【英语生活】大阪夜生活：平易近人的欢愉体验

Osaka has a style and charisma unlike anywhere else in Japan. The country's third-largest city can't compete with Tokyo for scale; it doesn't have the capital's vast range of bars, clubs and restaurants. And nearby Kyoto, with its famously quaint temples, gardens and tea houses, beats it for classic Japanese charm.

But Osaka more than makes up for that with its food scene—considered by many to be the most exciting in Japan—its lively nightlife and its friendly people. Osakans are known as great talkers, and many of Japan's top comedians come from the city.

The 2011 Michelin guide gives three Osaka restaurants the highest rating of three stars. That's short of Kyoto's seven and Tokyo's world-leading 14, but where Osaka comes into its own is in the wonderful food of regular people. Local specialties include okonomiyaki (a pan-fried, quiche-like dish made from cabbage, flour and eggs and topped with meat, seafood and sauce), takoyaki (battered octopus chunks fried into balls and eaten blistering hot) and kushikatsu (deep-fried meat and vegetable skewers dipped in savory sauce).

There are many colorful districts for a night out. Tsuruhashi on the southeastern edge of the city core has a strong Korean flavor, with labyrinthine alleys, bright lanterns and smoky barbecue houses wedged under train tracks.

In the north, around Osaka Station and the major international hotels, is Kita, a nightlife hub centered on the Kita-Shinchi entertainment arcade, which pulsates with the noise and lights of snug drinking shops, restaurants, pachinko parlors and 'girl' bars, where young female bartenders not only know how to fix a decent drink, but make amusing conversation as well.

But the beating heart of Osaka nightlife is Minami, the area between Namba and Shinsaibashi stations, where revellers pack into lively bars and clubs.

One of the most popular meeting spots is Ebisu-bashi, the wide pedestrian bridge spanning the Dotonbori River. Part of the Shinsaibashi shopping arcade, the city's main promenade, it's a great spot for people-watching and for viewing Osaka's most eye-scorching neon signage. Unlike in Tokyo, where much of the neon has been switched off since the earthquake that struck Japan earlier this year, in Osaka the lights burn as brightly as ever.

On the west side of the bridge is an Osaka landmark, the three-story Glico man—a giant neon track star dashing to victory for the greater glory of Japan and the Glico confection company. On the other side is the equally distinctive giant crab of Kani Doraku restaurant, claws swaying mechanically. Kani Doraku serves up tasty offerings of all things crab at prices the middle class can afford, though most of the crab meat prepared here is frozen, not fresh.

Further along Dotonbori Street, Genroku sushi restaurant—marked by a huge molded hand gripping a massive slab of sushi—offers some of the most satisfying sushi you will find on a conveyer belt anywhere, which is fitting: The company invented the concept in the early 1960s, inspired by beer bottles on a brewery conveyer belt. In front of the original Genroku outlet in another part of the city, a stone monument commemorates this contribution to civilization.

At the end of the block, the five-story Chibo restaurant specializes in okonomiyaki. You can have your food cooked on the grill right at your table, but as with so much of Osaka's dining culture, performance is part of the package. So it may be best to sit instead at the counter in front of the main grill, where you can view the frenzied action of the whole kitchen at work.

Around 10 p.m. is a good time to delve into the warren of bars and clubs in the densely packed streets to the north. There are hundreds, if not thousands of tiny booze holes stacked atop one another in narrow, eight- or 10-story buildings, some only a few meters wide. Cinquecento is a friendly, 'Cheers'-like bar where patrons gather around a long, U-shaped counter. Many of the customers are Westerners living in the city and working as English-conversation teachers, accompanied by their local girlfriends. Everything is ¥500 (about $6) on the menu, which specializes in martinis with crudely suggestive names like Cherry Hooker and Blue Bikinitini.

A couple of doors away is the upstairs bar Kama Sutra, run by a Canadian, where both patrons and staff belt out their favorite karaoke tunes in English or Japanese—lack of talent being no objection. Each performance is rated afterward on a TV monitor displaying a nude model, covered with squares that disappear one by one as lurid saxophone music plays and the rating climbs. But propriety is observed—somehow, the score never breaks 90.

Bars and dance clubs in this district stay open all night, and it is a long-standing Osaka tradition to wind everything up the evening by meandering over to a Kinryu (Golden Dragon) ramen joint for a bowl of early-hours noodles. The original Kinryu stall is on Midosuji Street, the main thoroughfare, not far from Ebisu-bashi bridge. There is also a newer and much bigger one on Dotonbori street, marked—not surprisingly—by a giant dragon. Unlike almost every other eating establishment in Osaka, there is no clear consensus on how tasty Kinryu's noodles really are. Probably that is because patrons are normally gloriously intoxicated when they arrive—on booze, yes, but also on revelry, music, and fun.

