Osaka(大阪) 5D4N @ Kyushu, Chūgoku & Kansai.

Continue from my last blog where it was about my one day trip to Kyoto from Osaka where one of the attraction was the shop of AE86.

Our first visit to Osaka was in 2016, we were very impressed that Osaka is so vibrant and active! 

For Osaka, just only the Dotonburi and Shinsaibashi , there are too much to see, too many restaurants to choose from. 

For Kyoto, aside for the peaceful Gion area and those famous temples as well as side trips out of the town, the serenity is unforgettable. 

If Kyoto was the city of the courtly nobility and Tokyo the city of the samurai, then Osaka (大阪) was the city of the merchant class. Japan's third-largest city is a place where things have always moved a bit faster, where people are a bit brasher and interactions are peppered with playful jabs – and locals take pride in this. 

This is my separate blog on my day trip to Kyoto from residing in Osaka : https://followblueginger.blogspot.com/2019/02/one-day-in-kyoto-kyushu-chugoku-kansai.html

Photos of Osaka & Dotonburi are already loaded into my previous blog on Osaka : http://followblueginger.blogspot.sg/2017/10/from-osaka-to-shirakawa-go-and-back-to.html

Here is the part 2 of my "deeper" collection for this awesome place. It took us 2.5hr JR ride from Kinosaki Onsen Town. 

Homestay

The location is awesome! Within walking distance to Namba station, Dotonbori and Kuromon Market. Located in the heart of restaurants and bar which tend to be a little noisy in the night. 

After we had settled down, we headed to Dotonburi for a walk and our official first dinner. 

Kani Doraku Dotonburi Nakamise

This is our first stop to visit here after checking in! We had visited previously 2 years back and the food was very yummy and fresh that we cannot forget. It is better to reserve in advance or else there is a high chance you will not get the slot if you walk in. If you are lucky, you need to queue for 2hrs, if you are not lucky then please come back another day. 

So what is so special about this place that making us unforgettable?

To make it simple.. it serves only crabs. Crab served in different cooking methods. 

Here are the fun we had after dinner, just loitering around the river. Yes, just loitering around the river brought us so much fun.

Our first breakfast in Sukiya

This is a chain fast food restaurant in Japan. You can find this everywhere. 

Food are in lower price and they taste good. 

We are lucky to have this Sukiya just next to our apartment. 

The beautiful tail of Autumn still lingers around...

while I have this hero here wearing mere flip flop at 6 degrees. 

Namba Hondori

Just like a normal hondori, there are drug store, cafes, restaurant, game shop , packinko (slot machines) and some other retails shops. 

But if you are looking for lower range of dining, there are many restaurants here to choose from and queues are rather scary because they are good and cheap. 

Tenjin-Bashi-suji (天神桥筋商店街） 

Took a subway from Nipombashi station (walking distance from our apartment ) and stop at Tenjinbashisuji Rokuchome station. From exit 12, turn right .. walk 4min to reach Tenjinbashi suji

Osaka's longest shopping street (cheaper shopping) start from  Tenjinbashi-suji Rokuchome Station.

Stretching for over 2-1/2 kilometers past Osaka Tenmangu Shrine, Tenjinbashisuji shopping street is the longest covered shopping arcade in Japan, and one of Osaka’s oldest merchant areas. We walked through from  1-chome to 7-chome which consist of about 600 shops in total.

From the traditional kimono shops to shops cramped with chic designed affordable T-shirts, almost anything can be found in this "down to earth" yet unique shopping street. This place is worth for our second visit as things are much cheaper here. 

Lunch at 饺子王将 which is a mid range gyoza chain restaurant. Another chain restaurant in Japan where they are almost everywhere. 

Another must try snack here - Nakamura-ya (中村屋)
This is just located opposite of 饺子王将, queue start from the moment it is open for business. 

These are mashed potato croquette that have been battered and deep fried. Usually other ingredients such as chopped meats, seafood, or vegetables will be added to the mashed potatoes. At Nakamura-ya, you can enjoy one made with savory mashed potato and onion for just 70 yen. Queues is super long, most of the people purchase more than 10 pieces. 

Shinsaibashi-Suji and Ebisubashi-Suji

No need to introduce about these streets. Everyone knows them.. today we start our walk from Ebisubashi-Suji all the way to Shinsaibashi-Suji. Both are the heart of Dontonbori and Namba. 

Both streets are similar, they have international brands to local brands, international dinings to local dinings, international coffee to local coffee and plenty of drug stores to choose from. 
The crowd here just does not stop at all. 

