out and about

i can say that i’ve sat on all the subway lines in Osaka, after I took the orange Imasato-line the other day. i find it a rather obscure line as it goes from Imasato – one stop east of Tsuruhashi – to somewhere north of the Yodogawa. it’s a very new train line though, and i was quite taken in by how clean and new the station and train looked:

i was happy to see this on the door of the handicapped toilet, with the lower sign stating that anyone is welcome to use the facilities. i find that most people in Japan are unwilling to use toilets for disabled people, and will stand in a long, long line for the regular toilets even though there might be a vacant cubicle for disabled people nearby.

i also spotted an advertisement for the ECC language school, with 2 of the creepiest gaijin men i’ve ever seen:

i wonder if Beat Takeshi even speaks a word of english?

anyhow, the janitors at my school were plucking these little berries off the shrubs the other day – they had a bowl full of them, and offered me one:

they’re apparently called yama momo, or mountain peach, and are sourish with a seed inside:

i’m very impressed by the flowers and shrubs that are grown in school. i never really noticed those shrubs before i saw the janitors plucking these fruits off them that day, and i love how we get daffodils, hydrangeas, tulips and a variety of other flowers depending on the time of year. One type of flower blooms, and then it fades, and then another type goes into bloom again – it’s lovely to be able to appreciate one variety at one time.