The radio was the window to the world.

Qualia Journal

 

When I was about 10 years old I started to listen to Radio Moscow and The Far East Network (FEN).

 

Radio Moscow was broadcast from the Soviet Union, delivered in Japanese, by people who were presumably living in Moscow. It was of course a propaganda machine. I understood that as a child. However, I did enjoy the broadcast from curiosity, feeling like I was getting a glimpse of a far and strange world. I was also fascinated by these Japanese people who ended up in Moscow at that time. I imagined how their lives are like.

 

The FEN was broadcast by the American Forces in Japan. It was mainly pop and rock, with occasional news bulletins. I was particularly fond of Paul Harvey's The Rest of The Story. I was overjoyed when I happened to come across an episode while listening to FEN. I enjoyed the story, and waited for the punchline now you know the rest of the story.

 

When I think about it, as I started to learn English at the age of 12, I must have taken several years to understand what The Rest of The Story was all about. Before understanding I simply listened to it as a sound of spoken music.

 

In those days, the radio was the window to the world.

The great maze that is the Osaka station.

 

Qualia Journal

Osaka station is very complex, and it is difficult to grasp which direction you are going.

I walked from Osaka station to Imperial Hotel Osaka, and it took some puzzle solving to finally emerge on the ground, heading for the famous hotel.

It took me then about 30 minutes to cover the distance from Osaka station to the Imperial Hotel.

Tokyo station is quite easy to understand. There is the Imperial Palace side (Marunouchi), and the Yaesu side. Compared to Tokyo, Osaka is quite difficult to navigate. It also means that there are many hidden treasures underground. 

The other day I was walking in the underground maze of Osaka station and came to an area where quite attractive series of restaurants were found. The problem is, I can perhaps never go back to that area, because I don't know precisely where they were in the great maze that is the Osaka station.