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Chapter 85 – Spring Bullet Tour? (7)

“Morning, Yagami-occhan, Wan-san.”

“Good morning, Princess.”

“Yo. Looks like you slept well.”

The muscle-bound Wan-san bowed deeply—almost too politely—while Yagami-occhan just raised his hand slightly. Apparently, Yagami-occhan isn’t in the mood to play the servant role first thing in the morning.

Since we had separate rooms for men and women, we regrouped only after finishing our morning bath and breakfast. Torasaburou is with them too, but those two are so physically imposing that I ended up greeting them first without thinking.

“Well, I was pretty tired after everything. You two holding up okay… Hmm, but you didn’t go bar-hopping or anything last night, did you?”

When I dropped that light jab, both of them looked at me.

They weren’t surprised, but their expressions were silently asking how did you know?

“I mean, I don’t mind if you cut loose a little. Yesterday and today are practically half a vacation anyway. Oh, but don’t overdo the drinking, okay?”

“Ah, yeah. I’m being careful.”

“…Can you… smell something?”

Wan-san said that, so I took a light sniff.

But this is a famous hot spring town—if there’s any smell, it’s just the usual kind you’d expect around here.

“Hmm, is that the smell of the hot spring here? Arima’s waters really have a unique scent. I soaked in it a lot too, so now I totally reek of it. Huh? Is that a bit of a metallic smell? Whatever it is, I just can’t seem to warm up to it. I guess I’ll just have to pin my hopes on the hot springs in Hokuriku next.”

“Hokuriku next, huh? I’m looking forward to that as well.”

“Right? I’m excited for the hot springs and the food. But today’s all about sightseeing in Osaka, so let’s do our best.”

“Leave it to me. I shall eliminate all nuisances.”

“I’ll just do things my own way.”

“Okay, okay. Then, let’s go!”

And so, we came to Osaka, which we’d passed by on the way here. At this time, it’s often called “Greater Osaka,” and in practice, it’s the largest city in Japan. There’s strong private-sector energy, and the city is bursting with life.

Though we technically skipped Osaka Station. Since we came straight here by car from Arima Onsen, our route didn’t follow the railway at all. Even so, we came close to Osaka Station—but we couldn’t enter our first destination yet, as it was still being prepped for the final touches… or so we thought.

“I’m sorry for barging in when you’re busy.”

“Well, just think of it as a spoiled kid being willful and forgive us.”

“That’s so mean, Great-Uncle Torasaburou… Though it’s absolutely true.”

The person guiding us let out a hearty laugh.

It was Kobayashi Ichizou, founder of the Hankyu Group.

“All right, all right. When I heard you were coming, I was looking forward to it myself.”

Apparently, he just happened to be inspecting the construction site, but I still don’t get why these big-name figures from history keep showing up in front of me. What’s more, nobody brings up the topic of the easy money created by me—or rather, by the Ootori family—unless I bring it up first.

Maybe it’s a strategic move on their part, but especially with Hankyu, I currently have no plans to spend any money with them, so I should be cautious. Probably.

“We don’t own any private railways, so this really is just sightseeing. But still, it’s quite impressive.”

Torasaburou seemed to be thinking the same thing and gave a subtle warning.

As usual, I acted the part of the decorative young lady attached to Torasaburou.

“If we’re talking about impressive things, then it’s the Ootori Hotel. That one really surprised me. Building such a hotel right in the heart of Tokyo—how bold of you. It’s packed with features and innovations we’d love to take inspiration from ourselves.”

“It’s a weird piece of work, isn’t it? And it’s all this girl’s fault—she kept whining, ‘I want this,’ ‘Do it like that,’ ‘This part’s not good enough.’”

“Please don’t believe him. Those were just childish ramblings I made when I was little. The staff in charge of building the Ootori Hotel happened to hear them and kindly incorporated just a tiny bit of what I said.”

“I see. So there are perspectives that only a child can have. As expected, the Ootori family is very open-minded. I’ll continue learning from you.”

“Do as you like. If anything, we’re the ones learning. A terminal station, a department store, Takarazuka, hot springs, a zoo, suburban housing—you really keep coming up with one idea after another.”

“It’s precisely because I’m an amateur that I can see things like that.”

“I see. That’s kind of like our Reiko.”

“Yes, exactly. And for our next move, we’re thinking of a hotel, so I believe we’ll be borrowing a few ideas from the Ootori Hotel.”

“Borrowing, you say? They’re just ideas that someone would have thought of eventually.”

In my case, I’m actually copying someone else’s work, so I try not to dwell on it. That’s why I don’t take out patents for ideas that are just slightly ahead of their time. More than that, I want those ideas to spread.

And Mr. Kobayashi, who’s doing things far more original than I ever could, earns my respect and makes me feel a bit unworthy in comparison.

Probably, I can only have this conversation because I’m hiding behind the mask of a proper young lady. If I were acting like my usual self, I doubt I’d even be able to talk to him properly.

“That may be true. By the way, I heard you had the chance to see Takarazuka?”

As I kept up my proper young lady smile, he kindly changed the subject like throwing me a lifeline.
Because of that, I felt my smile becoming genuinely natural.

