Osaka ¨C doesn¡¯t want to be found.
Even if you know what you¡¯re looking for, it¡¯s still not easy to find. The starting point is simple enough: Triangle Park in the Amerika-mura neighborhood. Here¡¯s another trick: There¡¯s no greenery, just a paved-over, pint-sized plaza bordered on all sides by kitschy fashion boutiques, fluorescent convenience stores and very often a small fleet of idling taxis. On weekends when the weather behaves, Triangle Park serves as a meeting spot-cum-postprandial haunt for Osaka¡¯s late teens and 20-somethings, a fair number of whom prefer Amerika-mura¡¯s trendier vibe to the nearby Shinsaibashi neighborhood¡¯s more mainstream appeal.
But you¡¯ve got to stay focused ¡ª off the southeastern point of Triangle Park, there¡¯s an intersection; diagonally across, there¡¯s an unremarkable building, its facade painted jet black; just outside the entrance, there¡¯s a stack of signs: one for a concert venue, a cafe and an eyelash salon.
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