3 Days in Osaka are not enough

Only 4 days had passed since I had landed in Japan and I have to say it had been brilliant! I do not regret about anything. It is a long flight, indeed it is but it worth the time and money. I was surprised because I didn't come across too many foreigners, even though that’s good to me, that’s not good to the country’s tourism economy. Of course, there's a reason behind it - Fukushima..

Sadly today, I'm saying "じゃあ、また！" (see you very soon) to Osaka because today I'm going to go to Kyoto to meet a very good friend after almost 10 years. On other hand, I'm going to jump on the Shinkansen - Hikari (apparently the fastest and newest one すごい！).

But first breakfast and I know many of you will think that I don't want to try anything else apart from this but I just simply love onigiri. I could seriously have onigiri every day of my life. By then I had realised that my favourite onigiri was the one filled with わかめ (one of the many types of seaweed) because it is simply delicious - I'm actually missing it right now - 

Different kind of Onigiri in Osaka

Kaiyukan Osaka Aquarium

Who doesn't Aquariums? It doesn't matter big or small we love it. This was my last day in Osaka so I decided to sleep a bit more because I hadn't had a proper sleep since I landed. People at the hostel told me that if I like marine life I had to go so I went there. From Nishinagahori it’s not that far – roughly 15 mins with the metro or a bit more if you miss the station like I did (getting lost is part of the fun ^_^).

Osaka Delicacies Takoyaki & Okonomiyaki

I’d been walking all day and on the time I stopped to have a look at the watch I was not only hungry but also knackered. Hence, I rushed to the first local food shop I could find to eat some Kansai food (here’s the map in case you want to try it).

Arcades in Osaka

Arcades are quite common in Japan, ok I guess we all know that by now. However, the kind of arcades that can be found in Japan are way longer than I expected.

My first encounter with it was on my way to the Osaka Castle when I first saw lots of people getting inside this long street(arcade). I couldn’t go in the first time because I’d had a plan already but I checked it on the way back and this is what I saw.

It doesn’t matter how many words and how detailed my description can be, an arcade it’s one of those places that you have to experience first-hand. Looking at all the people walking, lots of bicycles – to my surprise not crashing into someone (I’m not saying it doesn’t happen but I didn’t see any accident), nobody looking at anything or anybody but looking at everything at the same time. 

Inside the Osaka Castle 大阪城

Ok, so you’ve made it till here and finally you get inside the Osaka Castle but first you need to get the ticket to get in.

I mentioned this on my first post and I’ll repeat it once again:

“do not rely on cards neither debit nor credit. Always carry cash with you at all times”.

Japan is not card friendly so be aware of that and also remember that you can’t withdraw money from every single atm. I learnt that the hard way, because I could only withdraw money from 7-eleven convenient stores……say what? I know, it sounds mad but that how it is.

When buying the ticket, if you happen to have the Kansai Pass, let them know. You should get a discount for the entrance ticket. I can remember how much, it’s not too much, but it’s ok.

Outside the Osaka Castle 大阪城

So like I said on my previous post I decided to walk all the way from Nishinagahori where I was staying to the Osaka Castle. That’s almost 5km according to Google Map. I honestly didn’t mind since I quite hate the tube. First, you smell everyone’s odour, everyone has an arse face and you miss a good part of the whole experience. Hence, I decided to walk and it’s a very enjoyable walk, if you don’t mind walking that is.



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