“Yes. It was absolutely wonderful. I’ve become a big fan, so I’d like to ask my family to make a significant investment.”

“That’s a lovely thing to hear. However, you know, Takarazuka isn’t the only all-female revue in Japan. And this may sound a bit preachy, but the Ootori family has grown large. So I think it’s a good thing for those with means to contribute to cultural enterprises.”

“Yes, I believe so too. That’s why we’re also planning to visit the Shochikuza Theater, your rival.”

“That is a very good thing. It will do you well to experience a variety of things. The experiences you have when you’re young are more valuable than anything.”

“Thank you very much.”

(If you count the years from my past life, I’m not all that much younger than you, though.)

In the end, all I could think about were things that made me feel kind of down.

After that, we drove south through central Osaka, eventually reaching Dotonbori, a place where flashy types sometimes throw themselves into the river.
At this time, Osaka was even more bustling than Tokyo, the imperial capital, as a commercial city.
But the area around Osaka Station, known as “Kita,” isn’t really the city center.
That said, places like Dotonbori and the “Minami” area aren’t exactly the center either.

“Kita” is gradually developing into a central hub due to the presence of not only the national railways but also private railways like Hankyu and Hanshin. On the other hand, “Minami” is only served by the Nankai Electric Railway that extends toward Wakayama.

Moreover, the kind of combined station-and-department-store complex like Hankyu’s—still standing tall in the 21st century—hasn’t even begun construction yet. It won’t be completed until 1932.

In the first place, the areas with the most companies lie between “Kita” and “Minami.”

As for entertainment districts, the busiest areas are said to be: near Japan’s longest shopping street, close to the Tenjin Festival—one of Japan’s three major festivals; Kujou, an area adjacent to a red-light district like Yoshiwara and the stage for the “Matsushima Scandal” a few years ago; and the area near Tennoji with the Tsutenkaku Tower. 

All of these are somewhat distant from both “Kita” and “Minami.”

Also, as Osaka is called the kingdom of private railways, lines like Kintetsu and Keihan extend outward from entirely different starting points. On top of that, Osaka still doesn’t have a circular national railway line like Tokyo’s Yamanote Line. This contributes to the impression that the city’s center is scattered.

Adding to that, Osaka is known as the “City of Water,” and its central areas are crisscrossed with canals dating back to the Edo period. These canals form a major part of its distribution system. The boats that move through them are, in essence, like large trucks.

On the way from Hankyu to Dotonbori, we passed through the Nakanoshima area, which was lined with buildings even more splendid than those in Tokyo—it was beautiful. 

However, although it’s the center of Osaka City, the administrative offices of Osaka Prefecture are concentrated to the northwest of Osaka Castle, so things are scattered again.

Probably, as people say, this city of merchants hasn’t developed under a unified vision, which gives the impression that everything is spread out.

On the other hand, many scenes already looked quite similar to those of the 21st century.

(Dotonbori feels just like it does in the 21st century)

Aside from the absence of the marathon runner billboard, the overall impression was pretty much the same.

Compared to Tokyo, which still strongly feels like it’s in the middle of rebuilding after the Great Kanto Earthquake, Osaka gives the impression of being relatively unchanged.

“What’s the matter, milady? Shochiku-za is just ahead.”

“Ah, yeah. I was just thinking—this place really feels like Osaka.”

“It’s such a lively area. It’s like Asakusa in Tokyo.”

“True. The area around Osaka Station feels more like Ginza, doesn’t it?”

“Well, the station building at Osaka Station wasn’t all that grand.”

“Tokyo Station is just too extravagant. Anyway, time to take on the Shochiku-za!”

And so, we thoroughly enjoyed the girls’ revue at Shochiku-za too, and I vowed with Wan-san to come back here again someday as we left Osaka behind.

Speaking of which, when it comes to Osaka, you think of Tsutenkaku and Osaka Castle—but in this era, it was still the first Tsutenkaku, and the area around it was right next to a red-light district, so I was forbidden from going there.

As for Osaka Castle, the entire northern area around it had become an arsenal complex—a major Army stronghold. And the reconstruction of Osaka Castle, the one I’m familiar with, had only just been decided recently, so it hadn’t been built yet.

(There are so many other unfinished things, and so many things yet to be created. I’ll have to come again in a few more years. Oh, but before that, I need to go to Takarazuka next summer. I wonder if I can make room in my schedule…)

As I left Osaka by night train from Osaka Station, what I felt was—somewhat surprisingly—hopeful.

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Kobayashi Ichizou (Kobayashi Ichizou):
One of the kings of private railways. Without this man, the private railway business model in Japan might have developed quite differently.
He officially became the president of Hankyu in 1927.

Hankyu Terminal Department Store:
While the station itself was soon relocated to the north side, the Hankyu Department Store building continued to exist for a long time. Even into the 21st century, the interior and atmosphere still retained clear traces of its original construction from this era.
In particular, the wide and spacious passageway with a two-story atrium—repurposed from the former platform—was a distinctive feature.

The Marathon Runner Billboard:
The first version was installed in 1935.
The version resembling the current design dates from the fourth iteration, in 1972.