Today, I’ll share my amazing Osaka trip! So we plan to visit three of Kansai’s popular cities: Osaka, Kyoto, and Nara! We also wanted a short day trip to Kobe, but alas, time wasn’t on our side (as well as money, but that’s a different story!).

OK, I already shared my amazing USJ adventure, and we allotted a whole day for it. We only had 2 days & 3 nights in Osaka before we moved to Kyoto, where we spent most of our time. So it was really crunch time! My nephew woke up really tired & lethargic the next day (must be the weather & exhaustion from yesterday’s activity), so it kind of slowed down our pace. Our plan was to visit Nara that day, but life, like always, is unpredictable, and sometimes you need to adjust impromptu!

Our first stop was the Umeda Sky Building, which was originally not part of our itinerary (which I also blamed for why our carefully mapped out schedule was ruined—hope my sister doesn’t see this blog, our gracious financier ????). I have a fear of heights, so I know I will not enjoy it. My youngest sister also didn’t want to come, so we opted to stay on the ground floor (at least I get to rest)! The only consolation was I got a photo (taken by my older sister) of Osaka City!

After that, we went to the iconic Osaka Castle! Finally, I saw a Japanese castle in all its glory! The one in Fukuoka is just a remnant (but it was still beautiful). We stayed in the park to rest for a bit. It was a long walk from the station to the park and then to the actual castle. Actually, the entire duration of the trip sans the day we arrived, I was averaging 19–20,000+ steps. I barely do any intense walking like that here in PH, but man, my leg endured it all! I’m amazed at myself!

We got lost; we boarded the wrong train (that’s part of traveling, haha!) So we got to Dotonbori almost at nighttime! I think it was still really nice because we got to see all those interesting signage in bright neon lights! I think Dotonbori is very alive at night! We got to taste their famous okonomiyaki & takoyaki (I have had my taste in Fukuoka before, but yeah, there is a reason why locals are lining up for it! It was so good! The most memorable experience we had here was eating in an izakaya! Mind you, we were the only foreigners there, with kids in tow to boot! I was slightly embarrassed because remember those scenes you see of people drinking after work? Yes, that vibe! Apart from us being the *only* foreigners, we totally do not belong there. To me, we stick out like a sore thumb LOL. They were happily drinking their night away *hides* while we were lured by their menu haha! But I liked their yakisoba and their different kinds of okonomiyaki! (Fun fact, Takeshi Konomi has fan sign there! I think there were bunch of celebrities and other famous people too!)

We walked some more! We bought souvenirs in the famous DonKi (Don Quixote); then we saw an egg tart cart on our way to the train station (the vendor was like, “3 boxes?!” why, yes sir, we are a big group haha), so we got them too! I lost my gloves, so I ended up buying some cheap ones from Daiso (which I was grateful for). We almost missed the last train by 10 MINUTES! *bite nails* but we made it! I was truly exhausted that day; and while I want to update in real time, the truth is that it’s hard unless you get chauffeured, especially in Japan, where you either bike or walk to reach some places.

Next up, part 1 of our Kyoto adventure! Stay tuned! ❤️