I have always felt like a 6-year old trapped in an adult body, in ways that only the dearest and nearest to me know about. If you've seen this 6-year old side of me, hey, I must like you a decent amount to show it to you. :-)
On the other hand, there is the 66-year old side of me that takes over sometimes; I guess that's what happens when you grow up as an only child. I spent most, if not all of my time with my parents, my uncles, aunties – basically, all adults – which led me to mature a little faster than I should have.
So, some may say, I had a deprived childhood, which has resulted in this odd mix I call Stephanie :-)
The reason I am opening with this is because just this month, I had the privilege to visit Japan for the 3rd time – this time, to the Kansai region. I'm not sure what Japan is to you, but to me, it's the perfect mix for my inner child and grandma.
I've always enjoyed planning trips, and have always been a pretty detailed planner, with all my itineraries and spreadsheets in tow. So, here is my personal itinerary with some tips for travel around the Kansai region!
Getting Around
So the one thing I was really anxious about was the public transportation in Osaka. Prior to our departure, I did as much research as I could about getting around Osaka city and the Kansai area, but couldn't find the answers to my questions. We got a 7-day JR pass ($282) that would allow us to travel around the Kansai area as much as we wanted. The question I had was, would it allow us to travel within Osaka? I'm surprised no one had blogged about this or mentioned this but alas! The first thing I did, was to stop by the information counter at the station to put my worries to rest (and you readers as well!). So the JR pass only covers any train rides you take from JR Stations. Everything else is considered the Subway. Simple as that. There are JR lines scattered around Osaka, but definitely not as many as the Subway stations, so if you plan to only use the JR Pass, prepare to put on your walking shoes. The nearest JR station from our apartment was about 1.5km, whereas the nearest Subway was 500m. Most of the time we ended up taking the Subway to the JR station and each Subway ride cost less than 300¥, unless you're traveling really far away. We only traveled 5-6 stations max.
Weather
We visited in the first week of September, and the weather was still really hot and humid, reaching about 35º on most days! Imagine sightseeing in that heat. I'd recommend coming any time but summer in Japan.
こんばんは JAPAN
4 Cities, 7 days, 6 nights
Ōsaka-shi - Kyōto - Nara-shi - Hiroshima-shi
07.09 - 13.09
Day 1: Osaka
We arrived at Kansai International Airport at 9am, where our airport transfer was waiting for us. When I travel with my family, we like to play on the safe side and always pre-arrange transport waiting for us once we land, although it is quite convenient to get to the city by train. The private transfer cost roughly $75 so it might be worth it if there are a few of you traveling to split the cost.
We stayed at a cosy little Airbnb close to Shinshaibashi and Dotonbori. I would strongly recommend staying in this area as this is where most of Osaka happens!
Osaka Castle
One of the must sees in Osaka is the Osaka Castle! Having been to so many castles around the world, I found this to be a tad underwhelming. The castle was burnt down and rebuilt quite a few times, so there isn't that ancient flare many castles around the world still possess.
Many other blogs advise against going in to the castle, as there isn't much to see. It's turned into a museum where you can check out artefacts from the castle, but personally, if you're not a history buff, I'd take this off your itinerary. If you have lots of time on your hands, it's only ¥600 per entry and you can just tick it off your list!
Another thing to note is that the area surrounding the castle is quite picturesque. There's even a ledge that you can sit on and take pretty pictures of the sky (like my cover photo above - check out that awesome Japanese blue sky!).
Pokémon Centre
With the current Pokémon Go craze now, it's probably an interesting place to visit. They have mostly plush toys, so it might be nice to bring home a Chansey of your own :-) It's located on the 13th floor of the Daimaru Umeda Building which is accessible from the Umeda or Osaka Station.
Umeda Sky Building
This is another famous touristy spot, with the famous glass escalators connecting the two buildings.
You could pay to go up to the highest floor, but we really just wanted to check out the cool escalators. I'd recommend maybe going in the day for a better view!
Day 2: UNIVERSAL STUDIOS JAPAN / WIZARDING WORLD OF HARRY POTTER!!!
This was probably the entire reason I decided to come to Osaka. I'm not much of an adrenaline junkie, so I didn't spend much time in USJ itself, as my main intention was to visit WWoHP. We purchased Fast Passes so that we could get a timed entry ticket to WWoHP, but it seems that the park wasn't very crowded that day, so we didn't even need timed entry tickets! Note that this was early September.
It was so empty when we reached, that we could just stroll around and have the streets (almost ) to ourselves.
To sum up, I had the best day at WWoHP. For any HP fan, I would 100000% recommend going on Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. It was the best ride of my life! And I'm one chicken that hates thrill rides. This is going to be so worth it. Purchasing a fast pass just for this ride would be worth it, as wait times are usually more than 2 hours.
Enough said. I'll just leave you with some pictures!
The Ford Anglia!
They even modeled the female toilets after the one in the movies! You even hear Moaning Myrtle in there :-D
Can't miss Butterbeer!
Shinshaibashi/Dotonbori
We left around 4pm, so we headed back to the Shinshaibashi / Dotonbori area.
