Many people assumed that traveling to Japan was expensive. We thought so too, but heck, we wanted to experience Japan. We booked our flights 10 MONTHS ahead to give ourselves some time to prepare our wallets. Surprisingly, it was not as expensive as what people say!
Initially, we wanted to spend half of our trip in Kansai region (Osaka/Kyoto Area) and the other half in Kantō region (Tokyo/Yokohama area), but we only had 10 days (less the day of arrival and departure) and we were on a tight budget, so we have to carefully plan our stay. Since traveling from region to region will not be practical, we have decided to stay at Kansai first then just go back in Japan next time for Kantō.
See how we spent our 10 days in Kansai Region!
Accommodation:
I started booking hotels as early as June of 2014. Every now and then, I checked booking websites to see if there are any new deals and if it’s in a better location. Seriously, I ended up booking at least 8 hotels (which can be canceled at no cost). I booked them to secure our accommodation/s since we haven’t finalized our itinerary that time and we were not yet sure if we are going to shift hotels as we move to different prefecture or if we are going to stay at the same hotel for 10 days. Aside from hotels, we also considered renting rooms or apartment because this is way cheaper than hotels. Honestly, do you really need a fancy place to stay in when most of the time you’re out, wandering? We only need a bed, a bathroom and a place to keep our things.
So, I considered checking out AirBnB and saw this small apartment which is nearby a train station, food shops, and grocery store. We can also cook, we have our own bathroom, TV, internet and a pocket Wi-Fi that we can bring outside! Yup, it’s the pocket Wi-Fi that got us, no need to rent from the airport or in the tourist centers—another minus from our expenses! Staying here cost us around 70% lesser than the cheapest hotel I booked. Aside from being cheap and convenient, the host was also friendly! I highly recommend this apartment. Check out : https://www.airbnb.com.sg/rooms/4425690
The Itinerary:
Okay, I consider February 12, 2015, as our first day because we arrived in KIX airport on the night of February 11. On the night of our arrival, we just walk around outside the apartment to check out the nearby shops and buy some food that we can cook.
February 12, 2015.
Our 1st day was a bit relaxed and flexible. We did not plan to go to any places that have specific schedule to give ourselves some time to familiarize the area especially the train system. We headed out around 9am to go to our first destination: the Tenjinbashi Shopping Street.
We went to Tenjinbashi first because (a) it’s near to our place, (b) it’s somewhat on the way to our next destination and (c) we need to buy a jacket because RJ underestimated again the weather and didn’t bother to bring one… ON A WINTER! Haha!
Tenjinbashi Shopping Street is known for being the longest straight shopping street in Japan approximately about 2.6km from start to end. It takes about 30-40 minutes of walk, that is, if you can resist not stopping to every stores—there are approximately 600 good stores! Since we were looking for the “perfect” winter jacket, it took us almost the whole morning.
Finally, some authentic Takoyaki!! Yum!
After taking our lunch at the Tenjinbashi Shopping Street, we headed to Osaka Museum of Arts. Took a train going to Higobashi Station and walked. Osaka Museum of Art features over thousands of postwar contemporary works from different world-class artists such as Andy Warhol, Tadanori Yokoo, Yayoi Kusama. It also exhibits prewar artists such as Pablo Picasso, Tsuguharu Fujita, Paul Czanne and Max Ernst. Admission fee: ¥ 420.
Exiting the Osaka’s main train station, we stumbled upon this building designed by the famous architect Dominique Perrault. The Fukoku Life Building is another nature inspired design by him—its tower was perceived as the tree trunk and its fragmented base structure is implied as wood chips making the building looked like it was partly uprooted.
As I’ve said, we went around the city area and familiarized ourselves with the transportation and landmarks. It was quite difficult for us to get used to the train system due to various train lines and types. Thank God for pocket Wi-Fi’s! And thank you, kind-hearted Japanese people, for helping us out despite the language barrier.
I totally can’t remember which station is this
For our last destination, we went to Umeda Sky Building. Constructed in 1993, the Umeda Sky Building is a high-tech architecture designed by Architect Hiroshi Hara and considered to be the nineteenth tallest building in Osaka Prefecture making it the city’s most recognizable landmark.
The building has two observation decks, one at the 40th storey and another one is at the roof top—both giving different views and experience. The rooftop observatory called “Lumi Sky Walk” offers a 360-degree view of the Umeda skyline. An admission fee of ¥700 for adults, ¥500 for 13-18 yrs old, ¥300 for 6-12 yrs old, ¥100 for over 3 yrs old, and ¥500 for over 65 yrs old.
Looooong escalator
Love on top
The roof deck is also known for its love locks, if you want to be extra cheesy, you can buy your love locks and have your names and special date engraved.
Capped our day watching the sun go down and the buildings light up.
Photos taken: February 2015
Read: KYOTO, JAPAN: Day 2 – February 13, 2015
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