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5 Days Easy Relaxing Osaka Itinerary
This guide is for the Globetrotters who want a relaxing trip to Osaka. And it is a family-friendly guide, suitable for the not so young and the young ones too. The activities for each day are capped to a minimum so you will have plenty of time to explore the places. Osaka is a major city in Japan, so obviously this guide does not cover all the attractions but at the some of the top ones are mentioned here. Click this to get Osaka Itinerary! Day 1 Osaka Castle and Osaka Museum of History. Umeda Sky Building and shopping and eating at Umeda. The iconic Osaka Castle on the…
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A Day trip to Kyoto from Osaka
Kyoto was the capital of Japan and it is famous for hundreds of historic temples, shrines, gardens and palaces. There are quite a number of UNESCO World Heritage sites in this city. So I think it is a must to take a day trip from Osaka to Kyoto to see the amazing sites. Do not give Kyoto a miss if you are in the Kansai region. Most of the wanderers in Japan would recommend at least spending two days in Kyoto for its rich cultural and architectural sites. If you are tight in your schedules, then at least take a day trip from Osaka to Kyoto, just like what I…
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Things to do in Universal Studios Japan (USJ) in Osaka
Who loves to go on a theme park adventure? I do. Universal Studios Japan or most people like to call it, USJ, is the most family friendly place you can find in Osaka. However, it is also the most crowded place you can find in Osaka too. This vastly huge place can become cramped before it opens its gates to the thousands of visitors that come here daily. I had the privilege to witness this madness on my visit during the recent Osaka trip. We went to USJ early. “Early” means we arrived at USJ before it opened its gate. We reached the front gate at 8.30am on a Wednesday…
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A Day Trip To Nara From Osaka
Want to take a day trip from Osaka to somewhere else? Want to venture out of Osaka but don’t know where to go? My suggestion is to take a day trip to Nara from Osaka. From Osaka to Nara is about 38 minutes by train. We planned to visit Nara for half a day in the morning. After breakfast, we walked to Osaka-Namba station to take the Kintetsu train to Kintetsu Nara station. This station is the closest to the Nara Park and Todaiji temple. The walking distance from the station to Nara Park is about 20 minutes. Click this to get Osaka Itinerary! Along the way from the station, we…
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The mouthwatering Ippudo Ramen in Namba Osaka
What do you like to eat during cold weather? Well, for me, I like to eat something with hot delicious soup. So we decided on this winter day travelling in Osaka, we should get a bowl of hot ramen each to fill up our ever-hungry stomachs.In the daylight, while walking towards the subway station, we saw the big advertisement for Ippudo Ramen and it was a very short distance walk from the Namba subway station. So after a tiring day walking around Osaka Castle, Osaka Museum of History and Umeda Sky Building, we headed to this restaurant for dinner before going back to our Airbnb apartment for recharging. Click this…
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The view of Osaka city from Umeda Sky Building
Do you like to visit tall buildings, bell towers, Ferris wheels or architectural sites to take a bird’s eye view of the whole city that you visit? I think I did this in most of the cities I visited for the past few years. The view from tall structure always gives me the estimates of how big or small of the cities. And sometimes it accompanies with the explanations of how the cities grow from small towns to what they are now. So, that’s why I pay a visit to Umeda Sky Building to enjoy the view of Osaka. After visiting Osaka Museum of History, we took the subway train…
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Osaka Museum of History
Do you enjoy cultural activities like visiting the museum? If yes, then I would suggest paying a visit to Osaka Museum of History after the Osaka Castle. The walking distance between the two is about 14 minutes. It was easy to get to the museum as there were lots of signs along the way to the museum. This museum is just next to NHK Osaka (Japan broadcasting company). I really like the architecture style of this museum. Very tall, modern, and a three-quarter globe-shaped entrance. Click this to get Osaka Itinerary! After the morning walk in Osaka Castle, we decided to get lunch first. So, we had our lunch at…
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8 Fun Facts About Japanese Cultures
Usually, before travelling to another country, I will try to research online about places to go, what to eat and what is the culture or practices the locals do so that I know what to expect. However, no matter how I read extensively about these, it will never be the same as personal experiences. So here are some of the fun facts about Japanese culture when I was in Osaka for my recent trip. 1. Are you on the RIGHT side of the escalator? In Singapore, we always stand on the left side of the escalator and overtaking on the right side. However, this is totally opposite in Osaka. So…
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The iconic Osaka Castle
One of the most picture-worthy spots to take amazing photos in Osaka is the Osaka Castle. Like other palaces and castles built around the world, Osaka Castle was built to show the power and wealth of the owner, Hideyoshi Toyotomi. It is a symbol of the unification of Japan during the sixteenth century. After the death of Hideyoshi, the castle was established as the government office. It was destroyed twice either by war or natural disaster and finally in 1931, reconstructed as a military base using funds raised by the citizens. Today, Osaka Castle sits on two square kilometres plot of land with lots of green space, big garden, sports facilities,…
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From Kansai Airport to downtown Osaka after 9.30pm
Flying during daytime and landed in Kansai Aiport (KIX) after 9.30pm local time where most of the shops or service counters were closed or about to close could be quite daunting, especially we were travelling with kids. Because you will never know when you need help in finding transport out of the airport or looking for a missing luggage or trying to use your phone but realise you forgot to subscribe to roaming service etc. Luckily for us, none of the above happened to us. Phew…. Japan immigration It was fast and swift clearing at the immigration because most probably there were not a lot of passengers arrived at that time,…
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