＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:https://skawa68.com/
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
1. Osaka’s beautifully transformed Midosuji Avenue
Osaka has been changing dramatically in recent years. Midosuji, Osaka’s main street, has been open for 81 years this year.
When I started working some 50 years ago, I had the impression that it was a very wide road, but I wouldn’t even go so far as to call it a “beautiful street.”
Since then, Midosuji has been beautified and improved through the “Osaka 21st Century Plan” and other initiatives, resulting in a dramatic transformation with sculptures being installed along the sidewalks, illuminations being lit up like the Champs-Élysées in Paris during the Christmas season, and stylish cafes opening on the first floors of banks and other commercial buildings.
It has also become famous as a route for marathons such as the Osaka International Women’s Marathon. There is no doubt that the work of then Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto contributed greatly to the revitalization of Midosuji.
Additionally, along Midosuji from Shinsaibashi to Honmachi, in locations that once housed bank branches, famous international brands such as Chanel and Louis Vuitton have opened stores, along with showrooms for imported cars such as Ferrari and Lamborghini, and stores selling famous international watch brands.
When novelist and former MITI（Ministry of International Trade and Industry ） bureaucrat Taichi Sakaiya (godfather of the “baby-boom generation”), who was then serving as an advisor (executive director) to the Osaka 21st Century Association, proposed the idea of opening the first floor of a bank along Midosuji Avenue to the general public for use as a café and gallery, I thought, “That’s impossible. I thought it was an unrealistic proposal.
The “Osaka 21st Century Plan” is Osaka’s comprehensive plan for the 21st century, “Energetic people, safe lives, a vibrant city – A plan to revitalize Osaka and double its vitality,” and is based on Osaka City’s vision of “creating an Osaka that is full of vitality as an exchange hub for Asia,” “creating an Osaka where new things are born from people gathering, growing, meeting, and interacting,” and “creating an attractive Osaka that people want to live in and visit,” and aims to make Osaka a “water metropolis” and a “culturally creative city.”
2. Has Shinsaibashi-suji now become a drugstore district?
Over 50 years ago,Shinsaibashi-suji Shopping Street was a perfect shopping district for enjoying “Sin-bura（「心ブラ」）,” a kind of “Gin-bura（「銀ブラ」）” of wandering around Ginza with two department stores as well as long-established jewelry stores, kimono shops, kelp stores, second-hand bookstores, art supply stores, art galleries, musical instrument stores, record stores, coffee shops, and Western-style confectionery shops.
However, many “long-established” and “fashion brand” stores have now withdrawn from Shinsaibashisuji, turning it into a “drugstore district. Many “old shops” and “fashion brand” stores have closed down, and the area has turned into a “drugstore district.” Many Chinese and Korean people are walking around. It is truly a transformation from “the world is a scene of constant changes, a mulberry field changes into a blue sea”.
「桑田（そうでん）変じて滄海（そうかい）と成る」変貌
Meanwhile, on Midosuji, a number of “cafes” like those advocated by Sakaiya Taichi have sprung up, and this number is expected to increase further with the opening of four hotels along the street in the next two to three years.
A “gallery” has also been created by installing “outdoor sculptures” along the sidewalk, and the recently completed Mitsubishi UFJ Bank building has a cafe and a “gallery displaying old coins and old maps” in the lobby on the first floor.
Although we can no longer enjoy “a stroll along the elegant Shinsaibashi,” we can now enjoy “strolling along the promenade of Midosuji Avenue like the Champs-Elysées.
The president of Chanel said, “Midosuji is the most beautiful in the world. The Champs-Elysées in Paris is so wide (70 meters) that people passing on the sidewalk on the other side cannot see well, but Midosuji is just 44 meters wide. That is why we decided to open our store on Midosuji Boulevard”.
This is why Midosuji is so highly regarded by famous foreign brands.
3. Umekita has also undergone a dramatic transformation
Umekita is an area created by a redevelopment project on the vast site of the JR Freight Umeda Freight Terminal, which was located north of JR Osaka Station.
A connecting passage between JR Osaka Station and Yodobashi Umeda has already been installed, and there are plans to build a huge hotel to the north of Yodobashi Umeda in 2020.
On the south side of JR Osaka Station, a connecting passage to the Hankyu Department Store and Hanshin Department Store has already been constructed, and the second phase of the reconstruction of the Hanshin Department Store building has also begun, so the area is visibly becoming more convenient.
I’m really looking forward to seeing how Midosuji and Umekita will change in the future. I hope I’ll be healthy until then.