Skaters come out at 6:00 a.m. on the streets of Dotonbori. Or maybe they were here earlier. I have come out at 6:00 a.m. and seen them.

Compared with 7 hours earlier, this part of the city is quiet. Going to the tourists, well most of them. A cluster of girls take advantage of the space to try multiple poses in front of Glicoman.

The police wander around, but neither side seems concerned. Perhaps there is an invisible barrier that I am unaware of.

It is loud. Louder than I expected when I bought coffee at 5:30 and went for a walk. It clicks when I see a troop of girls in high heels and short skirts dancing past. It is the end of their day, even as it is the beginning of mine.

I build up some courage to go ask permission for a photo. The young skater man with a star tattooed onto his eye and other scrolling along his collarbone, accepts me with a smile.

He tells me that they start from midnight almost every day.

I wonder if there’s a time that this part of Osaka ever sleeps?