Japan 2019: Toyko to Osaka (Osaka Castle & Dotonbouri)
DAY 4
Hi everyone, we are back with another blog/journal/travel diary entry of some sorts (I guess) of my trip to Japan! Today, we woke up pretty early to get ready and pack a small bag of clothes because we are going to Osaka/Kyoto! And we would be staying in that area for 2 night. I was really excited because when I went to Japan back in 2018, Kyoto was my favourite part of the trip and this time we would be going back to see some of my favourites as well as going to places I’ve never been before!
TOKYO STATION
We had booked one of the earliest bullet train times and I find the shinkansen platform is just a bit more challenging to find than the local trains. Some notes about the shinkansen is that there are two options (I guess technically 3 or even more?) but there are reserved and non-reserved seats. Reserved seats are as they sound, you need to reserve these beforehand and for non-reserved seats, these tickets are cheaper but you need to make sure you get there early to line up before all the seats are taken. If you happen to miss your train (which, please try to go early so this doesn’t happen) you are able to switch the timing once I believe (ask at the ticket counter) or you can wait to get on the next train and use the ticket for the non-reserved seats only. Shinkansen tickets are not cheap (they’re approximately $150-$200 one way) so you do NOT want that money to go to waste by missing your train…
Since this train ride will be ~2.5-3h long, you’ll want to make sure you bring a snack or a meal depending on the time of day and if you’ve eaten or not. There are a bunch of bento shops once you enter Tokyo station, so it’s a good idea to come early so you can do some browsing. There are a few small bento shops at the train platform too but you’re choices are of course more limited.
My sister says she doesn’t really like the bento boxes because they aren’t really that tasty and honestly, I kind of agree with her. But I like to buy one for the train because its the whole experience - being able to open a set box meal while looking out the train window, you know? The aesthetics (lol)!!
Anyway, I bought this bento box with salmon as the main source of protein but it even had chicken and pork katsu (or cutlet). Like I previously mentioned, the food isn’t really that great but it’s not bad in anyway. The pickled vegetables were nice with all the meat. It also came with some mochi like dessert that had the weirdest texture… I ended up giving it to my mom.
There are TONS of bento box options though, so I’m sure you’ll be able to find something you like.
OSAKA CASTLE
After the what seems like an eternity train ride filled with music and falling in and out of sleep (don’t get me wrong, its comfortable) we are finally here! Osaka time! First stop of course is to see Osaka Castle. If you’ve been following me, you probably already know I’ve been to Osaka Castle - again, this is for my mom since it’s her first time here.
Unfortunately, they were under construction so I wasn’t able to snap the best photos…
I won't be saying much more about Osaka Castle, so if you want to find out a little more or see more photos you can check out my Japan 2018 blog post here.
DOTONBOURI
I think Dotonbouri is one of the BEST places to visit in Osaka for the food, shopping and or night life vibe. There are streets on streets of places to buy food/street food, a lot of shops in the area - this area is crowded and busy.
One of the classic street food choices would be takoyaki, which is a savoury batter that’s fried and shaped into a ball with a piece of octopus inside. It’s sort of hard to describe but the inside is nice and creamy, savory and the chewy octopus inside adds nice texture. Also, it’s topped with a sweet teriyaki-like sauce. Just the whole combination together… SO good.
We did get some yakisoba (Japanese style stir fry noodles) but the star is definitely the Takoyaki. I will warn you though, that not all Takoyaki is made the same - this place is THE BEST. No competition, I swear. It’s on the main food street and has a giant octopus on the top of their store front (the store is just on the side, not a corner or anything). It was a great price too, you get 6 balls for about $6 and with the noodles, it totaled just about $10.
The crab legs are kinda pricey, I swear this serving was maybe $6 or so? It had an amazing charcoal flavour to it and it was still nice an juicy. Worth a try but I wouldn’t say it’s anything to rave about.
Cremia on the other hand… O M G. This soft serve ice cream is on a whole other level - I swear. It’s really soft; has a nice milky flavour to it; the chocolate is not too sweet and has a great cocoa flavour; and the best part is the cookie like cone. Such a delicious combo. I’m not really the one for ice cream but THIS ONE? I will always have the stomach for this one. You HAVE to try it out - it’s really good! I will warn you, this does melt fast, so eat it quick. There are other flavours too like just vanilla, just chocolate, matcha… each priced slight different but all around $6.
Apologies for the bad photo but next up on the list is kushikatsu - basically deep fried meats and vegetables on skewers. Honestly, I kind of had high hopes for this but it wasn’t that great… maybe it was just the place we went to? It was surprisingly heavy (and you’re probably thinking - uhh Thomas but these are deep fried, no duh? - but like more than you think! Plus, it wasn’t even tasty…
There is a tub of sauce they have on the table where you dip the skewers in. NOTE: you can only dip ONCE, please do NOT double dip.
We just got one of the sets because we didn’t really want to choose each individual skewer (you can if you wish)
Dotonbouri as a whole is a great place to visit, there are tons of people here - Japanese and foreigners. I would say very foreigner friendly and a great atmosphere, so if you get the chance if you’re in Osaka… you do not want to miss it.
ARASHIYAMA STATION
We spent the whole afternoon and night in the Dotonbouri area and it was time for us to head to our (capsule) hotel. We stayed at First Cabin Arashiyama, which I think is a great choice because it’s basically attached to one station and really close to another one. And as a plus, its 5 minutes from Arashiyama bamboo forest.
Not much to say here but I’ll leave you with this great picture of these light up poles they have all around Arashiyama station. I believe they’re supposed to mimic the designs of kimonos? Really beautiful and a great photo spot (especially at night).
I hope you enjoyed my journey to Osaka/Kyoto. The next couple of posts, I will show you a lot more things - this is one of my favourite areas and I love talking about it - so stay tuned! Thanks for reading
-Thomas