Blogs from Osaka, Osaka, Japan, Asia - page 3

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Asia » Japan » Osaka » Osaka March 14th 2018

After a long flight we found ourselves walking through a very quiet, well lit, excellently signed tunnel to our beautiful hotel in Kansai International airport. While Narita airport in Tokyo was not particularly impressive, Osaka's certainly did not disappoint! Having only been in Japan for only 24 hours, we are constantly amazed at the technology and efficiencies. Going to the loo has taken on a whole new perspective as we get used to all the 'extras' provided. Even though finding the flush button can be a little time consuming, the heated seats are well and truly worth the incovenience, let alone all the other features designed to give you the cleanist clacker possible! Imagine my amazement to also discover that trains not only arrive, but they do so on time and are so clean and quiet. ... read more
View outside our room at Kansai airport
Starting our walking tour around Osaka city
Airport fun

Asia » Japan » Osaka » Osaka March 1st 2018

Hi all about to start another adventure for the next month but this time I'm taking someone else to help me get lost! Mal and I will boarding a fight from Melbourne to Japan on March 13. But before that happens, we will have been to two concerts, gone paragliding (he flys, I watch!), caught up with family and friends and had copious amounts of laughing, drinking, eating and talking along the way. Mal had advised that he was going to study the Japanese language before we left. That was 4 months ago and I was delighted that I wouldn't have to learn that language given my very poor success in Spanish. Unfortunately he only found the CDs 2 weeks ago.....ummmm guess there's gonna be a lot of sign language, smiling, head bowing and pointing. As ... read more

Asia » Japan » Osaka » Osaka February 26th 2018

Nous avons atterri à Osaka et, après 40 minutes dans un bus grand confort (où avoir une conversation téléphonique ou parler trop fort était interdit, et où la ceinture de sécurité était obligatoire - retour à la civilisation!!), nous avons facilement trouvé notre auberge de jeunesse - Guesthouse Koma, où nous avons discuté avec quelques membres du personnel, Jun, un coréen et Taku, un japonais. Nous avons mangé un Gyumeshi (bol de riz avec du boeuf et des oignons) à moins de 2 euros dans un restaurant pas loin et nous sommes allés nous coucher tôt. Le lendemain, nous sommes retournés au même restaurant et avons mangé des nouilles Udon, des nouilles épaisses. Ensuite, nous avons visité l'aquarium d'Osaka qui nous avait été recommandé. Nous avons vu des espèces que nous n'avions pas vu avant (et ... read more
Achat de tickets de métro...
Aquarium
Osaka castle

Asia » Japan » Osaka » Osaka January 3rd 2018

Well i'm loving Japan. Its a very different kind of a place. Not really Asia but not really the west either. Landed in Osaka nearly two weeks ago after a brief stint in Singapore and Malaysia. Japan has a world wide reputation for its rail network and the train from the airport to town was easy enough. But the subway to the area I was staying in was another matter. The stations are huge and the ticket machine unfathomable, fortunately a kindly lady took pity on this half asleep bewildered tourist and showed me how it all worked (very simple once you know) and bobs your uncle I was at my Hotel. The room was spotlessly clean but tiny I mean really tiny barely enough space for me and my bag at the same time. The ... read more
Fish Market
Squid on a stick for lunch
Fried loveliness

Asia » Japan » Osaka » Osaka December 29th 2017

The next morning, the group managed to sluggishly make it to the Tsukiji Market by 10AM. If there is a time you decide to eat sushi, THIS is the place to go to. Tuna is the king of the crop. Restaurant owners come in at 3AM to bid on the cuts of Tuna. We wanted to go to Sushi Dai (2 hour wait on the port), to eat. But we managed to settle for street food. (see photos) After the market, we headed over to the Asukusa district and headed over to the Kannon Temple. This is the OLDEST temple in Japan. Kate and I decided to dress in full Kimono attire to tour the temple. We visited the temple and said our prayers and then made it to the Tokyo Skytree. It is the tallest ... read more
Fish Market
Kabuki Kate
Dotonburi District

Asia » Japan » Osaka » Osaka October 9th 2017

It's noticeable as soon as you disembark the train from Tokyo. Things just look a little different. Everyone's shirt is not fully tucked in. People are a little rounder and some are a few weeks past due for a haircut. There is litter on the street. Not a lot, but after the scrubbed streets of Kyoto and Tokyo, it is visible. A couple of older guys stand under the "No Smoking" signs, sharing a story and puffing away. Both have on baseball hats and looked like they didn't spend a lot of time choosing their wardrobe today. The smell of fried food drifts from somewhere nearby. People tend to wander, or maybe just walk with a little less purpose here. Voices are a little louder and everyone doesn't stay in line. It's immediately clear you have ... read more
Namba Park
Osaka Castle
Dotonbori

Asia » Japan » Osaka » Osaka October 8th 2017

I have been excited about going to Japan ever since I left Spain to go on this worldwide trip over two years ago. I was now finally going there. After so long on the road however, my excitement has admittedly waned slightly, but I was still highly anticipating my relatively short visit to the land of the rising sun. Japan has informed so much of the world's culture in weird, wacky and wonderful ways and I was looking forward to seeing what I would discover in this iconic country. To get there, I took my first flight in three and a half months! As much as some people hate it, I love going to the airport; seeing the multitude of destinations on the departure board suddenly makes it feel like your travel opportunities are endless. You ... read more
Turn On The Bright Lights
Himeji Castle
Shin-sekai

Asia » Japan » Osaka » Osaka April 30th 2017

Arrive in Kansai Airport at around 7:20am. The airport looks so empty and I cleared the custom rather quickly. Was thinking that I would be on schedule but boy was I wrong. The JR pass office is located at the Train terminal and the queue for the JR pass is too long. Its either the people queuing up can't read or they don't care. There was a sign to say that you just need to send 1 representative with all the passport to get the tickets but they just stand in the queue with their group. There was even a family with wheelchair waiting at the exit blocking everyone that is going out. I was in the queue for about 30-45 mins before its my turn to exchange for my JR pass and make the reservation ... read more
Himeji Castle 2
Himeji Castle 3
Himeji Castle 4

Asia » Japan » Osaka » Osaka April 29th 2017

Transiting at Ho Chi Minh for flight to Osaka on Vietnam Airlines. Took the Business class on their A350 airplane. Not my first time flying Business on Vietnam Airlines but my 1st time on A350 Business Class and also 1st time able to sleep flat in a plane with no one beside me. Nor do I need to worry about waking the person beside me to visit the washroom since my seat is both a window and aisle seat. Ever since I tried flying Business on other shorter flights, I do not want to fly economy again. Yes the price is much higher but the peace and quiet, the better services are well worth it.... read more
A350 Business Class 2
A350 Business Class 3
A350 Business Class 4

Asia » Japan » Osaka » Osaka February 16th 2017

The start of my journey in japan was an extremely long day of traveling. I left my hostel in Chengdu at 5am set off for the airport, first i flew to Hong Kong where i had 2 hours to kill then i found out that the second leg of my journey had a another stop that I hadn't realised so next i stopped in Taipei for an hour then finally i arrived in Osaka feeling very weary. I made my way by train to the centre of the city and then with some difficulty found my hostel i can say the directions from the hostel were not the best 'walk for 10 minutes from the station' ok I know that I'm expected to be a mind reader half the time but c'mon walk which way for ... read more
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