Osaka Day 1 - Arrival

Air ticket reservation made in Dec 2011 during Airasia sale promotion

High above the clouds

Tickets were purchased during a promotion sale early Dec at RM800 per person. The kids were not going since the timing is not right. One will be sitting for exam and the other has classes to attend.

We planned to stay with Akiyo family in  Nishinomiya-city Hyogo-ken Osaka. Akiyo had stayed with us for almost a month during a student exchange program back in 1999. She was 16 yrs old then. We had been communicating over the email for the last 12 years but we never met ever since knowing the cost to holiday in Japan is high and the language does not help. Opportunity came when Airasia flew to Osaka early Dec 2011 with promotion ticket as low as RM170 one way.

The following sites were very helpful in managing the expectation and logistic prior to the trip
1. Train schedule from Kansai airport to Osaka City. It also provide option which train to take to suit the budget.
2. Kansai Airport arrival hall and its facilities such as visitor info center
3. Bus stop and schedule from Nishinonomiya (our last stop) to Kansai airport
4. Discount passes. We did not use this facility since we did not travel very much. Since we were staying right in the city center, most of our activity were concentrated visiting places of interest close to the hotel which were within walking distance. If subways were used, they were just several stations away.

5. Booking.com for hotel registration.
6. Use google street view to manage expectation. Go to any street and pull the pegman icon and place it on the street with blue line. This is very helpful to plan your walking tour in Osaka. Google has extensive street view map of Osaka.

Visa is required to enter Japan. We applied for them from the Japanese Embassy in Jalan Stoner. Form can be downloaded from the internet. No fees are required. Applications can be done via agents. Since the embassy is close to our home, I personally went to the office to submit the application. Parking is quite a problem since there are no parking place. The best option is to take the taxi or use the LRT and exit at Ampang Park Station and walk for 10 minutes towards Tabung Haji for Jalan Stoner.
Need to submit a photo 4.5 x 4.5cm with white background, a certified bank statement, marriage & birth cert if you are bringing your families along. Processing took 2 working days. We were given 15 days travel visa which was more than sufficient since we will only be travelling for 5 nights.

We left Kuala Lumpur in the early morning and landed Kansai airport 7.30am same day. Time difference is 1 hour. Sat beside a family from Batu Pahat, Che Mat of Jabatan Pertanian Ayer Hitam vising their son graduating from Kobe University. There were not many international flight this morning, so we do not have to wait long at the immigration counter. Most of the signange were in Japanese character with minimal English. Had made some research prior to the trip and alhamdulillah able to manouver with ease.

Kansai Airport

JR train from Kansai to Namba. Seat were empty as train depart from Kansai airport

JR train from Kansai to Namba. Seat were almost full as train  approaching the city center

Kansai Airport Arrival Hall

Arrival hall is on the 1st Floor or street level. Outside temperature is 10. Took the escalator to the 2nd Floor towards the train station which is within the airport complex.Took the local train, JR Express free-sitting to the city center where we stayed.  Reserved seat cost Y500 more. However we opt for the non reserve seat train since finding a seat on the train is no problem 'cos the train originate from Kansai airport.Ticket cost 890yen per person equivalent to rm32. Train took 45min. We alight at Namba Central Station Osaka. Took Namba Walk an underground walkway all the way to Misano Hotel which was 15 minutes away. We had brought along a one large and 2 cabin-sized baggage. 

Unfortunately hotel only open for registration at 4pm. Hotel reservation had been made using booking.com website some 3 months ago at RM230 per night. Left the luggage with the hotel. We walked and toured the neighbourhood. Most of the crowded streets were also found underground. There are many eating places around. Tasted the local takoyaki which is made of flour, squid filling and ginger. Sebijik macam kuih cara, except takoyaki is round unlike kuih cara which is half a ball. It is also available in KL called Tako but with a different name & taste and had been modified with beef and chicken fillings.

The streets are very clean and they had assigned smoking area too. Even if you are in the street, u cannot smoke as you like.  We venture from one street to another to pass the time.

Walked along Kuroman Street Market. The street is popular place selling food and fresh fish. Ikan buntal is abundance here. Even though it is poisonous, it is very popular delicacy here. The fish were displayed in the aquarium  ready to be picked by the customers. Specialized cook were required to prepare the fish or one would landed up in the hospital. Customer take risk eating them.

Most of the popular street had covered roofing. Fish stalls are aplenty. We took lunch in one of the seafood outlet. The one we had,  served rice, vegetables soup and fried fish served with the local soya sauce for Y800 ie RM32.

Finally it was 4pm and ready to check-in. The room was spacious with local japanese tub. Had a small window facing the back street but with rm230 rate per night is considered reasonable price for cities in Japan.

Kuroman Fish Market

Hotel radio

Bicycle parking

Fish Stall

Had a nice warm bath, perform zohor &  asar and off to bed. Woke at 10pm cos the tummy had started to make funny noises. Got a jug full of hot water from the reception. Prepared instant maggie for dinner since it was quite late and tired to go out for dinner.

Hotel internet speed was fast. Start to update the blog using Samsung Tab that I had brought along.

The hotel is right in the city center close to all the attraction. It has a one-person, two and 3 person per room. Got a good price since we had made advance 3 months reservation. Tomorrow we will tour the city with more updates.