Osaka – 1 Dec to 6 Dec 2009

It is no easy task to strike a balance when you have 2 children with a wide age gap. On one hand, we love to reward Jarod with an overseas trip after a hectic academic year, while on the other hand, Ashley is still young and does not want to travel. We were torn apart between bringing Ashley together, knowing that both she and us will not enjoy the trip or leaving her behind. In the end, we decided that we will just do a short trip of maximum 5 days without her.

We were thinking of visiting either Tokyo or Osaka. Jarod preferred Osaka – The Food Capital of Japan. At that time, the Malaysia Airlines was having an unbelievable airfare promotion. The ticket to Osaka was SGD 300 per person. ZA could not believe it when I told him about the price and thought there might be hidden costs or unknown taxes or surcharges. We went ahead to book the tickets and true enough, it was nett price and the only downside was to have to transit in Kuala Lumpur.

 

Day 1 – Arriving at Osaka!

The day that we were looking forward to arrived. ZA has a nice colleague who offered to let us leave our car at his place and drove us to the airport. We boarded the night flight and had a short transit in Kuala Lumpur before heading to Osaka. We like Malaysia Airlines for its excellent service. Both the food and in flight entertainment were commendable too.

We arrived at Kansai International Airport in the morning and boarded a train to Namba Station. Namba Station is a major sightseeing and business center located right in the middle of Osaka-Minami and connected to a number of department stores and hotels. We dragged our luggage and maneuvered through the crowd, looking for our exit and received a shock when we were greeted by a flight of stairs. We were exhausted as we struggled to haul our luggage and were relieved when we finally reached Hotel Vista Grande Osaka.

While Japan is a nice country to visit, we hesitate to visit it as we have trouble looking for a room that can accommodate 3 of us comfortably in a decent location. We managed to book a Hollywood Style room in Hotel Vista Grande Osaka which has 2 super single beds joined together. It also has an excellent location, connected by both Namba and Shinsaibashi stations. Most importantly, Dotonbori is just steps away.

As our room was not ready for check-in till 3pm, we took a walk to Dotonbori. Dotonbori is one of the principal tourist destinations in Osaka, Japan. It runs parallel to the Dotonbori canal. Osaka is known as the gastronomists’ town, and thus the entire area of Dotonbori is thronged with an unbelievable number of restaurants and amusement facilities. However, there was not much action in the day. We had a quick meal and returned to our room to rest.

 

Day2 – Exploring Osaka

We decided to purchase the 2-Day Osaka Unlimited Pass Coupon which comes with free bus/subway/tram tickets as well as admission to several attractions.

We hopped aboard The Aqua Bus Aqua Liner with designated seats. This is a 60 minute tour on a water bus which took us along Okawa River from the urban area at Osaka Castle to Nakanoshima. Along the way, we saw several historic buildings and cherry trees although it was not cherry blossom season. The unique feature of this Aqua Liner is that the whole roof lowers to go under low bridges and raises again after passing them. Drinks and snacks are available on board too. This is a pleasant experience in the canal city of Osaka.

Next, we went to Den Den Town. Located in Nipponbsahi area, Den Den Town is an electronics district, comparable to Tokyo’s Akihabara. There are also several manga and anime retailers as well as cosplay cafes. Jarod was not into anime then, else it would have been paradise to him.

As dinner time approaches, we returned to Dotonbori. This time round, our experience is totally different. By night, Dotonbori is illuminated by hundreds of neon lights and mechanised signs including the famous Glico running man  sign and the Kani Doraku crab sign. We felt like we were transported to a scene in the Japanese and foreign movies featuring Osaka.

We picked a restaurant and enjoyed our dinner. The sashimi was fresh and the Anago delectable. However, we did not dare to try the Puffer Fish. On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at street vendors to take-away Okonomiyaki , Takoyaki and Taiyaki. Jarod and I loved the custard filling while ZA was obsessed with the red bean paste ones.

 

Day 3 – Osaka Castle

We headed towards the Osaka Castle amidst the rain. It is a long walk from the subway station. Osaka Castle was built by the hegemon Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who ruled Japan in the latter half of the 16th century, on the site of a temple called Ishiyama Hongan-ji. The construction work began in 1583 and most buildings such as the castle tower were completed in 1585. The existing castle tower was built in 1931. It has five tiers and is approximately 40 m high. The last major repair work was done in 1997 and the castle tower is now entirely modern on the inside and even features an elevator for easier accessibility. It also houses an informative museum on the castle’s history.

After our visit to the Osaka Castle, we stopped by a conveyor belt sushi restaurant for lunch. the sushi were fresh especially the sashimi prawn. We loved it!

Next, we left for shopping at Tenjimbashi-Suji Shopping Street. At 2.6km, this is Japan’s longest shopping street. The interesting shopping street is lined with small shops, restaurants, movie theaters and game centers.

