Dogs in pajamas in strollers, piped music on public streets, the smell of takoyaki hanging in the balmy air, the incessant chatter of cicadas, the random old men who stop their bikes just to tell me it's "atsui!" (hot), people on loudspeakers - advertising, selling, the artificial bird that chirps to usher me across the five different intersecting crosswalks, the millions of blinking lights over the rushing city, the train jingles and the t-shirts that read, "Mister Hey Delicacy Future," it's all so incredibly familiar that I feel I must be cheating - have I moved at all?
My first few days "back" in Osaka have felt unsettling-ly easy. I arrived in an airport I knew, sailed through immigration with the incorrect visa and about three-too-many suitcases, walked directly to the fifth bus stop and caught a ride to the city center. I secured the chattiest taxi driver I've ever had, which did wonders for my pigeon Japanese small talk abilities on the subjects of Manchester, the weather, learning English and Japanese wives. For the moments during the conversation when I found myself lost, I realised I still had enough Japanese "uh huh?" noises in my repertoire to keep the dialogue flowing. Though it was pouring with rain and the driver had no clue (as per usual) as to where the address I gave him was, he jumped gleefully into the monsoon at every occasion to check on directions and proudly delivered me with suitcases to my door.
In my first few days I've caught up with some old friends, had a night out in Kyoto, reminded myself of the vast array of products that can be sold in vending machines and re-explored the wonders of Osaka city center and its surroundings. There are moments when all this familiarity makes me worry that this adventure may not turn out to be as new as I'd hoped... but then I remind myself that Mie will be completely different, buy myself something in the supermarket that I don't recognise, and all my fears are assuaged.
With station attendants bowing as I cross through ticket wickets and 7 - 11 cashiers shouting "Irrashaimase!" as I walk through the doors, it feels like Osaka has orchestrated a city wide "welcome back" but then, of course, it's like this every single day. For now, I'm just going to kick back and enjoy it.
