TO JAPAN V OUR LO! PART 2: OSAKA, HAKONE & BACK TO TOKYO
April 23, 2016So, the journey continues... From Kyoto, we took the JR Tokaido shinkansen to Shin-Osaka and then transferred to subway to get to our Airbnb apartment. In the email correspondence, the host, C.G Minami, told us that his place was only about 7 mins' walk from Namba station and that he would wait for us at the apartment. BUT he never told us which exit and that there were a FEW stations with the name 'Namba'. It took us more than half an hour to get to his place from the NAMBA station that we came out from, using map, GPS and asking for directions from passerby. Apparently Nankai Namba station was the nearest one. That was what he told us when we finally met up -_-. Could have told us earlier to save us the trouble of walking in rounds while dragging our luggage bags. This host speaks very good Mandarin though. Btw, we discovered a shorter and easier route to Namba station, which cuts through the underground of Namba Parks shopping mall after that.
Then, we headed to Kuromon-Ichiba market where we enjoyed grilled snow crabs, scallops, prawns, abalone and Asahi draft at a stall with '#Good looking staffs' written on the wall. Lol. Like Nishiki market, this place is just what a foodie needs.
Kuromon market |
Takoyaki! |
Fresh wasabi |
Grilled seafood. Slurppp! |
Osaka castle. |
View of the park from the observation deck. |
Tons of people picnicking under the cherry blossom trees. |
One of the best places to enjoy Osaka street food. |
Look out for the famous landmark - Kani Doraku mechanized crab! |
The Osusume set. The one far on top is PIG RECTUM! |
Though I don't usually take raw eggs, this one is too good to be missed! |
Next day... Time to go to Hakone for some onsen! The journey from Osaka to Hakone Gora station took about 4 hours plus in total; shinkansen from Shin-Osaka -> Odawara (2 hours plus), then train from Odawara -> Hakone Yumoto -> Gora via Hakone Tozan Railways. We got the Hakone 2-day pass (¥4000 each) at Odawara station. This pass includes a boat cruise across Lake Ashi, all train rides in Hakone and the cable car (basically a tram like the one at the Peak in Hong Kong) ride to our ryokan + Sounzan station.
The cable car. Looks like the one in Hong Kong, right? |
Moto-Hakone port on the other side, with our sightseeing boat in the background. Looks like a pirate ship, no? Haha. |
Nothing much on the other side though. Most of the shops were closed - only one restaurant and a cafe were opened. Given no choice, we had to take our late lunch there as we were hungry. Apparently buckwheat soba is famous there, so my hubby ordered that. Being more of a rice person, I ordered the katsudon (pork cutlet rice bowl), but I did steal some noodles from my hubby. Didn't find it special though...
Omoide Yokocho entrance. Hidden in the middle of bustling Shinjuku, this is a small laneway lined with small yakitori bars. |
The shop where we ate in. |
Literally melted in our mouths :D |
Deep fried fugu. This was very good too - meaty, crispy, and succulent! |
Various types of tamagoyaki being sold here. |
Grilled eel liver - Too gamey for me, YUCKS! |
Ootoro sushi @ Standing Sushi Bar - the cut and marble were nowhere near those in Sushi Dai. |
Other sushi @ Standing Sushi Bar |
Tokyo tower from WTC Observation deck - nice place to sit and enjoy a 360-degree panorama of the city while enjoying a cup of coffee. |
Zōjō-ji Temple standing next to Tokyo Tower. |
A closer view of the tower. |
Extra tips:
- Get a Suica/Pasmo card (like our Touch N Go) for subway/train rides when you reach the airport. It can be used in convenience stores and vending machines too.
- Be prepared for long queues/waiting time at restaurants during lunch/dinner peak hour.
- A lot of the restaurants/eateries close in the afternoon after lunch time and reopen again for dinner, so plan your meal times properly.
- We didn't come across many child-friendly restaurants or restaurants with baby chairs. Some even rejected us upfront when they saw us carrying a toddler. Most eating places are tiny, so it would be hard to navigate/park your strollers if you bring one.
- For those who are as picky as me when it comes to LO's food, I brought some rice, oats, raisins, whitebaits and chia seeds over, and we prepared most of her meals when we were there. Buying fresh veggies, fruits and meat there weren't a problem at all.
- Some restaurants incur a fix charge the moment you sit down, or make it compulsory that you order a set each/a certain minimum amount, in order to be able to sit and dine in it.
- You could choose to stay in Kyoto and take daily trips to Osaka, or vice versa since the JR Tokaido shinkansen ride takes only about 15 mins to reach Shin-Osaka station and from there, transfer to JR line train to Osaka station (4 mins), OR you could take the JR Special Rapid train (30 mins ride) straight to Osaka station - save the trouble of packing and moving.
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