I was really looking forward to this trip, as it has been 6 long months since I last travelled. The Japanese cuisine has been one of my favourite food since I was a kid, aside Italian, and coming these few years, Korean. Also, this will be my first time experiencing autumn, which is my favourite season! This trip includes Osaka, Kyoto and Nara, which are all located within the Kansai region. Kansai is not in full bloom of red leaves yet during my visit, but the nice blend of green, yellow, orange and red leaves are gorgeous enough.
I initially wanted to book Singapore Airlines, which comes to about SG$1,000; and then when I wanted to book it a month later, it rose up to SG$1,500! The next available airline was Cathay Pacific, transiting at Hong Kong for 3hrs, which is about SG$1,000 as well. The third option was Jetstar, transiting at Taipei for an hour at about SG$900 - I went for this with a top-up for meals, 30kg check-in baggage and extra legroom seats, which came up to about SG$1,000 as well. I thought the flight was really smooth and comfortable with the really spacious and extra legroom seat, so much better than the usual economy flight! One thing that is not comparable to economy is that it does not have in-flight entertainment, which is fine for me since I will be sleeping most of the time. I downloaded lots of shows on my Netflix as well. The good thing about Jetstar is that I get to choose what food I want during the booking process, and each meal comes with a bottle of water and Udders ice cream. Since it’s a stopover flight, I get two meals per trip. The food were all soooo good! Transition at Taipei was really easy and quick, we just had to leave the plane to go through the security screening, and then we are back at the boarding gate and immediately we had to board the plane again, the same plane, so there wasn’t much of waiting time needed. There was actually only about 6 of us that was heading towards Osaka from Singapore.
#1: Amazing plane view!
#2: Look at all those fluffy clouds!
After arriving at Kansai International Airport and done with immigration, I went to the HIS counter to collect my travel passes (unlimited rides on the public transport, read more from this post). After which, I took the Nankai Airport Line (train) to Osaka-Namba Station, change to the subway to Nakatsu Station, and finally a short bus ride (3 stops) to my Airbnb at Honjohigashi, phew! 😂
#3: Kansai Airport Station (train).
#4: My travel passes for this trip - Osaka Amazing Pass*, 2-day and 3-day Kansai Thru Pass.
*I actually booked the Osaka Unlimited Pass at $16.80 (prices fluctuate based on day-to-day exchange rate) which gives you unlimited Osaka subway and bus rides + discounts to 30 attractions in Osaka; BUT the HIS staff mistakenly gave me Osaka Amazing Pass instead which is triple the price of Osaka Unlimited Pass + free admission to more than 30 attractions in Osaka + shopping and dining discounts! WOOHOO!!!!
**Can't contain my inner excitement**
***CRIES***
For my Airbnb, I booked a private room of a 5-bedroom double-storey house. It was really affordable, even cheaper than capsule hotels, at about SG$40/night. I don’t want to spend so much on accommodation, I just need a bed to sleep in and room for my own privacy. Luckily, the other rooms were not booked during my stay, so I had the whole house to myself! The house has everything you need! Fully equipped kitchen and bathroom, toiletries, towels... all provided - just have to bring your own facial wash!
The location was pretty convenient as well. Lawson (convenience store) and the bus stop are just steps away from the house. There is also a large supermarket across the road. The subway station - Tenjimbashisujirokuchome for Sakaisuji and Tanimachi Line, as well as Hankyu Line (train) to Kyoto - is about 600m away, and you can find Family Mart (convenience store) along the way. For the Midosuji Line, it's just 3 bus stops away to Nakatsu Station, and you can find 7-11 (convenience store) over here as well.
#5: Right outside my Airbnb.
#6: Floor plan of the Airbnb.
#7: Kitchen.
#8: Living room.
#9: Shower room.
#10: Toilet. I love how the shower, toilet and sink-with-mirror are separated, unlike usual, so you don't have to wait around to use the toilet!
#11: Up to the 2nd floor.
#12: My bedroom. The aircon doubles up as a heater. All rooms have an aircon, and one more in the living room.
#13: All rooms have a TV, and one more in the living room.
#14: A cigarette vending machine! Japan is known to have lots of vending machines, all kinds of vending machines! My first time seeing one that sells cigarettes!
#15: And so cheap! I read this as 20 sticks for ¥32o = SG$4?!!
After settling down and a quick lunch that I bought along the way, it was almost 1600hrs. Popped by Midosuji, which is lined with gingko trees and have now partially turned yellow! Took a stroll down to Dotonbori. It is one of the busiest streets of Osaka, lined with lots of shops and great food! One of the iconic scene at Dotonbori is the huge Glico man signboard! There is so much to do here, you can even go for a mini cruise ride along the Dotonbori River! After taking the Glico tourist shot, I went over to Shinsaibashi Shopping Street, a 600m sheltered street that is lined with ¥100 stores like Daiso, all the way to premium brands like Ralph Lauren, and fashion brands like H&M and Uniqlo. I find it really nice to shop here, you can get almost everything here!
Midosuji 御堂筋
#16: The beautiful gingko trees at Midosuji!
Dotonbori 道頓堀
#17: The iconic Glico man signboard at Dotonbori.
Shinsaibashi Shopping Street 心斎橋筋商店街
1100-2000hrs (daily)
#18: Shinsaibashi Shopping Street.
#19: Daiso shopping - look at all these cute kids Japanese curries and pasta sauces!
#20: Daiso shopping - so many furikake flavours! Furikake is a type of seasoning that consists of roasted seaweed and other dry ingredients like sesame seeds, eggs, dried fish, and so on. It is usually sprinkle onto rice to flavour it.
#21: Daiso shopping - sweet potato snacks!
#22: Almost every tourist will want to bring a box of instant Ichiran ramen home, and one of the places to get is at this Shinsaibashi Shopping Street. You can also find them at Ichiran stores, Don Quijote, even at pharmacy stores! They are all selling at the same price, so don't bother going around to compare prices.
After shopping at Shinsaibashi, got some gyozas from Osaka Ohsho, just a light dinner since I was still quite filled up from the late lunch. Osaka Ohsho is considered to be the King of Gyozas of Osaka, and the store front is packed with people, waiting to get their hands on the yummy gyozas! Lastly, popped by the Apple Store to get a new headphone adapter for my phone, and that’s it for Day 1! Super exhausted and can’t wait to be in bed!
Osaka Ohsho 大阪王将
1100-0200hrs (daily)
#23: Yummy gyozas grilling up!
#24: Osaka Ohsho's signature pork gyozas!
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Pre-trip Expenses
- Flight $1,085.18 (+$6 booking fee) - Airbnb $339.60 - 12-day Unlimited Data (Airsim international SIM Card) $22 - Single Trip Insurance $45.32 - Osaka Unlimited Pass 2-day $17.20 - Kansai Thru Pass 2-day $56 - Kansai Thru Pass 3-day $69 x2 ($138) - USJ Ticket (ticket B) $102.39
TOTAL: SG$1,811.69
Exchange Rate = SG$1 : ¥79.30
Day 1 Expenses Family Mart: - Katsu Don ¥550 - Tuna Mayo + Egg Salad Sandwich ¥220 - Ham, Cheese and Egg Salad Sandwich ¥220 Daiso: ¥872 (¥108 x4, ¥110 x4) Tomica Car: ¥418 Osaka Ohsho: Pork and Cabbage Gyoza ¥240 (6pcs) Apple Store: Lighting to Headphone Adapter ¥1,100 TOTAL: ¥3,620 = SG$45.65
Current Total Expenses: SG$1,857.35