近所：枚方市 | Neighborhood Hirakata

In my mind, a neighborhood is not just where you live and who you live near, but what you experience as you pass through it. With this in mind, I selected my neighborhood as the areas and people I pass by when going to and from school.

The day begins leaving my dorms, of which occupy a spot not too far from campus.

Continuing on, I pass through a very quiet residential area. The streets here are narrow, not much wider than your single, average-sized American car. The road is flanked by quiet, reserved Japanese houses. Cars rarely traverse this area. However, in lieu of heavy automobile traffic, one is much more likely to encounter men and women walking their dogs, coming back from a small grocery store trip, or students going to and coming from campus.

As you emerge out of this little side street, a somewhat peculiar place appears in this quiet japanese suburb. Anyone familiar with the construction industry will easily recognize the Komatsu brand. It’s labeled as the Osaka plant, despite being a 30 minute train ride from Osaka.

Every day, rain or shine, guards patrol the premises entrances. Quite solemn, always watching, these guards seemingly only duty is to direct trucks in and out. I wonder what they think about all day standing there watching everyone go by.

After another minute of heading towards campus, I’m greeted by the campus security guards, of which also greet you in the morning with an “お早うございます！” (ohayou gozaimasu) and bid you farewell with a “さよなら！” (sayonara)

Eventually, I come to the bike racks, of which are unpopulated in the morning, but always packed when leaving.

Lastly, I’m greeted by a large room in the Center for International Education building that’s walled with windows. As a result, it’s often referred to simply as the fishbowl.