From what I had noticed, it seems 大国药妆店 offer a lower price than the rest. Here is the sample of the photo I got from goggle. 

Grand Front Umeda

Kita (Umeda) is the daytime heart of Osaka. It’s the transport and business hub of the city and there are plenty of restaurants and attractions here. It’s also where many of the city’s hotels are located. The heart of the district is the newly rebuilt JR Osaka Station. It’s surrounded by all the city’s main department stores and many of its biggest businesses. The area is filled with restaurants that cater to the many workers in the area. There are also plenty of bars, shops and hotels. For visitors, there’s the pleasantly green Nakanoshim-koen Park, the Hep Five shopping and entertainment complex and the Umeda Sky Building.

Ice Skating at the Grand Front

Location : Grandfront Osaka “Umekida-Hiroba”

Nearest station : Osaka / Umeda

Operating hours : Weekdays 12:00 ~ 20:30 / Saturday, Sunday and public holidays 11:00~ 20:30

In winter, a special ice rink will be set up at “Umekita-Hiroba” in front of the Grand Front Osaka. It is a popular spot, always crowded with people especially on Saturday and Sunday. Buy an admission ticket with a vending machine. BF is here again after 2 years at the price of JPY1200 for a high schooler.

Men-no-kuni Namba Sennichimae (麺乃國 難波千日前店 ）

Address : 6-９ Nanbasennichimae, Chūō-ku, Ōsaka-shi, Ōsaka-fu 542-0075, Japan.

Ever since the first time we tried this ramen with butter, the taste was unforgettable. 

The noodles is hand made in the shop behind a closed door, it is very chewy. The broth is thick and when the butter melted in the hot soup, the fragrance of the soup is enhanced further. The meat is tender and together with the soup in the mouth, the meat melts too. 

Gyoza is average but still consider tasty. 

Feel so lucky to be able to witness this traditional mochi pounding. There are really some masters that really pound on the dough daily to reach the perfect texture to serve customers.

Chinese Café Eight

Address: 5th floor, CROESUS Shinsaibashi 7-2, Soemon-cho, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka 542-0084

This is a 24hours Chinese restaurant that is famous for Peking duck.Been 17days since we last had spicy food and while BF is not with us, as he is resting at home, this is a good opportunity for us.

Chefs are from China and beside Peking Ducks, they have more selections on Szechuan food actually.

Just only the 2 of us, we skipped Peking Duck and ordered these:

小笼包，糖醋排骨 & 麻辣虾 are quite authentic..

辣子鸡 cooked differently to suit local style.

Kuromon Market (黒門市場)

Address : 2 542 0073, 2 Chome-4-1 Nipponbashi, Osaka Prefecture 542-0073, Japan

The market opens at 9 am and closes at 6 pm every day. In the market you will find around 150 stores, about a quarter of which sell fresh fish and seafood. The rest of the stores are largely devoted to fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, dried fish, pickles, and confectionery. There are also a small number of supermarkets and clothing stalls. Kuromon Ichiba(黒門市場) is one of the most well known central food markets in Osaka, Japan, it has been around for 170years. 

Nicknamed “Osaka’s kitchen” because both local homeowners and restaurant chefs get their supplies here, the market is famous for its fresh seafood and has recently become a popular tourist location. As a result it can get quite crowded. In 2015 the market was visited by an average of 23,000 people a day, but that figure is most probably higher now. One reason for the market’s popularity is that many stalls will prepare, cook and serve their food to you right on the spot.

Barely 10min walk from our apartment, we reached Kuromon Ichiba Market and start stalls jumping for our breakfast.

This piece kobe beef cost sgd40... But it really just melted from the moment I put it inside my mouth. 

Not to forget the grilled scallops:

Compared from my last visit 2 years ago, the crowd today is much more. The people here are all tourist and the price is also higher than 2 years ago. It become too over-rated and over commercial today. Stall owners even engaged Chinese speaking staff.  Next time when I come to Osaka, I will not visit this place again. There are still other very local markets here. 

BF is so shock to see a whole building of game. This Taito building is made up of 6 levels - all with games. 

Even the claw machines, these dolls are so beautiful. 

And not to forget their race on 6DX where they been racing all the way from Kyushu to Kanto! 

Another further 5 minutes walk after this Taito building, you will reach DenDen Town. 
Located in the area of Nipponbashi, there are so many shops to choose from whether you are a manga frantic, game consoles like PS or XBOX etc or you are here for cheap electronic appliances. 

Boss nearly bought a VR back! 
It cost about SGD300 only compared to Singapore. But we are blessed as the staff is very honest, he told boss that the voltage is only meant for local, it is not suitable for Singapore. Poor Boss, he left the place with a broken heart. 

