Blanchie from England describes the Banana House as having “more freak shows than the set of Star Wars.” I don’t know if that’s an entirely truthful description, but there are definitely some characters here.

Banana House is a guesthouse – cheap accommodation where I am living whilst in Osaka. There also exists a Melon House, Lemon House, and Orange House, in the chain of dodgy guesthouses around the city.

All amentities are shared, so you always are meeting an interesting array of inhabitants from Japan, Australia, France, England, even Burma and Africa.

My favourite inhabitant of the Banana House, is my new friend from the 6th floor. I’ll call him Isaac. He is French, still young, but very mature for his age. He loves raves, making electronic music, smoking and drinking the killer Chu-hi’s here. Isaac works full-time at a home for handicapped Japanese people locally, where people with all sorts of disabilities, physical and mental, are all housed together. He says it is such a dangerous and negligent thing, because they are not getting specialised care for the particular disabilities they suffer from.

When I talk to Isaac we talk in Japanese, as my French is not real good, and his English, although pretty good, is not as good as his Japanese. Often we use a mish-mash of Japanese and English, and I find myself amazed mid-conversation, at how people of the world communicate with each other. Sometimes we get so stuck and struggle to get our meaning across, but that just makes it more hilarious.

Sometimes in life we think we are doing something amazing, or that we are doing things for amazing reasons. It always takes someone else’s life to put it all into perspective, to make us really consider what it is to be brave, kind, strong etc. Isaac came to Japan to stop smoking maruana and taking party drugs, to escape a relationship and a circle of friends that probably would have eventually killed him. He came here, got a job, started living in the Banana House, made friends with people who have helped him stay clean and motivated and has basically been (besides the normal smokes and the beer) on a clean straight path since he came. He has struggled, like many of us travellers have, with being alone and restless in our new environment without family and friends for contact and security. He tells me, that when there is no-one around to talk to, there is only your own mind to argue and consult with, and listen to.

Isaac goes to work every weekday, washes, feeds, and entertains handicapped adults, cooks with them on Tuesdays and hops in the bath with them on Mondays. He gets bruises and bite marks – signs of love he says – and comes home and laughs about how much they hurt.

I am inspired by this young man, who instead of trying to deal with all the demons in the world, is successfully putting so much of his energy every day and night into fighting those within himself.