What kind of traveller are you?
The more I see the world, with various friends, family members, colleagues and even alone, the more I discover my travel self. For instance, I always considered myself quite adaptable and brave, keen to experience the new and the undiscovered, but as I grow older, I realise that this explorer trait seems to be eroded bit by bit. It is a little sad yes, but I guess my body is telling me to head home more often 🙂
This time, I was whisked off to Osaka, Japan by myself for an action-packed trip with the lovely KKDay team! After my first solo trip to Paris and Amsterdam, I promised myself I would never subject myself to the unbearable torture of travelling with myself anymore LOL. BUT I have never been to Osaka, and despite my conclusion that I am not that huge a fan of Japan from my past trips to Tokyo and Hokkaido, I was actually pleasantly surprised by this quirky little city! Osaka just might be my favourite Japanese city to date ~ Could this be due to familiarity with Japan? Has my aversion to change lessened on my 3rd time in this quaint country? I guess we’ll never know 🙂
I landed at Kansai International Airport around dusk and was immediately hit by a chill I didn’t expect. My fleece jumper wasn’t enough to stand the February winds in Osaka but just kept myself moving into the warmth of the Airport Express Haruka Train. I had just missed one when I arrived so I waited around 10-15 minutes because not all the trains from the platform were the express train. All the conductors are extremely nice and helpful, not to mention, speak better English than the same staff in Tokyo for some reason!
What a pleasant surprise when the train finally arrived and it was Hello Kitty themed! I deposited my luggage at the front of the cabin and took my allocated seat. Within 40 minutes, I had arrived at Shin-Osaka Station, where our hotel was! It was a little unnerving to wander out into the cold darkness from the station by myself, lugging a huge pink suitcase with all my coats still packed in deep, but I reminded myself that Japan is extremely safe (comparable to Singapore) and hurried through the silent streets to the hotel.
Despite the darkness, I realised it is only 6 pm and that I was starving! After I warmed up a little, I headed downstairs to find a trusty convenience store for my favourite egg sandwich and sipping yogurt! I also searched for the one diner I must always eat at in Japan – Matsuya!! Thank goodness there is always one at nearly every street! My go-to order is piping hot gyudon with extra beef and soft boiled egg, and there was also a special menu with kimchi tofu soup that I tried! One word – O I S H I 😍
After stuffing myself silly in the warmth of my cozy little hotel room, I washed up and fell asleep quickly, because the next day, we had to head off bright and early to… Universal Studios Japan!!!! There’s wayyyyy too much to talk about USJ so you can read more about our adventure in the above post.
After a crazy fun day at Universal Studios Japan, it’s time to explore the rest of Osaka with our Osaka Amazing Pass!
It really does live up to its name – I have never used a universal pass before, but I am totally sold. Apart from free entry to more than 40 sightseeing spots in Osaka, you get to ride unlimited buses and trains as well! It is also super convenient to tuck my pass away at the back of my phone so I can easily tap into train stations and entryways, rather than fumble with multiple tickets and passes.
We slept in after a late night so our first stop for the day was Harukas 300! To be completely honest, I think most observatories are a little overrated cos after the 20th skyscraper, everything looks the same (tiny and grey) from above. So I wasn’t expecting much from Harukas 300 but from the moment we stepped in, I was blown away. Everything was so atas and classy, not like a typical noisy tourist henhouse but like an exclusive office building in the clouds. We were surrounded by glass panels, basking us in a light golden glow, with the soft scent of lavender and classical music accompanying us throughout our tour.
We headed to Harukas 300’s restaurant where we were served their traditional oden buffet 300 metres in the air. It was golden hour when we arrived, so everything was bathed in a soft romantic light – perfect for photos! I never really liked oden but I slurped up my whole pot of stuffed tofu, sausages, money bags & udon and washed everything down with a delightful gin & tonic. The ambience was top notch and we found out that the restaurant is actually a very popular place for proposals as entry to Harukas 300 + the oden buffet with this million dollar view only costs 4000 yen per pax! It was hands down one of the best dining experiences I had in Osaka and possibly Japan – I am salivating thinking of the steaming hot oden now!
Next up on our itinerary was a jaunt upwards to the rooftop of Harukas 300! There was a slight scuffle as we took off our hats and deposited our bags downstairs, so nothing would FLY OFF. As we marched up a metal staircase to the roof, I was super scared I was going to fly off too. Thankfully, the winds weren’t too strong that day, just a little chilly when we finally made it to the helipad on the roof. What a beautiful sight!
This experience is not open to all, only an exclusive few but I definitely recommend it!! How often do you get to see this unblocked view for miles and miles and take photos on a helipad at the top of Japan’s tallest building?
After a flurry of snapshots, we were ushered back down into the warmth of the observatory deck, where we were given some free time to explore. We also chomped down on their their famous pineapple candy softserve and signature 300 mm long hotdog as we explored the various levels. At the end, we wrapped up a wonderful time at Harukas 300 with a mad shopping spree at their souvenir store! My mum really wanted the potato chips that are unique to each Japanese city so I bought the takoyaki flavoured ones representing Osaka back for her and also nabbed some handmade oriental earrings, a ninja cat keychain and white chocolate covered strawberries.
On our way back down to ground level, we came across a hidden garden that was lit up at dusk with thousands of twinkling lights and hanging gems! So of course we made a detour and took some photos in this Korean drama worthy spot. Every inch of Harukas 300 is truly magical ~
At night, we made a stop at Osaka’s famed Dotonbori Street for dinner and some frenetic shopping at Don Quijote which has EVERYTHING from boxers to muesli. Of course I had to take a mandatory tourist shot in front of Glico’s running man! Dotonbori is my favourite shopping street in Japan to date – there is just something about the electrifying atmosphere that sets it apart from Shibuya in Tokyo & Tanukikoji in Hokkaido.
Onwards to my last half day in Osaka! My first solo trip ever was insanely spontaneous and on hindsight quite dangerous for a little Asian girl but I’m glad I jumped into the deep end. Now, I am quite comfortable with solo tripping when my boyfriend can’t come along. I had some time before my flight at 5 pm so I happily set off by myself after breakfast, aiming to hit 2 attractions I wanted to check out the most: Umeda Sky Building & Osaka Castle!
Armed with the Osaka Amazing Pass from KKDay and my trusty tripod, my first stop was at the nineteenth-tallest building in Osaka and one of the city’s most recognizable landmarks – the Umeda Sky Building. I really enjoyed brisk walking along in the cold spring air, so different from Singapore, and scurrying alongside the working crowd. No one to wait for, free to go wherever I wanted to go.
It was also easy peasy lemon squeezy to get around with my Osaka Amazing Pass so I managed to squeeze in a quick visit to Osaka Castle afterwards as well, to get my shots! I wish I could spend more time in the beautiful castle grounds where the starting buds of cherry blossoms were just beginning to form, but I had to hurry back to catch my flight.
It was a short but eventful trip to Osaka, the perfect first glance into a part of Japan I have never been before! I’ll be back soon, Japan – Kyoto or Okinawa next?