Monday, January 10, 2011
Osaka, Japan
November 12 - 14, 2010
With a very little knowledge of Japanese language, Beng and I braved to visit Japan for a 10-day getaway. Equipped with a short list of translations, we kept on memorising some basic words and phrases from airport to plane to airport to train, hoping that these would be enough for us to survive in a non-English speaking country.
Our first destination is Osaka. We touched down at Kansai International Airport around 7:00pm and this is where the challenge began. We needed to get train tickets going to the hostel and it took us a long time figuring out how to use the machines to pay for tickets. It so made us feel that we were in a foreign country. Thanks to the English translation that was posted.
We then got on the train and reached Shin-Imamiya Station in almost an hour. Hotel Taiyo is just a short walk from the station. We checked in first then we went out for dinner. It was already late so we didn't stroll a lot. We reckoned there was not much to see in the area at night. The first thing we noticed was that vending machines are everywhere -- you wouldn't get thirsty and hungry in Japan.
By the way, the hotel has only a traditional Japanese bath facility which means that guests of the same gender must take a bath all together at their scheduled time, with no swimsuits allowed! Honestly I made a fuss about this. Thank God it has an affiliated hotel nearby where we can take a private shower.. whew!
In the morning we tried the takoyaki balls that were sold along the strip of eateries and restaurants on the street. The owner of the stand must be famous for his delicious recipe as we'd seen a lot of his photos with tourists displayed in front of the eatery. Together with other customers, we enjoyed takoyaki while standing on the street. In fairness, these octopus balls are really yummy.
Our first destination is Osaka. We touched down at Kansai International Airport around 7:00pm and this is where the challenge began. We needed to get train tickets going to the hostel and it took us a long time figuring out how to use the machines to pay for tickets. It so made us feel that we were in a foreign country. Thanks to the English translation that was posted.
We then got on the train and reached Shin-Imamiya Station in almost an hour. Hotel Taiyo is just a short walk from the station. We checked in first then we went out for dinner. It was already late so we didn't stroll a lot. We reckoned there was not much to see in the area at night. The first thing we noticed was that vending machines are everywhere -- you wouldn't get thirsty and hungry in Japan.
By the way, the hotel has only a traditional Japanese bath facility which means that guests of the same gender must take a bath all together at their scheduled time, with no swimsuits allowed! Honestly I made a fuss about this. Thank God it has an affiliated hotel nearby where we can take a private shower.. whew!
In the morning we tried the takoyaki balls that were sold along the strip of eateries and restaurants on the street. The owner of the stand must be famous for his delicious recipe as we'd seen a lot of his photos with tourists displayed in front of the eatery. Together with other customers, we enjoyed takoyaki while standing on the street. In fairness, these octopus balls are really yummy.
At midday we caught a train to Universal Studios. Though we didn't enter the theme park itself, we still enjoyed the food, view and shops at Universal City Walk. Japanese crepes are superb.
We then proceeded to Kaiyukan, one of the world's largest aquariums located in the Tempozan Harbor Village of Osaka's bay area. Marine life is displayed in 15 tanks, each representing a specific region of the Pacific Rim. The central tank, representing the Pacifc Ocean, is nine meters deep and home to a whale shark, the aquarium's main attraction. The tour of the aquarium starts on the 8th floor and slowly spiral down floor by floor around the central tank. Some of the tanks stretch over several floors, making it possible to observe the animals from different depths and perspectives.
Outside Kaiyukan was a beautiful display of Christmas lights.
At night we went to Osaka City to check out Umeda Sky Building. Relying on the map at hand, we kept on walking but the tower was nowhere in sight. So we asked the locals who are always keen to help lost travellers but surprisingly, sometimes they are also not aware of the landmarks and streets in the city. Oftentimes they showed us the map and direction from their phone. We got tired of walking so we left the city disappointed. We just decided to go to Dotonbori in Namba.
Dotonbori is famous for its shops and restaurants, and its many neon and mechanized signs, including candy manufacturer Glico's giant electronic display of a runner crossing the finish line. we strolled the street till almost midnight admiring the Japanese passion for fashion.
The next day we still did some walking around Osaka, had a good lunch at Yoshinoya and purchased a train ticket to Kyoto. :-)
