Today, I took a stroll around Osaka Tenmangu Shrine.
Near Osaka Tenmangu, there’s the Tenjinbashi-suji Shopping Street, an area known as the downtown of Osaka since long ago. Even now, just like in the past, small shops line the streets, and you can really feel the lively atmosphere of “the city of commerce, Osaka.”
However, recently, it’s been bustling with foreign tourists, and the vibe felt a bit different from the Osaka I know. But honestly, it didn’t feel bad at all.
As I walked down the street, I heard not just English, but also French and Russian. It really hit me how people from all over the world are visiting Japan.
While feeling a foreign vibe in my hometown, I had a sudden interesting thought.
What if I walked through Tenjinbashi-suji Shopping Street like a tourist, just like them? Thinking of it not as my hometown, but as a travel destination.
People walking on the stone-paved path towards the shrine, someone waiting under the torii gate, others buying tickets for rakugo. Those scenes kept popping up in front of me, and for some reason, my heart was stirred.
Every view felt like a scene from a movie. It was fascinating and utterly delightful.
The scenery I see now seems so ordinary, yet from my perspective— it might just be a fleeting scene in the movie of my life.
That was my stroll.