The sun bearing down on the back of your neck , the intermitted dry breeze that leaves as quickly as it arrived and the taste of pocari sweat. That is a summer in Osaka and every minute of it was better than the last.

For months before the trip, when I told people that I was going to Osaka for my first ever solo trip at the height of summer there I was almost always met with concerned expressions and the inevitable cautionary comment,”Its going to be very hot.” to which I would scoff and say that I’ve lived in Singapore long enough to be able take on whatever the weather has in store there. That confidence evaporated as quickly as the sweat on my brow as a stepped out of Kansai International airport and into the embrace of a Japanese summer in full swing.

But despite the ever present heat of summer during my time in Osaka, I reveled in the experience of being there. This trip is etched in my mind and the memories will forever hold an important place in my heart.

Stay gold Osaka. I’ll be back.