Notes from my written journal...

After my first full day back here, my second night in Osaka saw me back at my old favourite - Banco. They were out of tonic so I opted for Campari and soda. Surprisingly, they are still yet to add sake to their list.

Despite spending most of today wandering around aimlessly, I never felt like I was wasting time... There is so much to take in here - seemingly most of it is built around food and fashion... More widely: food and RETAIL. Things to eat and things (that nobody really needs but they look really good) to buy. The Japanese have a way of making most everything look desirable. They even make plastic food look enticing. There is such an attention to detail, unsurpassed, at least, by all other countries I have visited. That attention matched with amazingly clever design skills makes me believe that the Japanese, dare I sound so cliche, could actually sell ice to Eskimos - (as the saying goes).
Personally, I am more about the food here than the fashion, though I must say they do both incredibly well. The sheer volume (and choice) can be quite overwhelming at times... Perhaps this is why I found myself back at my favourite ramen house earlier today only around 14 hours after eating there last night.