![]() ![]() ![]() In other words, they’re still able to buy new, nice things as a society without the hopeless, what’s-the-point-of-all-this feelings present in many millennial American lives. Japan continues to ride the wave of innovation and materialism without the awkward self-conscious existentialism the west has. Beautiful angels in the malls greet you with easy smiles, however fake they are. There’s nothing abandoned about the city. There are a few very unvaporwave aspects of Osaka. They might even help you find a place to sit in a crowded cafe even after you’ve spilled your coffee on them. It’s okay for you to tell me how you really feel.” This makes Osakans friendly. “It clearly is not fine for me to drench you in coffee. It’s fine, it’s fine” in a voice stripped of authenticity. The coffee flooded the table but her reaction was emotionless, polite, and (for an empath like h e l i o s) artificial. I sat there shoulder to shoulder with a Japanese woman. Stress was far too human and selfish.Ī similar robotic experience, a telling vaporwave symptom, happened when I spilled my coffee in a cafe. Like they could power down and power up whenever they wished. When I got through the ordeal, I decided Japan (as a country) didn’t suffer from sleep problems. One morning, I set out to find sleep medication. I couldn’t sleep for a few nights (about six). Not a physical coldness but a deep cold of a somewhat futuristic and inorganic city. There is a distinct feeling of coldness and numbness. There are a few ways in which Osaka is classically vaporwave though. Everyone has the same novel excitement plastered on their faces. People seemingly juxtaposed from the past, present, and future. This hotspot is teeming with imagery and visuals you’ll be dying to take pictures of. When you visit the city’s infamous Dotonbori, you will feel like you dropped right into a LoFi music video. I walked around in the busiest centers of the city many nights in an eerie, surprising silence. It’s fresh and new with little droplets of ancient culture dropped here and there. With this definition guiding us, Osaka is and isn’t vaporwave at all.įor starters, It’s a city free of blemishes. “ Vaporwave is what plays in grocery stores on the moon.” Get it? Japan is kinda like the moon. If you’re watching a YouTube video with a title written in a weirdly soothing stretched out font, you’re probably watching a vaporwave aesthetic. If you’re looking at something pink and teal with a marble classical bust and a glitchy Windows 95 logo, you’re probably looking at a vaporwave aesthetic. Vaporwave visual art, simply referred to as “aesthetics,” is varied but tends to honor some core tenets. ![]() “Vaporwave isn’t just something you listen to either, it’s something you experience, and experiences include visuals. It’s a word that can’t be shouted, only coolly whispered.” ![]() It’s the jams your funky smartphone mediates to when it’s running low on power and is cool with it. It’s the music sedated freaks listen to on the neo-dance floor. “Vaporwave is the muzak that plays in an elevator in a mall in a futuristic Japanese cyberpunk dystopia. sums it up well and gives us a nice definition on which we can base our inspection into Osaka’s vaporwaveness. To say it had a vaporwave aesthetic wouldn’t be quite right. It’s got a vibe, look, and feel that will give you butterflies of excitement. One man’s mecca is another man’s boring dessert. After visiting a handful of iconic cities over the last few years, I discovered places just are. Is it retro? Is it vaporwave? A LoFi dream? A nostalgic fantasy return flight to a place you’ve never been? Here’s a disappointing answer. Epiphanies that brought me home to a place I once loved. When I think back on those weeks, the memories of my time in Osaka feel like a dusty old ‘80s movie montage. I explored iconic spots and dug up hidden gems. The big question: was Osaka the aesthetic city I’d once dreamed of? I studied the aesthetic, the people, and the vibe. I’d come to Osaka to answer some important questions. I sat there and thought about the events of my trip as foreign eyes studied my marble statue body. It had been an interesting and exhausting three week trip to Osaka, Japan’s most outgoing city. Sometimes, life takes pretty strange turns. I sat naked in a bathtub under the cold Japanese moonlight in march. Part guide, part memoir, part dreamy tale. Enjoy this wandering multi-part letter to you from Japan, my dear friend. Join me, h e l i o s, on a journey around the world as I collect all the stamps in my passport to nostalgia. Welcome to the first ever episode of h e l i o s travels the aesthetic world. Now, h e l i o s is going to expose all in this letter to you. Most people feel funny about public nudity. ![]()
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