My love affair with Japan began even before I took a flight to the Land of the Rising Sun. It was probably a long-distance infatuation then. From the photos and images I have seen from travel books, travel programmes on television and the movies, I have already fallen in love with Japan's food, scenery, onsen, and even its extremely clean and courteous culture.
However, a vacation in Japan used to cost much more than in other Asian cities. So it wasn't until in late May this year that I was able to fulfill my dream of visiting Japan when the Japanese yen dipped in comparison to the strong Singapore dollar.
As this was our first time to Japan, we chose Osaka which I felt was less crowded than Tokyo yet more interesting than the other Japanese cities. Renowned for its numerous rivers and canals, Osaka is also romantically named the 'Venice of the Orient'.
Dazzling Dotonbori
Upon arriving at Kansai International Airport, we took the express airport bus that took us direct to the OCAT (Osaka City Air Terminal) bus terminal which is just next to our hotel, the Monterey Grasmere. The JR Namba station is also right next door. This modern and relatively new hotel is very conveniently located in the heart of Namba, with the subway and a huge supermarket at the basement. We got most of our pastries for breakfast from the Life Foods Market which opens till late at night and has a great variety of delicious freshly baked pastries as well as sushi and bento sets.
Besides its great location, this hotel also has a quaint little wedding chapel besides the lobby. It adds a unique touch to the hotel and differentiates it from the other business hotels.
After checking in and unpacking our luggages, we wasted no time in exploring the expansive underground mall of Namba Walk which is linked to our hotel. Peppered with numerous cafes, restaurants, fashion boutiques and some quirky shops, the Namba Walk offers a unique and leisurely shopping and gourmand experience.
Some say the best time to visit Dotonbori - a famous street renowned for its myriad eateries and bars - is in the night when the dazzling neon ligths and sign boards are up. And it's true. We had a sumptuous dinner at Osaka Ohsho, which is famous for its fried dumplings. But the fried rice and fried noodles we ordered were equally good.
After dinner, we took a leisure stroll along the bustling street of Dotonbori and came across the area's landmark - the Dotonbori Hotel with its unique facade of four head statues lined up in a row. For a glimpse of the seedy side of the area, walk along the Dotonbori Bridge and you would see young Japanese girls touting themselves to single or group of men.
Therapeutic Shinsaibashi
If shopping is therapeutic, then you might want to make it a mandatory trip to the Shinsaibashi shopping street which is near Dotonbori and a stone's throw from our hotel. Like Tokyo's Ginza, this bustling shopping arcade features over 100 fashion retail shops and eateries and Daimaru department store. If you love your brands, you would be happy to find some familiar brands like H&M, Zara, Forever 21, Uniqlo and Tommy Hilfiger, to name a few. There are also a few specialty stores like Anna Sui, DIsney Store and Sanrio Gallery. There is also a 390-yen (around S$5) shop and Daiso if you are looking for bargains.
We came across a shop famous for its cheesecake and judging by the perpetual long queue at the shop every time we passed by, it was not hard to guess the cheesecake must be very good. I was tempted to join the queue but changed my mind as I didn't want to waste time queuing on my vacation. Remember the cheesecake shop's name - Pablo - if ever you are at Shinsaibashi and do not mind the long queue.
Golden Dragon, an eatery renowned for its ramen, is also worth mentioning. You may easily miss this humble-looking eatery with its tatami dining seating, but you would want to come back again once you have tasted its piping hot ramen with delicious thin slices of char siew floating in the yummy soup. Slurp it up from the bowl as they only provide disposable chopsticks. You can also add some chopped garlic, pickled chilli vegetables and kimchi (all provided free) for more kick.
Spendid Castle
A vacation in Osaka is not complete without a visit to the renowned Osaka Castle. But we missed the cherry blossom season, so that was a tiny regret. The exterior of the 8-storey castle, standing tall at 55 metres above ground, was indeed an impressive sight to behold. It was the first time we have ever seen a real castle! But the interior was just a museum with historical exhibits and interactive displays to showcase the rich history of Osaka Castle and the life of its founder and warlord, Hideyoshi Toyotomi.
