Today, after three weeks of vacation in the Philippines (or wait, now I’m confused, is the vacation in Japan or the Philippines? LOL 😆), I am finally back in my happy place. But here’s a twist: I am not in Tokyo this time. My past ten visits were all in Tokyo, but now I am visiting Osaka in the southern part of Japan.
This is my third time in Osaka, and it still feels like the first. The excitement is just the same 😊. The last time I was here was with a friend back in 2020, right before the pandemic hit the world. Now I’m with @chillquill and will also meet @wittyzell later in the trip, and it will end with me visiting my sister as she starts her new life in Okayama. That will be a whole month in total, and I’m soooo excited for the adventures ahead!
My 3rd time in Osaka. Ohisashiburidesu!
Hello Kitty themed train from Kansai airport.
We rode the Haruka Express from Kansai Airport to Osaka Station.
Inside the Haruka Express.
We sent this to @wittyzell as proof we rode the Hello Kitty train 😁
Our first day was full of lutang moments. Our flight was at 2AM, but it was delayed by an hour. As usual, I couldn’t sleep during the 4-hour flight from Cebu to Osaka. So when we arrived, our first lutang moment happened on the way to our Airbnb in Chidoribashi Station. We rode the wrong train because we thought all the trains on the same platform would take us to Chidoribashi Station. Apparently, there are express, semi-express, and rapid express trains that skip our stop, so we had to go back and take the local train instead.
This will be our station for the next two weeks.
Cute deer-themed train in Osaka 🦌🚋”
Tonkatsu and Karaage for lunch. We ate at Matsunoya.
Another lutang moment was on our way to Osaka Castle. We accidentally rode the train going the opposite direction to the airport. We were really lutang with our train rides, LOL 😆.
Thank God there’s a Tully’s Coffee right inside Osaka Castle Park. After all the lutang train moments earlier, we knew we had to recharge first before exploring the castle grounds. So we grabbed some much-needed caffeine to power us up before exploring the wide castle grounds and soaking in the views.
Salted Caramel Latte for a much needed power up!
Osaka Castle
We explored Osaka Castle while waiting for our Airbnb check-in time at 4PM. This is my third time visiting, and it still feels just as magnificent. It’s truly one of the prettiest castles I’ve seen, right up there with Matsumoto Castle in Matsumoto.
This is the station for Osaka Castle.
The magnificent Osaka Castle.
So pretty!
Stunning view 😍
You can take a boat ride around Osaka Castle.
Love this part of the castle because it's windy.
View of Osaka City from the Castle.
A Japanese garden in Osaka Castle grounds.
After exploring the castle grounds, the coffee boost had already worn off, so we decided to head to our Airbnb, check in, and take a two-hour break to power nap and freshen up.
Dotonbori
After our power nap, we were recharged and ready to explore Dotonbori at night. Of course, I had to make @chillquill do the famous Glico Man pose since it’s her first time here. As for me, I’ve already done it twice, so I’m good, LOL 😆! I really love the atmosphere in Dotonbori. It’s both chill and lively at the same time.
Done the Glico Man pose before so I'm good 😆
One of the iconic landmarks in Dotonbori, Osaka.
We were already starving, so we decided to have toriniku on our first night, and of course our go-to spot is none other than Torikizoku. The wait was as expected, almost 30 minutes, but luckily by 9 PM we weren’t too hungry to handle it.
Our favorite toriniku restaurant.
Our usual orders in Torikizoku : chicken liver, skin and thigh with edamame and cabbage with sesame oil and of course the highball drinks. 😋
Kanpai!
All of our itinerary targets for today were met despite the low energy and lack of sleep. We plan to rest early at 11 PM tonight since tomorrow will be full of walking and a hectic schedule in Kyoto, where we’ll try to explore the city in just one day. Back to aiming for 15k to 20k steps daily. I’ll try to hit that range every day while we’re here in Japan. 💪
[//]:# (!worldmappin 34.69387 lat 135.50105 long Ohisashiburi Osaka! d3scr)
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