My home station is Teradachou station, next to Tennouji station. Everyday I use it to go to school. By the way, using the roop line“大阪環状線,” I go to Kyobashi station from Teradachou, and then transfer to the Keihan line to get to Hirakata station. (I should not be proud of this... →) Teradachou was famous for the great number of bicycles left in the front of the station. Until about a year ago, we were allowed to park the bicycles for free at the parking lot, so many people left theirs untidily. As the result, the parking area was chaos!! Like this...
Retrieved from:足高まさし市政相談事務所, ～寺田町駅自転車放置問題について～, http://ashitaka-masashi.jp/terada-jitensya.html
Threfore, Osaka-city government needed to consider this problem. You can see the bicycles making the street for cars narrow. Finally, the goverment decided to destroy the free parking instead of making new toll one. Now, already new one completed, I think the idea was not so great. In the first place, there were many people who wanted to use the parking lot, so it bacame disordered place: the goverment needed to regulate the number of users this time. During the construction, we users were told to draw the lots to get the right to park at the toll parking. I didn't like the new policy... Anyway, I follow the demand, but I missed the right because of the result of the drawing. I heard there are more than 300 people who are in the same situation as me. Can you believe it?
The parking was cleaned, but I feel that it affords to accomodate more bicycles!
If I leave my bicycle around the parking lot , the goverment collects the bicycle. In order to take back, I have to pay 2,500 yen! Actually, my bicycle has been collected more than 5 times ever since because I often illigally parked it at around the Tennouji station. The employees of Osaka-city goverment irregularly come to collect the bicycles, so I don' know when I find my bicycle disappears. It's a kind of gamble...
The reason why I frequently have to go to the Tennouji station is that my workplace is in here. I'm working at St-Mark Cafeサンマルクカフェ, self-serving style cafe started about six years ago. The job is not so hard. I mainly make drinks, bake breads, be a cashier, and wash the dishes. The cafe opens at 8 a.m., and closes at 10 p.m. I've been working for about three years, so I can be the expert about this work. When I began to work here, I was still 18, but now, I'm already 21... I often feel time passes too early.
In the Tennouji Station Building
About the history of St-Mark Cafe...
In 1999, the first shop was esablished in Ginza, Tokyo to serve the high quality coffee to customers. At the time, St-Mark restaurant was already spreaded in the suburban cities as the popular bakery restaurant, so the manager thought that if the cafe, bread is served with the excellent coffee, opened, it could be expected for more advantage. In 2005, St-Mark cafe attracted more customers, being featured on TV because "Choco cro" was produced, soon became hit item of St-Mark cafe. It is not a simple croissant, but the milk chocolate is rolled inside. Besides, as to the coffee, it's extracted from coffee beans per the order of each customer, so he can appriciate excellent flavor and taste. Still, I see sometimes on the TV shows, choco cro is introduced by famous TV talents.
These are that choco cro, and "Mil cro" which is sold as the seasonal item. Custard cream is rolled with chocolate. In addition to these products, there are many delicious breads, cakes, and drinks. Please come to taste them! If you are lucky, you can see me.I got the information of St-Mark cafe from: http://www.saint-marc-hd.com/cafe/index.html
You live in a very convenient area in Osaka. I like Tennoji very much as it seems more traditional than Umeda and Namba - still it has changed a lot in the last few years.
ReplyDeleteYou provide a lot of interesting things in this post. You have a challenging commute and I don't envy you having to use the Loop Line everyday. Your bicycle story is similar to part of the film we saw at the beginning of the semester. I would have liked to read more about your actual neighborhood in Terada-cho. Do you know your neighbors? Or is Terada-cho like a bed-town where people sleep but don't really participate in local events?