AUTHOR: SalsaCrazy TITLE: Osaka Salsa is Hot - Home Base in Japan! DATE: Monday, March 21, 2005 ----- BODY:

A shout out to Edwin and Fumiko, my salsa hosts in Osaka whom always kept me going to the right places! Some of you will remember them from the days of Sol Y Luna and Alex da Silva (and Gary & Isabel, Tu Pueblo, etc . . .). They live and teach (and DJ, and promote) in Japan, and they're stars over there. Check out their website at, http://www.salsala-salsa.com .

Osaka was my home base while visiting Japan, and from there I travelled to a variety of different small and large towns. I got a chance to dance in Osaka on almost every night of the week, and it was great! Monday night was especially good, in a small place called Toca Te (right in Umeda - a nighlife area in Osaka). Also very good was Edwin and Fumiko's Black and White party, where dancing happens all night long, with great music and a lot of space. I can't believe how much I danced there - it was SO exhausting (but a lot of fun)!

Shinsaibashi is where my friend Eri set me up to stay, and it was both affordable, and in the heart of the coolest of the Osaka neighborhoods! It had everything - shopping, nightlife, and filled with people. I got the chance to visit a Hip Hop club after salsa one night (at about 2am), and it was packed - with a live 2 woman rap show, and a four guy hip hop dance performance (that was pretty amazing). It's a great area for young people - and it just doesn't stop. Great place to plan on staying if visiting Osaka (Comfort Inn is a deal at less than $50 a night).

Every night there is salsa, except for Friday's (where special parties happen, but it's great to go to Nagoya), or Sundays. Salsa in Osaka is very much run by the train schedule! People have to leave by 12 midnight to catch the last train - and a good portion of people clear out by then on most week nights. Usually the mid-week clubs close at around that time. Rarely does a party go until 5am (the exception being Edwin/Fumikos Black and White). This is in contrast to say a city like Tokyo - which I'll detail later, but tends to run easily into the 5am range.

A shout out to Alex as well, salsa DJ and Promoter, who organizes some large events over there (like Spanish Harlem etc . . .), who was very nice and also a great DJ, as well as Angel, DJ at a Thursday event in Shinsaibashi which was a lot of fun (a lot of on2 dancers and music) and Miho and her boyfriend - who were just all around cool people to hang out with.

As the longer "review" will tell you, I was using a Japan Rail Pass, and it's a great deal, allowing you to travel near and far on the fast and very cool bullet trains. You'll want one if you're visiting Japan and want to see more than a couple of places!

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