We stayed in Osaka for 5 days and 4 nights. 5 days is actually a lot of time to explore Osaka, however, since we venture out for day visits to Kyoto and Nara, there's some time constraint and we didn't manage to visit all of Osaka's attraction. I don't feel that bad though because we still managed to cover a lot of grounds despite the rainy weather and having to lug the kids around.Anyway, having not seen it all, is a good excuse to come back :)
( Photo source from Google)
The Streets of Tanimachiyonhomme, Osaka Prefecture
I love the streets where our hotel is situated. I find it to be very calm, peaceful and zen. Being in another country, every little thing is an adventure even normal everyday stuff like the fire station. My children were ecstatic when we discovered a "Japanese fire station", revolving/level parking buildings for bicycles and cars and cute and quirky little cafes with beautiful display windows.
Namba Street: Dotonburi Street the home of the elusive Glico Man
Oh well at least to Cath and myself, though we found the street, for the life of us we did not managed to find the sign, probably on a run somewhere for chocolates :p The streets were busy with activities, surrounded by colorful and flashing
neon lights. There's plenty of game arcade and slot shops. You can find
some halal food around too. We had some yummy kebabs and Ryan was
ecstatic over those "telur tikam" shops.
I totally love the food decoration on the display of the restaurants.
It looked so real and tempting. Too bad it was not halal :p
It looked so real and tempting. Too bad it was not halal :p
Floating Garden Observatory, Umeda Sky Building
Source: Google Pic
360 view of Osaka from the top of the Sky Building.
There's an entrance fee of 500yen. Such a beautiful view especially at night. Romantic too :p
There's an entrance fee of 500yen. Such a beautiful view especially at night. Romantic too :p
The Streets of Umeda
Plenty of electronics stuff for sale here.
My favorite mall in Umeda is HEP5 and Hankyu Department store.The women clothes are gorgeous and super trendy (The prices is equivalent to the likes of Zara). Sadly they don't have much toys stores around but there is a few Disney stores available to get trinkets.
You know what is weird though? Ultraman merchandise is actually quite difficult to find, you would have thought it would be EVERYWHERE in Japan :p Thank god Ryan received one from Cath as a gift and we found another sold in the Kansai airport (Level 3). The Frozen stuff in Japan is TDF, I thank god my girls are not hardcore fans. Anyway, I love how the malls are easily accessible via subway, super convenient :)
Osaka Castle, Osaka Prefecture
I love how amidst all the development the Japanese government still made a lot of effort on preserving their historical buildings. The surrounding garden was very well kept, you can actually find groups of school kids hanging around there while waiting for school to start.
Shopping Note: I find the souvenirs in Osaka Castle shop to be the cheapest from other places I've been in Kansai. Do consider getting a few magnets here as the prices in other tourist attraction may be a tad more expensive.
Rinku Town
Rinku Town is a commercial development in Izumisano, Osaka, Japan,
adjacent to Kansai International Airport. It houses Rinku Premium Outlet, a very nice place to shop for branded items like GAP, Bershka etc. The prices is reasonable, cheaper than Malaysia but I would not say there's a huge difference. However, the children section is very interesting. We got some toys and clothes for the kids which they loved very much.