大阪有一种和日本其他地方不同的风格和超凡魅力。作为这个国家的第三大城市，大阪论规模比不上首都东京，不像东京那样遍布数量众多的酒吧、俱乐部和餐馆。而附近的京都则以古雅的寺庙、园林和茶馆著称，其传统的日本风韵胜过大阪。

但是，大阪的美食足以弥补上述不足——许多人认为这是日本最令人兴奋的一道风景线，更何况这里还有丰富的夜生活和友好的居民。大阪人的能言善辩是出了名的，日本许多最优秀的喜剧演员都出自这座城市。

在日本第三大城市大阪的夜晚时分，特色美食和闪烁的霓虹灯吸引着各方旅客，当地人的友好带给来客平易近人的欢愉体验。在2011年的《米其林指南》中，大阪有三家餐厅获得最高的三星评级。这个数量低于京都(七家)和位居世界领先地位的东京(14家)，但是，大阪的独特之处在于普通百姓的精彩美食。本地特色美食包括：大阪烧（一种用卷心菜、面粉和鸡蛋做成的日式蔬菜煎饼，再盖上一层肉、海鲜和酱料）、章鱼烧（将捣碎的章鱼块煎制成丸子，趁热食用）和串炸（将切成小块的肉和蔬菜穿在竹签上油炸而成，蘸上美味的酱料食用）。

大阪的许多区域都能让你享受到丰富多彩的夜生活。位于这座城市中心区东南部边缘的鹤桥具有浓郁的韩国风情，迷宫似的小巷、明亮的灯笼和烟雾缭绕的烧烤屋簇拥在高架铁路桥下。

城市北边大阪车站及一众大型国际酒店的周边是大阪北城，这是一个以北新地娱乐休闲区为中心的夜生活聚集地，这里有温暖舒适的居酒屋、餐馆、弹球盘游戏厅以及由年轻女吧员提供服务的酒吧，她们不仅知道如何调配可口的饮品，还会饶有趣味地和客人交谈。喧闹的声音和闪烁的灯光是这个地方跃动的脉搏。

但是，大阪夜生活的心脏地带是南城，是位于难波车站和心斋桥车站之间的区域，人们纷纷涌进这里充满活力的酒吧和俱乐部内纵情狂欢。

最受欢迎的聚会地点之一是戎桥，这是一座横跨道顿崛河的宽阔步行桥。作为大阪主要步行街心斋桥购物中心的一部分，这是一个观看往来人群和大阪最夺目的霓虹灯标牌的绝佳地点。自今年早些时日本遭受大地震袭击以来，东京的很多霓虹灯已经被关闭，而大阪的霓虹灯还一如既往地闪耀。

在这座桥的西端，树立着大阪的一处地标——三层楼高的格力高(Glico)人像，这是一个巨型的霓虹田径明星像，正在为日本和格力高糖果公司的更大荣耀而冲刺。桥的另一头是蟹道乐餐厅(Kani Doraku)门前同样别具特色的巨蟹标志，是一个挥舞着蟹爪的机械装置。蟹道乐以中产阶级能够负担得起的价格供应各种美味的螃蟹菜肴，不过这里的大部分蟹肉都是冷冻的，而不是新鲜的。

沿着道顿崛大街继续往前走，就来到了元禄寿司店(Genroku)，其标志是一个抓着一大块寿司的巨大模型手。这家店提供的回转寿司可说是业内的佼佼者，这与其身份相称：回转寿司这个概念是该公司于20世纪60年代初发明的，灵感来自啤酒厂传送带上的啤酒瓶。在位于大阪另一个地方的元禄寿司本部门前，树立着一个石碑，用来纪念该店对人类文明做出的这一贡献。

在这个街区的尽头，是专门制作大阪烧的五层楼高的千房餐厅(Chibo)。你可以坐在座位上享用在你桌上的烤盘里现场烧制的食物，但是，考虑到大阪的饮食文化是如此地丰富多彩，厨师们堪比表演的烹饪过程当然不容错过了。因此，最好的选择是坐在主烧烤盘前的吧台边上，这样你就能看到全体后厨人员在工作时令人眼花缭乱的动作了。

在一直往北延伸的街道两旁，挤满了密密匝匝的酒吧和俱乐部，晚上10点钟左右，正是钻进这些地方找乐子的好时候。在一座大约8到10层楼的细长的建筑物中，微型的小酒馆一家叠着一家，即使没有数千家也有几百家，有些店面只有几米宽。“Cinquecento”是一家适合朋友欢聚的酒吧，顾客们围坐在一条长长的U型吧台前。许多顾客是生活在这座城市的西方人，他们的职业是教授英语口语，身边是他们在当地找的女朋友。这家店专门售卖马丁尼鸡尾酒，菜单上的所有饮品都是500日圆(约合6美元)一份，每种饮品都有一个诸如Cherry Hooker和Blue Bikinitini这样引人遐想的名字。

相隔几个门面的楼上有一家加拿大人经营的Kama Sutra酒吧，在这里，顾客和店员用英语或日语声嘶力竭地唱出他们最喜爱的卡拉OK歌曲，即使没有唱歌的天赋也不碍事。每次演唱完毕，电视机的液晶萤幕上都会出现评分，在刺耳的萨克斯音乐声中，随着分数的不断攀升，萤幕上播放的裸体模特身上覆盖的小方格会一块一块地减少。但是，这里面似乎有个规矩——不知道为什么，分数从来不会低于90。

这个区的酒吧和舞厅都是通宵营业的。大阪长期以来的一个传统是，在一夜狂欢结束后，要溜达到一家金龙拉面馆(Kinryu)来一碗早点面条，为整晚的夜生活收尾。金龙拉面馆本店位于距离戎桥不远的主干道御堂筋大街上。在道顿崛街上，还有一家更新、更大的拉面馆，不出所料，其标志是一条巨龙。和大阪的其他餐饮店不一样，人们对金龙拉面味道究竟如何没有达成清楚的共识。这也许是因为当客人来吃拉面时，基本上都已经是醉醺醺的了，这是举杯痛饮的结果，而纵情狂欢、音乐和游戏也同样令人沉醉。