We returned to our favourite, Dotonbori for dinner. We decided to try Kushikatsu which are deep fried skewers of almost anything, served with a dipping sauce. This is a specialty in Osaka and although you can find plenty restaurants serving Kushikatsu, one of the best known is Kushikatsu Daruma. The restaurant mascot is Mr Ueyama, the company president. He is famous for striking this cross armed pose with the grimace on his face. It is very popular with a queue stretching outside into the street, which was the reason we tried this restaurant. The wait was short and once we stepped in, the air was thick with the smell of fried food and the sweet sauce.

We were not sure what to order so we tried more popular skewers recommended by the waitress. And yes, she could speak English. The service was pretty fast and our order arrived in a huge tray. You will find a huge vat of sauce on every table  together with a golden rule – No Double Dipping! My favourite was the quail egg which I have not tried deep fried before. We enjoyed the dining experience.

 
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On our way back to our hotel, we stopped by to get our daily dose of  Takoyaki and Taiyaki. Yum Yum!

 

Day 4 – Universal Studios

We set off for Universal Studios Japan, the first theme park under the Universal Studios brand built in Asia. It is small compared to the other two in USA. However, it is special as it is the only one where The Jaws is found. We loved this boat tour which starts out in a friendly mood , but suddenly a gigantic shark appears, throwing everyone into the depth of fear.

The park is also decked out in Christmas decorations and we had a turkey leg lunch. We could find some Japanese touches where Hello Kitty and friends appear in parades. Although communication was in Japanese, we had great fun with the rides and shows, especially Water World. We did not understand a word and simply sat back to enjoy the series of tremendous stunts.

We also visited Universal Citywalk Osaka, a shopping mall with official hotels, restaurants and shops, including stores selling Universal Studios merchandises and Osaka souvenirs. On the mall’s fourth floor, there is the Osaka Takoyaki Museum, which essentially is a collection of several popular vendors of this dish gathered under one roof. We tried the Takoyaki here and they taste really good.

We returned to Dotonbori again in search for dinner. After walking up and down the street, we stopped at this eatery serving kurobuta over steaming hot rice, complete with raw egg. We had to order and make payment at the vending machine before being ushered to our seat. Picture speaks a thousand word, the meal was cheap, yet heavenly!

 

Day 5 – Shopping

This is our final day in Osaka and we will be flying home tomorrow. We had intended to make a day trip to Kyoto but scrapped our plan as we decided to shop and devote more time to food.

This time round, we ventured to Umeda and walked into a big maze of small restaurants. We found Okonomiyaki Sakura, and as the name suggests, they serve Okonomiyaki and also Yaki Udon. Our Okonomiyaki arrived on our hot plate and we were given metal scoopers to cut and serve. The hot plate keeps the Okonimiyaki warm. Both Jarod and I liked it but ZA is not quite a fan of Okonomiyaki.

We shopped around Umeda, saw some really kawaii stuffs and visited Disney Store. I wanted to bring presents back for Ashley. We got her an Elmo, a Keroppi and a Miffy plush and some Disney character hair accessories.

Next, we left for shopping at Shinsaibashi. Shinsaibashi Shopping Arcade and the surrounding Shinsaibashi area is Osaka’s premier shopping center. Approximately 600m long, this area is unique as it combines chain retail stores as well as trendy boutiques as well as top fashion design labels.  I found a kawaii Hello Kitty Trolley Bag filled with Hello Kitty goodies for Ashley. We missed Ashley despite making daily calls to her.

 

We returned to Dotonbori once again for dinner. Saving the best for last, we went to a Yakiniku restaurant for Wagyu beef. The restaurant we went to served Matsusaka beef – black haired wagyu. Matsusaka beef has a higher fat-to-meat ratio compared to kobe beef and it’s superbly suitable for yakiniku. We ordered a large platter of different cuts and decided not to have any rice to go along, to the astonishment of the waitress. We wanted meat, meat and more meat.

When the platter arrived, one look at the marbling on the beef and we almost drooled. We happily grilled the meat and got ourselves ready for a taste of heaven. It did not disappoint. As soon as we put the grilled meat into our mouth, it was divine beyond words. The piece of meat simply melted and left a warm and happy sensation in my mouth. You will have to try it to appreciate it. The Matsusaka beef was sooooooooo good that we had to re-order our favourite cut. The waitress was so shocked, thinking that we were not full, she tried to get us to order some garlic rice. She kept repeating the price of the meat to us, in case we misunderstood her.

 

It was indeed a marvelous way to end our gastronomic adventure in Osaka.

 

Day 6 – Bye Osaka!

We packed our luggage, checked out of hotel and departed for Kansai International Airport. When we arrived at the check-in counter, there was a long line. A look at the screen sent me to disbelief! Our flight back has been cancelled! I can’t believe it as the first time I visited Tokyo several years back, our flight back was also cancelled. These were the only 2 occasions I experienced flight cancellation. That was why there had been a long line as travellers were either given a complimentary stay at a nearby hotel or rerouted to another airline. We stood in line awaiting our fate. As we found out, passengers travelling to Singapore were put on a return flight on Japan Airlines. We had lunch before boarding and concluded our trip to Osaka!