A white classic sports car crossing a neon-lit intersection at night, Osaka, Japan
Nº 20Travel PhotographyOsaka, Japan

Osaka

Five spontaneous days — strangers, speakeasies, whisky, and family.

A travel and documentary photography series from Osaka — a spontaneous five days of strangers, speakeasies, a slow whisky trail, and family.

We were meant to meet in the Philippines. We ended up in Osaka.

I got to explore Osaka with a good friend. It was almost an accident — we were supposed to meet in the Philippines, until he took a few extra days off and pitched a short detour to Japan.

We dined with strangers, found the most interesting speakeasy-styled bars, walked a slow Japanese-whisky trail, ate delicious food, met up with family, and took in as much as five days would hold.

I owe Japan a slower trip — one where I learn more of the culture and history — but this one was hard to forget.

A night street with an izakaya and a sake bar's neon sign, bicycles parked outside, Osaka
An evening street corner with people walking past an apartment block and a hotel sign, Osaka
A man cycling down a narrow night street lined with izakayas, Osaka
An older man walking his bicycle past a closed red-and-white shutter, Osaka
Cyclists waiting under an elevated expressway by day, Osaka
A bank of vending machines against a tiled wall beside a shop, Osaka
A lamplit shopping street with hanging signage and a cyclist, Shinsekai, Osaka
The Dotonbori canal crowded beneath giant billboards and a Ferris wheel, Osaka
The Kinryu Ramen dragon sign glowing red over diners at outdoor tables, Dotonbori, Osaka
A Dotonbori street beneath a giant octopus takoyaki sign, Osaka
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A modern white building with a Sun Parking sign and red bollards, Osaka
A corner restaurant with a blue sign and a parked bicycle, Osaka
A skateboarder rolling down a sunlit street between apartment blocks, Osaka
A cyclist crossing a wide city intersection, Osaka
A man in a checkered sweater crossing a street below apartment blocks, Osaka
A cyclist and a man pushing a small wood cart crossing a street by an APA Hotel, Osaka
A downtown street of mixed old buildings and signage at golden hour, Osaka
A corner by the Ooki real-estate office, people waiting in the sun, Osaka
The arched glass-roofed shopping arcade with hanging shop signs, Osaka
A red-fronted hotpot restaurant window glowing with paper lanterns, Osaka
A Daikoku drugstore front at night with tax-free signs and shoppers, Osaka
A white classic sports car crossing a neon night intersection, Osaka
The dense neon signs and lanterns of Shinsekai at night, Osaka
A takoyaki street stall at night, a cook at work under red lanterns, Osaka
A chef behind the counter of a small restaurant seen through the window, Osaka
A quiet residential night street with lanterns and a lone figure, Osaka
A night shopfront of red lanterns and a DVD shop, bicycles and passers-by, Osaka
Two men drinking at a tiny plastic-curtained street stall at night, Osaka
An oden street stall with red lanterns and seated customers, Shinsekai, Osaka
A man holding a small child outside a lantern-lit yakitori restaurant at night, Osaka
A quiet old residential corner with a two-storey house and a one-way sign, Osaka
The roofline of Osaka Castle's keep with gold ornaments against a blue sky
Pine trees in Osaka Castle Park at golden hour, Osaka
A person before the massive stone wall and pine of Osaka Castle, a cat on the path
Tsutenkaku Tower lit up above the neon of Shinsekai at night, Osaka
A hand holding up a phone to photograph the neon street at night, Osaka
A retro arcade with a row of vintage sit-down cabinets and orange stools, Osaka
A man reading the menu outside a cash-only sushi restaurant at night, Osaka
An older man standing by a shuttered shop and a kushikatsu banner at night, Osaka
A traditional barbershop interior with barber chairs and a customer, Osaka

Five days, no plan, and a standing debt to a slower return.

Osaka, Japan.

Osaka · Osaka, JapanJacob Sigala