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| Hello Kitty ! |
We visited Japan in early November 2015. We decided on this trip about four months before. That's unusual considering our track record. There was plenty of time to plan this adventure and the initial plan included an itinerary covering Osaka, Kyoto, Nara and possibly Kobe over 9 days. We researched the Japan Rail (JR) Pass, which gives unlimited travel throughout Japan.....exciting stuff.
Soon, reality set in. I could not see myself lugging a 30kg suitcase around railway stations nor drag this through subways and malls. We then decided to be more pragmatic, which is to station ourselves in Osaka and make day trips to the surrounding areas by train. Turned out that this is not a bad thing to do if you are the type of traveller who enjoys the free-and-easy holiday rather than one packed with as many things as possible in as short a time as possible.
The weather was very pleasant during the time we were there. This is a view from our hotel room. The temperature was a pleasant 18 to 20 degrees Celsius most of the time.
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| View from our hotel room |
We did the usual tourist stuff with the sightseeing. If you love temples, shrines and parks, they are aplenty. We were quite selective with the places we visited as we wanted to take things easy. These are some of the highlights from the sightseeing we did.
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| Osaka Castle in background |
There is a time capsule which was buried in 1970 and will only be opened after 5,000 years! I hope someone has set this in his calendar.
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| A flock of birds! |
I was fortunate to have captured this flock of birds in flight. I always dreamed of a shot like this but never had the opportunity.
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| Osaka Castle amid the autumn foliage |
I was hoping that autumn would be in "full bloom" but looks like we were still little early. Still, there was a hint of autumn foliage.
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| Kinkaku-ji Temple in Kyoto (Golden Pavilion) |
Kinkaku-ji is one of the most busy attractions all year round. It is so busy that they advise the best time to visit is either early in the morning or after they are closed!
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| Moss covered ground in autumn |
We also headed to an area called Pontocho, which has rustic looking little backstreets and we were told that if we were lucky, we could catch some geishas in traditional costumes.
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| I guess this qualifies as rustic looking |
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| Hmmm....I don't think they are geishas |
One evening, we headed to Dotonbori. It is a popular night-spot in Osaka with restaurants and night-life.
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| The Glico Pocky Man! |
This is the iconic Glico Pocky Man. It is amazing how an LED display like this can become so famous.
We had a wonderful dinner at a little restaurant called Kobegyu Steak Ken. It is not easy to find but the service is second to none. They serve great Kobe beef Teppanyaki style. It is not cheap but well worth the experience. Service is highly personalised and the couple which run the restaurant never have more than 8 or 9 guests to ensure the quality of service.
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| This is the unassuming entrance to the restaurant! |
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| Instant photo at the end of the meal :) |
Chef Ken was most personable. At the end of our dinner, he walked us to the lift (restaurant located on the second floor). When the lift door opened on the ground floor, he was already there to bid us goodbye! That's service!
Our tourist pursuits brought us to a few more interesting places.
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| Universal Studios Osaka |
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| Still Halloween at Universal Studios |
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| The Japanese love Minions! |
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| Reflection of Hogwarts Castle |
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| Spiderman! |
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| The Parade |
The Japanese came all decked out to spend their day at Universal Studios. Many dressed to a theme. Some photos to illustrate this.
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| Cool outfits |
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| More interesting outfits |
We visited Todai-ji Temple in Nara. It is a Buddhist temple which was first built in 728 AD.
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| Todai-ji |
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| Todai-ji houses a large statue of Buddha |
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| Nice gate ! |
There are deer roaming freely around the temple grounds. According to the brochures, the deer are gentle and polite. One brochure I read even mentioned that they will bow to you when you feed them. Don't believe that! I had my butt nipped several times when I was trying to get away from them. They look adorable though.
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| Bambi! |
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| Autumn colours |
Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan is worth a visit. It is much better than the SEA Aquarium we have back home. I find the fish here more lively and interactive.
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| Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan |
These are some of the better photographs I managed to capture.
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| A playful dolphin |
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| Whale Shark |
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| Beautiful Jellyfish |
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| Penguins having a tiff |
Next to Kaiyakun is Tempozan Ferris Wheel. It is worth a ride and gives you a great overview of the Osaka Bay area.
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| Tempozan Ferris Wheel |
Osaka Tower is located in an area called Shinsekai. It is in the older part of Osaka and known to be the seedier part of town. We avoided any possible risk by visiting in the day :)
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| Osaka Tower from Shinsekai |
Osaka is also known as the kitchen of Japan. You never go hungry! Choices are abundant. You can have a meal for as little as 300 yen or 3,000 Yen. The choice is yours :) There are many small shops where you buy your meal at a vending machine, take a seat and your meal is delivered. Singapore can learn from this model given the current shortage of serving staff.
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| Buy your meals here |
We stumbled on a little Italian restaurant in Nara which uses a wood-fired oven to bake pizza. Of course it had to be a Quattro Formaggi ..... Yummy!
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| Pizza! |
We got around by train and I must say that I love the train system in Osaka. It is well organised and works! Is is comfortable and very affordable. A train ride from Kansai International Airport into the city (Nankai) costs about 1,300 Yen (about SGD13) and takes about 45 minutes. The trains are also very comfortable. The seats are bigger and have more leg room than theEconomy Class seat with a major airline :)
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| Nice train |
The culture in Japan continues to fascinate me. The people are so polite, compared to the rest of Asia. Most Japanese speak some English, so getting around is never a problem. Even when they do not, they are very helpful. On our first day in Osaka, we asked an elderly gentleman for directions to the subway and he walked me all the way to the information counter instead of merely saying he does not speak English. I love Japan!
