1st day may seem so far from Day 11 but trust me the days went by so quickly....
| Date/Time | Activity |
| Day 1: 3/30/2015 | Osaka |
| 6:55 AM | ETD Osaka |
| 11:55 AM | ETA Osaka |
| Buy ICOCA Card | |
| Buy Kanku Chikatoku Ticket |
We arrived around 12PM at Kansai Airport. We exchanged all of our money at the airport to save us the hassle of looking for a FOREX. I also bought Yen in advance in Manila. You can get good rates at some of the local banks.
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| Gateway to Osaka |
Go up the second floor of the airport to get to the Kansai-airport Station. We bought the Kanku Chika Tokku Kippu which basically is an express ticket to our hostel, Osaka Hana Hostel. You can check it out and the location is pretty good as it is close to the Shinsaibashi Station.
I forgot to buy the ICOCA card at the station and you could only get it at JR Stations only. So during our time in Osaka I just bought tickets. Sure, it is bothersome to buy tickets every time but what can you do...plus I get to study the subway map while buying the tickets. :)
Anyway, after exchanging our money we decided to go straight to our hostel. I was supposed to pick up my pocket wifi at the airport but they told me since it was peak season, they'll just deliver it to my hostel. I guess they were swamped with a lot of orders. After checking into our hostel, we decided to rest for a while and then do some research about Osaka. My pocket wifi arrived around 3PM.
Speaking of pocket wifi, I got mine at Japan Wireless. Check out their site for the different plans that will suit your needs. Or you can always get one at the airport as well.
With my pocket wifi, I can commute my way around Osaka using the site Hyperdia. It's a very useful and easy website that you can use to know which trains and stations to get to your destination.You just enter your departure and arrival station, together with the time you want to leave. It is important to enter the time you are leaving because there are express trains and local trains. You might miss your station if you take the express trains. And believe me the trains there are on time.
| 12:30 PM | ETD Osaka Hana Hostel |
| 2:00 PM | ETA Osaka Hana Hostel |
| 3:30 PM | Late lunch at Kuromon Ichiba then walk to Den-den town (gundams) |
| Tour Minami(Namba) on foot and then the below places Dotonbori (Ebisu Brige, Glico Man) | |
| Dinner: Dotonbori area | |
| Tour Shinsaibashi shopping arcade |
We had our late lunch at Kuromon Ichiba Market. Go to Nippombashi Station and take Exit 10. The entrance to the market will be on the left after you exit. Entrance is beside a pet shop.
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| One of the alleys of Kuromon Ichiba |
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| Fresh tuna |
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| Fresh assorted sashimi |
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| A lobster |
After lunch I had to go to Den-Den town to Joshin Superkids Land. From the main street (after you exit Nippombashi Station exit 10), turn left then walk straight and Joshin Superkids Land will be on your right. I just had to buy loads of GW figures...sweet!!! Discounts for purchases more than Y12,000 since it is tax-free for foreigners and another discount for Visa Card holders.
From Nippombashi we went to Namba Station to go Dotonbori, Namba and the famous Glico Man.
This is where we had our dinner. Bought some takoyaki and Kobe beef on the street.
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| The famous Glico Man |
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| Ebisu Bridge |
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| Ebisu Bridge |
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| Crab!!! |
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| Takoyaki |
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| Kobe Beef |
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| Dotonbori Area |
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| Shinsaibashi Shopping Arcade |
It was almost 9:00 PM when we decided to walk back to our hostel. Cross Ebisu Bridge and you will see the Shinsaibashi Shopping Arcade. It's a covered row of shops ranging from somewhat low-end to high-end shopping (well high-end for me).
We just walked through the arcade and used GPS to go back to Osaka Hana Hostel, as it was only a walking distance to the Arcade.
Next up Day 2 :)
Expenses:
Food: I don't have the actual breakdown of food expenses
Osaka Hana Hostel (2 nights) - Y24,600
Towels (3 pcs) - Y210
Commute via subway: Hostel to Kuromon Ichiba - Y540 (3 ppl)
Kuromon Ichiba to Namba - Y540 (3 ppl)
Pocket Wifi: Y6,250
Est. Total: Y32,140 excluding food
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