We climbed up the narrow last 3 storeys to the top of the castle and were rewarded with a panoramic view of Osaka city.from the observatory. I believe the sunset view of Osaka Castle and Osaka city from the observatory is even more beautiful. For an entry fee of 600 yen per adult (free for kids below 15 years old), it's quite worthwhile to learn about the history of Osaka Castle and its military past. Many of the exhibits on display are also an eye-opener for most of us who are not familiar with Japanese cultures. For a nominal fee, visitors can even don military gear complete with samurai sword for photo-shoot.
If you are not interested in museum and history stuff, you may want to walk around the expansive areas of the Osaka Castle Park which features the Nishinomaru Garden and the Japanese Plum-grove Garden. But do wear comfortable shoes and expect alot of walking as the park is quite vast.
Kids' Paradise
Due to a last-minute change of plan, we decided to drop Universal Studios and head to a relatively unknown kids' indoor theme park called Kids Plaza Osaka. And we were pleasantly surprised. Conveniently located next to Ogimachi Station, the 5-storey edutainment museum for kids provides an interesting and fun environment for kids to learn and discover new things through play and interactive games.
On the 5th floor, Sweet Pea and I have an interesting first-time experience playing the roles of interviewee and interviewer respectively for a make-believe television studio complete with real recording equipment. Watching our 'one-minute of fame' broadcast played back on TV was quite surreal. We also have great fun playing with giant soap bubbles and the 'skeleton dance' on this Discovery Floor. There is also a multicultural section where you can don various tradtional costumes and play different cultural musical instruments!
But Sweet Pea had the best time on the Adventure Floor at the 4th level, which features a kiddy supermarket where the kids can buy their own toy groceries and even scan their items at the checkout counter, with a fake receipt to boot! Our 5-year-old preschooler also had a whale of a time playing 'post-girl' delivering letters (which are actually cards with pictures stamped on them) to the respective recipients.
There is also a make-believe hair salon, police booth, clinic and food stalls where kids and parents can bond through interactive plays. Parents with infants and young toddlers can also relax in the Play Room equipped with child-friendy toys and a nursing room for breastfeeding mothers. The female toilet even has small toilet bowls and low sinks for little kids to use. How thoughtful!
On the 3rd level, the Creative Floor, little ones can get hands-on in the art studio and computer room creating animations and other artwork. But it was closed when we were there. Strangely, there is no 2nd floor and first floor is the entrance and ticket booth.
This colorful and amazing 'Kids' Town' was created by world renowned Austrian artist, Friedensreich Hundertwasser, who used twisted walls, multicolored windows, drawings painted on the walls and even a suspension bridge to provide an interesting place for young kids to play and learn through discoveries and hands-on experiences. To me personally, this is even more entertaining and meaningful than queueing for rides at Universal Studios.
More Underground Shopping
We spent the second last day of our vacation in Osaka just relaxing and window-shopping along Shinsaibashi and Ebisubashi shopping sreets. Osaka has many underground malls. But most notably is Crysta Nagahori, one of Japan's largest underground malls, which was designed with glass ceiling so it receives natural light from the streets above. You wouldn't feel like you are shopping in an underground mall. Although not as new as Namba Walk's underground mall, it features some shops like the one we saw selling quirky handbags in various shapes of a horse, guitar, hat and telephone. Although I wouldn't want to be caught carrying one out on the street, I'm sure it would make a great conversational piece.
After a tiring day of shopping and walking, we decided to have an early dinner at Namba Walks before returning to the hotel to have a hot shower and pack for the next day's early flight home. Though this vacation seemed a little too short for us to explore more of the colorful Osaka city, I have a feeling we will be back. Maybe the next time, we will get to explore Umeda , Tsutenkaku Tower, Rinku Premium Outlet, Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum and some other places of interest that we have missed out this time.
So sayonara for now, Osaka! Hopefully we will be back soon to recapture this lovely feeling.
