiroshi runs a barber shop right up the street. In the window, he's put up a sign that attempts to rein in a few passersby.
I wonder if it's caused the intended effect. Well, it worked on me! For 2300Y, Hiroshi shampooed me up twice, spent half an hour sculpting my hair into a magical work of art, and finished it off by rattling my teeth loose with a combination jackhammer-back massager. For the price, it's worth it. I won't need another haircut until my 28th birthday.
Hiroshi's English-speaking skills are next to nonexistent, but he said he was looking forward to business picking up once "the exchange students' 'travel haircuts' have become long."
A FLORALIZED ECONOMY
One feature you can't ignore in Katahoko is the sheer number of potted plants people have put in front of their houses. If there's half a foot of space between the wall and the street, there's room for another plant! Or, if there isn't enough space, PUT SOME BLOCKS DOWN! Ran out of ground? Put them on top of the wall. The only rule in this neighborhood is that you can never have too many plants. As long as you're only obstructing traffic by a little bit, it's okay.
This house has found that happy medium between sheer volume of flowers and inconvenience to the neighbors. Oh, the joys of living on a corner lot!
1 comment:
So you discuss your wonderful haircut yet you wore a hat to class. What's up with that?
An interesting post - I enjoyed reading about your haircut encounter. Getting a haircut in Japan is a joy.
I wonder if the blocks and flowers in the street work to prevent people from parking there? Often times people dump large rocks in front of their house for that purpose.
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