[Travel Log - Japan] Day 5-6: Osaka & Homebound

Click here to read from the first post of this travel log!😊

Day 5: Osaka

17 June 2019, Monday

A free and easy day to spend in Osaka. I remember at this point in time, Shake Shack had just launched in Singapore and the queues were insane. Singaporeans always go crazy with the queues whenever some famous overseas brands comes in. Wanting to know what the craze was about, I found that hey, there was a branch in Osaka so why not. 

Shake Shack, Osaka

Map: 1 Chome-13-13 Umeda, Kita Ward, Osaka, 530-8224, Japan

We did some walking about Umeda, window shopping, etc. and we returned to the hotel to rest up. Before we got to our rooms, my sister decided that we should go atas since it was our last night in the city. 

Teppanyaki 'KOBE' 22F @ Hotel Monterey Grasmere

Perfect Scenery, and amazing food. Though I felt like I had my whole lifetime worth of beef. Haha. 

My parents don't really take beef, so basically my sister and I had 2 portions each whenever it was a dish related to beef. 

Day 6: Homebound

18 June 2019, Tuesday

A quick walk around Namba Station for Breakfast... just something very simple. 

OCAT Bus Stop

Map: 1-chōme-4 Minatomachi, Naniwa Ward, Osaka, 556-0017, Japan

There was an airport bus service at the OCAT Bus Terminal that was located right next to the JR Namba station which made it really convenient. 

My Airport must go - Pokemon Store!

Writers' note (24 March 2021): 

After nearly 2 years of procrastination, I finally cleared my backlog for my travel logs. I remember sorting out the photos immediately after the trip and uploaded them into the respective posts which I then left as drafts for months as I was clearing the backlog of my April Trip. Somehow it took this long, and blogging about them now just makes me cherish and hold all these memories even more dearly since we have all been pretty locked up in our own home countries... all thanks to the Coronavirus. 

Who would have thought that we wouldn't be able to travel at all. It was unimaginable. 

It'll be nice to travel again once this pandemic eases, but meanwhile, peace out! 


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[Travel Log - Japan] Day 4: Kyoto to Osaka

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Day 4: Kyoto ⮞ Osaka 

16 June 2019, Sunday

Before making our way back to Osaka, we decided to make one last stop.

Once again, making use of the station lockers to store our baggage. 

Fushimi Inari Taisha

Map: 68 Fukakusa Yabunouchicho, Fushimi Ward, Kyoto, 612-0882, Japan

Daddy didn't want to climb this flight of stairs with us, so the rest of us embarked on this trail ourselves. 

Thousands of Torii Gates!

My mum was really enthusiastic about this - she really wanted to get to the top of the trail, but... 

I was researching about the trail and realised that it would take 2-3 hours to get to the summit and back, and that was just not possible. 

I do believe this was the mid-point... At least we got to see this view. haha

Kyoto Station Japanese Hashitate

Map: Japan, 〒600-8216 Kyoto, Shimogyo Ward, Higashishiokojicho, JR西口改札前イートパラダイス ジェイアール京都伊勢丹 3F

Hotel Monterey Grasmere Osaka

Map: 1 Chome-2-3 Minatomachi, Naniwa Ward, Osaka, 556-0017, Japan

& we were back at our favourite hotel chain!

Back on Day 1, I remember my mum wanting to eat crab nabe since it was so iconic in Osaka. We wanted to go to Kani Doraku Dotombori Honten but unfortunately it was fully reserved and we were actually redirected to a similar store down the street (but I didn't keep a record of the name of the store...).

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Previous post: [Travel Log - Japan] Day 3: Kyoto

[Travel Log - Japan] Day 3: Kyoto

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Day 3: Kyoto

15 June 2019, Saturday

With our one day bus pass on hand, we were ready for our day in Kyoto. 

Kinkaku-ji Temple

Map: 1 Kinkakujicho, Kita Ward, Kyoto, 603-8361, Japan

I was really excited about the Arashiyama bamboo forest, so we headed towards Arashiyama right after, but before that, it was lunch break!

Oku-no-niwa （奥の庭）

Map: 31 Sagatenryuji Tsukurimichicho, Ukyo Ward, Kyoto, 616-8384, Japan

My dad by then was already quite tired out so he was hanging around the station while I rushed around with excitement, but... 

Sometimes, things don't go quite as expected... 

So turns out, I mistook the Bamboo Forest (on the map) for the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove... 😭

I suppose this is just a very small replica of the actual bamboo grove.. SOB

It was already late in the day, and the actual grove was quite a distance away from the station, so.. that's for exploration in the near future if I get to go back again. 😔

McDonalds' for Dinner! Well well, different country sells different menu right. 😇

Next post: [Travel Log - Japan] Day 4: Kyoto to Osaka
Previous post: [Travel Log - Japan] Day 2: Osaka - Nara - Kyoto

[Travel Log - Japan] Day 2: Osaka - Nara - Kyoto

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Day 2: Osaka ⮞ Nara ⮞ Kyoto 

14 June 2019, Friday 

Making the most of our short getaway, we decided to stop by Nara en route to Kyoto. 

大阪から京都へ行く途中で、奈良へ行った。

Most stations in Japan have a locker area that you can store your luggage/bulky items so it makes it really convenient to do stop-overs while travelling from one point to another in the country (I did that in my Fuji trip as well!).

Kintetsu-Nara Station (Map) 

Nara - The town of deers 🦌

Kōfuku-ji

Map: 48 Noboriojicho, Nara, 630-8213, Japan

Just walking distance away from the Kintetsu-Nara station is the Nara Park that houses several religious buildings. For us, this was pretty much all we could do in Nara as it was just a stopover.  

Yamato An Kintetsu Nara

Map: Japan, 〒630-8215 Nara, Higashimuki Nakamachi, 4 2F

An early dinner at the station's shopping street before continuing on our journey to Kyoto!

Mimaru Kyoto Horikawa Rokkaku

Map: 249 Tsuboyacho, Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto, 604-8255, Japan

Our accommodation for 3d2n... I remember this to be quite a distance from the train station, but it was a really nice and quiet neighborhood to be in. 

Next post: [Travel Log - Japan] Day 3: Kyoto 
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