Hanami: Osaka-Style!

Today was a beautiful sun-shining day in Osaka. We celebrated the last few falling petals of sakura by rip-roarin` it up with a killer barbeque. Mami (Beans) invited me to hang out with some of her good friends and I invited Megs (Megumi) and Rituko to join the party.
First of all, Osaka is an amazing city. But even more amazing, is how genuinely you can bond with people with whom you share no common culture, but rather share a common joy for life.
If you are someone who is reading this aloud to my little sisters this is a good place to kiss their foreheads and have them go watch PBS. :)
Ok, chopsticks are a tricky business when you are sober, but can prove to be completely fucking impossible when you drink Asian-alchy for hours in the hot, hot sun!
Hanami can take many forms - but I think it`s done best Osaka style. That means about 7 straight hours of barbecue teriyaki, yakisoba, miso soup, chow mein, and other foods I forget, and drinking-drinking-drinking! I satisfied each and every tastebud in my head ten times over, it was a real shmorgisboard.
Japan is so highly developed that their parks are tiny green patches scattered among thirty story tall skyscrapers. Yet despite the real lack of space, people pour into the parks and camp out all day, and late into the evening. The end effect is that several hundred people are all eating, laughing, and playing with their family and friends in one big community celebration.
By the time Megs, Rituko and I made it back to Nishinomiya (about 45 minutes by train) I had just enough energy left to pedal home to Wakakusa and it`s bathtub. That is the best kind of exhaustion.
I had such a great time, I love you Beans! Thanks for introducing me to such a slick crew... I can`t wait for Karaoke and clubbin` Osaka-style next week!