Touristic futures and white elephants open thread

 by liberal japonicus 

Just got back from Osaka and the poorly taken photograph below is from the Ebisu bridge in Dotonbori in a neighborhood called Shinsaibashi. It's a very interesting place for a number of reasons, including the Hanshin Tigers 'curse of the colonel', but what interested me is that I hadn't been to Osaka in a while and when I have been back, I've usually not gone out in the evening, but a friend took me around and I was amazed at the activity and the energy. This was a Tuesday nite and there were still a lot of people walking, talking, spending money. I went back with another friend on Thursday nite and the place was packed.

Diving off the bridge is a bit of a tradition, and even though the police try to stop it, when a big celebration comes along, they can only limit the numbers. I believe that the most recent divers were during the 2014 World Cup.

But what interested me was how the area had been transformed. I used to spend a bit of time in Osaka in the early 90's and at that time, the water was truly gross and it was basically an industrial canal. Historically, the Shinsaibashi area had a number of theatres and the best actors were often brought to their gigs in a boat as fans cheered. (this link gives some history and some old photos) However, when I was there in the 90's, it was simply an industrial canal that had that sort of revolting brown-green water. In the past 5 or so years however, they've built boardwalks on both sides and now, tourist boats go up and down. 

The development has made the area a magnet for tourists, especially from Asia and when I was walking around, I heard Mandarin and Cantonese and Korean. In the hotel I was staying in, a big family of Thai were staying. 

I'm not sure why I'm so surprised to find Asians doing the touristy thing, and I can't seem to find any pictures of the area before the renovation. The place, with all the neon and all the people, has a Bladerunner look, but imagine everyone in colorful clothes.

The white elephant in the title refers to plans to turn the canal into a pool. Your thoughts on what brings in the punters or on anything else?

Comments

[sapient]

Lo and behold, a pool would be really cool.

But since this is an open thread, I would invite the Count's (or anyone's, but was thinking of the Count's) thoughts on Robin Williams. Not his death, necessarily, but his life, and his improvisational humor.

[CharlesWT]

Ebisu bridge (Google Street View)

[wj]

Perhaps someone can explain the logic here to me. How is it that a weapon can be illegal to use in warfare (under the Chemical Werapons Convention), but still acceptable for use in crowd control?

I'm not trying to start a discussion of the merits of the gas per se. (In my experience, CN is a very minor hassle, whereas CS is the sort of stuff that you go out of your way to avoid walking thru visible clouds.) But what is the reasoning that leads something to be too awful for use against enemies (or to want used against our own troops, if you prefer), but no problem at all to use against our own citizens?

[CharlesWT]

Google Street View Says Japan Is Top Virtual Tourism Spot in Asia