The mandatory touristy photo here at the famous Glico ad. Also, I seem to have made a friend!
Shinshaibashi is the shopping district, and Dotonbori is the food district. Both main streets cross at an intersection so they are right next to each other. It is extremely packed with people, especially on weekends!
Day 3: Kyoto
We got bored of Osaka, so we left for Kyoto (jk).
Takes less than 30 minutes to get there!
Fushimi Inari Shrine
The iconic torii gates you see in all your friends' Facebook profile photos. It is soooooo crowded, it kind of spoils the experience. But keep walking all the way up and the crowds should lessen! So you can take a super cool picture of yourself without the hoards of people in the background.
If you take the JR to Kyoto, the easiest thing might be to take the JR from Kyoto Station to JR Inari Station (5mins). Getting around Kyoto turned out to be quite difficult after that as there aren't as many Subways spread around as Osaka, so we ended up taking taxis most of the time.
Kiyomizu-dera Temple
From Fushimi-Inari Station, we took a local train to Kiyomizu-Gojo Station (¥210, 7mins) and then walked another 1.7km to the temple! Boy, were we done with walking for the day.
Kiyomizu-dera is famous for it's views of Kyoto from it's wooden viewing deck.
But it's paaaacked with people!
There is also the famous love stone, where if you walk from one stone to the other with your eyes closed, you will find your one true love!
I did it! So where are you, Prince Charming?
Clearly my parents have found theirs :-)
I love these Japanese traditions about making wishes, and making your troubles go away.
Nishiki Market
We took a cab to Nishiki Market (¥1500) for lunch and we had already passed the lunch crowd. Quite an interesting place to be at but mostly fresh foods, so we settled for a nearby Udon place instead.
Kinkaku-ji Temple
From Nishiki Market, we took another cab to Kinkaku-ji Temple (¥1890). Kinkaku-ji is the famous reflective temple in the middle of a pond. Though, you'd have to come at the correct times to see it reflecting.
Unfortunately, we didn't. :-(
Arashiyama
When I was researching on places to go in Kyoto, I only read about the bamboo forests in Arashiyama. But there's actually more than that! We took a cab from Kinkakuji which cost us ¥2540 as it is quite a distance away. But it is such a serene place to end the day. Not to mention the fantastic coffee that is a must try!
Best view for coffee at % Arabica!
Day 4: Nara
We came for the deer!
From Osaka Station, it takes less than an hour to get to Nara by the JR line. It's a pretty nice half day trip away from Osaka, especially if you like deer :-)
The deers are everywhere, and they are super courteous! They even bow 'please' and 'thank you' when you feed them crackers that you can buy from the locals selling them there.
Day 5: Hiroshima
Hiroshima is a little further away, but with the Shinkansen, it only takes about 80 minutes to get here!
Miyajima Island
From the Hiroshima Station, take the Sanyo Line bound for Miyajima-guchi (30mins). From here, just transfer to the JR Ferry across to the island. Here you will see the famous Itukushima Shrine!
Unfortunately they were doing some works on the shrine, so it was quite an eyesore.
Also, don't forget to try their famous Momiji Manju, a local Miyajima delicacy.
No trip to Miyajima Island is complete without indulging in OYSTERS!
You can get your fix at Yakigaki No Hayashi, which serves oysters in any method you can think of. There's usually a short queue outside, but it is so worth it.
Dad's excited!
We tried the recommended set, that had oysters fresh, boiled, fried and grilled! There's even a tiny replica of the Itsukushima Shrine. Too cute.
Half a day is enough here at Miyajima Island. We took the ferry back to Hiroshima, and took a short tram ride to the Atomic Bomb Dome.
The Peace Memorial Museum is also worth a visit. It's really informational and you can learn a lot about the bombings that occurred here in 1945.
Another must try in Hiroshima is the Okonomiyaki-Hiroshima style! The best place to try it would be Okonomi-mura which is a building filled with okonomiyaki stalls - so take your pick!
Day 6: Osaka
Today we had a free and easy day in Osaka, mostly just shopping around the Shinshaibashi area. Before that though, we filled our tummies at the famous Kuromon Market!
Day 7: Osaka
It was time to say goodbye. But not before we had some *drumroll* BLOWFISH!
Blowfish, or fugu, is considered more poisonous than cyanide, and can kill if not prepared properly.
So what better meal to end our Japan trip with than deadly puffer fish? Well, if you're gonna YOLO it out and risk your life, might as well go for the best in town – Zuboraya.
We decided to go all out too! By trying fugu in a few different styles - sashimi, boiled, fried and sushi. There was even fugu skin, fugu innards... it came to the point where I had no idea what I was eating anymore.
The sashimi version is really thinly sliced, and the texture is really crunchy, like geoduck sashimi.
Thank the heavens we are alive today to tell the tale!
So here marks the end of our Japan trip. I hope this helped you in planning your own little journey!
*
So here I am, back again, resurfaced from the hole underground, after what seems like a 10 year hiatus from blogging. I've missed this. So, how've you been?
No comments:
Post a Comment