Time to check out from our apartment at 1000am, we shall deposit our luggages at the storage locker of Nankai Namba station. There is a direct train to Kansai airport from here. 

If you do not have enough coins, not to worry as there are staffs standby around the lockers to assist. 
Different size, different price. You are allow to keep your locker for 72hrs before staff will remove it. 

It was not even 1100am and most big lockers are taken, we managed to store 2 big one and left 1 big one hanging with us. There is no way, we are going to pull this 28 inch around the city. The staff told us that there is no other locker here. I felt very doubtful on his word and after double check with the customer service of Nankai Namba station, we found our way to NEST Baggage Services which is located at level 2 of Nankai Namba station and same price as coin luggage storage locker. 

Yes, we can now finally roam the place without any extra weight. Our last few hours in Osaka. 

Namba Yasaka Shrine

Address : 2 Chome-9-１９ Motomachi, Naniwa Ward, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture 556-0016, Japan

Small shrine that is 15 minute walk from Nankai Namba station. Not like usual traditional shrine we seen in Japan, this lion head is very special and cool.  You must be physically herethen you can feel the uniqueness, it is totally different from magazine.  We spent about 15 minutes here before we go to the next spot. 

Osaka Ohsho(大阪王将)

Common chain restaurant that you can find it anywhere is Japan. 

The concept of the restaurant here is totally different in Singapore. Frankly speaking Gyoza taste much better than Singapore. 

Train Ticket to Kansai Airport

From Nankai Namba station, there are ticketing booth sells only train tickets to Kansai airport. 

There are 2 type of train leaving for airport from here :

1) Rapid Limited Express - Reserved seat - JPY1270 for a regular seat or JPY1480 for a super seat - 40min ride

2) Airport Express - Non reserved seat - JPY920 - 50min ride

Next is to collect back all our baggage.

The first thing to do once reach airport - they changed to cooler wear - prepare for arrival at Singapore. 

Playing the cold winter wind while in thin clothings. 

Our last meal in Kanto... finally I had cha soba.. with fresh wasabi.

this is so healing to watch... 

The vending machine here is something impressed me. The people here are so thoughtful we foreigners who are confuse on the coins. They even prepare a guide on the vending machine here. 

Our loot weigh 81kg out of my cap of 90kg - lost 8kg of shopping !!! 
Boss kept stopping me to buy more horse oil!!  

KIX/SIN  SQ623 - A380 airbus    2330/ 0530+1 

Here are our damages for this trip. 

My first Blue Label.

Only available in Hiroshima, this is light soya sauce with oyster.

Light soya sauce only available from Takachiho. 

Finally, we have come to the end of my 18 days holidays in Japan that scattered throughout Kyushu to Osaka.


We shall take a short break from Japan from 2019 onwards. This short break refers to family trip, it does not include my "tag-along" trip when Boss goes Tokyo for work.
Our next family trip will be Tohoku region and lastly Shigoku region.
Overall for past 18 days, we spread our footprints :

Here is the re-cap of our adventure for this trip:
1) Kagoshima, Sakurajima & Ibusuki : https://followblueginger.blogspot.com/2019/01/kagoshima-sakurajima-ibusuki-4d3n.html

2) Hakata, Yufuin, Takachiho & Nagato: https://followblueginger.blogspot.com/2019/01/hakata-yufuin-takachiho-nagato-4d3n.html

3) Hiroshima, Miyajima, Kitakyushu & Onomichi: https://followblueginger.blogspot.com/2019/01/hiroshima-miyajima-kitakyushu-onomichi.html

4) Kinosaki Onsen Town: https://followblueginger.blogspot.com/2019/01/kinosaki-onsen-town-2d1n-kyushu-chugoku.html

5) Day trip to Kyoto : https://followblueginger.blogspot.com/2019/02/one-day-in-kyoto-kyushu-chugoku-kansai.html

6) Special edition on my "off beaten" track to Nagato : https://followblueginger.blogspot.com/2019/01/special-edition-my-off-beaten-track.html

If you are still keen to find out where are the other parts of Japan we had visited, please continue to browse through the main menu of the blog. 

We hope to start our Europe tour from 2019 onwards, eventually scatter our footprints throughout.. 

Boss and I had already visit Netherland and Denmark on January 2018, we even visited the very famous borders between Netherland and Belgium in the internet.

refer : https://followblueginger.blogspot.com/2018/01/holland-denmark-amsterdam-nijmegen.html

Thank you for dropping by. 

Wish you good luck.