The Bridge

So last night we met up with Tom's japanese friend again in the Shinsaibashi region of the city - which meant I had to get the subway for the first time. It's pretty much the same as the tube only much hotter and much cheaper. Shinsaibashi can be best described as a far brighter and larger Piccadilly Circus, only pedestrianised and down several streets. The centre piece is "the bridge" (over the Dotombori canal) which is famous for it's bright advertising boards and the fact that many of the japanese people there are either girls wearing mini skirts or guys dressed up like Bon Jovi in the 80's. As you can tell it's a pretty happening place! The shopping district there is based around one long covered street which stretches for what seems like miles - and then smaller streets jutting out from it. It's pretty much shoe shops and 100 yen shops so for the average guy is a bit pointless wandering down there on your own! Down one of the side streets we went in search of a pet shop as Tom informed me that they kept small dogs in glass kennels and it was quite a sad sight really. Apparently they have a high turn over of dogs though so they arent kept there for long, but I think that's probably because you catch their eyes and feel immediately sorry for the poor things! Shinsaibashi is a cool area of town though and the bright lights and busy streets are what I imagine most people picture when they think of downtown areas in japanese cities.