Awesome Osaka

We arrive into Osaka and I’m brimming with excitement!  My dad is thrilled to find a shop dedicated to all things Shinkansen at the bottom of the escalator which leads to the heart of the station.  We have a quick browse and decide to hold off making any purchases for the moment – we might find something even cooler yet!

The hotel we are staying at provides a free shuttle bus from the station to the hotel from Sakurabashi.  We look for any signs which might indicate where the bus departs from, but it’s all a little overwhelming.  I spot a policeman who looks friendly and approachable and I ask him where Sakurabashi is in Japanese.  He looks a little puzzled as he tries to explain that Sakurabashi is near Osaka Station and we are at Shin Osaka…he says sorry many times in English which is very sweet, but it's my mistake!  Thanks to the helpful policeman we realise we need to take a tube or train to Osaka Station so I ask the man at the information counter which is the easiest way and he gives us a platform number.  We head down to the platform, but now all of the departure information is in Kanji which I can’t read!  I ask a lady on the platform if the next train is for Osaka and she says it is and gestures for us to board!  I thank her and we’re finally heading in the right direction…it’s only taken us half an hour to figure out where we need to go!

 

We’re in a spin on arrival at Osaka Station; not surprising really as it’s the fourth busiest station in the world!  It takes us an age to get off the platform and into the heart of the station.  There’s just so many platforms, escalators and people!  We need to find the tourist information booth to buy our Osaka Unlimited Pass, but this proves to be a real challenge.  I have to ask a string of people before we finally find the booth.  A lady explains all of the attractions we can use the pass for and how we also get unlimited travel on a range of local transport.  I can’t wait to start exploring tomorrow!

It’s early evening now so we decide to find something for dinner.  During my research I read a great deal about Tokyu Hands, and discovered that the Osaka Station branch includes a café called Shake Hands so it’s my optimum dinner choice.  We find the cafe located on the 12^th floor of Daimaru Depāto within the Tokyu Hands area of the store.  There’s a selection of adorable plastic models showing the different meals on offer which include a Pasta Set or Pizza Toast.  We make our selections and I enjoy a meal of Grilled Burrito with Ham and Cheese and a Melon Soda.  I’ve read many tales of Melon Soda and I’m not disappointed!  It’s neon green, very sweet and now a new found favourite!

With full tummies we take the opportunity to browse Tokyu Hands and I soon find myself with a basket full of cute.  I buy a beautiful Mickey kokeshi doll, but unfortunately they’ve sold out of Minnie!  I hope I can find one during our travels.  I also buy Daruma doll, a selection of stickers and some Rilakkuma stationery.  We’re starting to feel a little sleepy now so we make our way to our hotel on the free shuttle bus, which is also a little tricky to find…

I feel a little anxious as we check-in as our baggage should be ready and waiting.  There was no need to worry though, because as soon as we give our name the receptionist confirms that they received our luggage earlier and it will be bought up to our room shortly.  How efficient!  I make a few Skype calls to family back home so they know we have arrived safely and we have a relatively early night.

We’re up early the next day as we have a full day ahead of us!  I’m delighted to find a branch of Lawson on the doorstep of our hotel.  I’ve heard so many positive stories about the chain from Ebony’s blog at Hello Sandwich and Marceline’s blog at Asking for Trouble.  We buy some drinks, and I’m excited to see that there’s a Rilakkuma promotion going on where if your buy anything from a selection of baked goods, desserts and sandwiches you receive stickers which you can use to redeem for free gifts including a Rilakkuma bag and plate.  We’ll definitely be returning here for snacks!

We take the subway to Osakako and our first destination is the Tempozan Ferris Wheel which we can enjoy for free with our pass.  It’s early in the morning and there is no queue so we board quickly.  We enjoy a leisurely ride, and there is an excellent view of the bay area with the heart of the city in the distance. 

 

While we’ve been on the ferris wheel a huge queue has formed for entry to the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan.  When we get to the ticket counter we discover that we no longer qualify for discounted entry to the aquarium with our pass.  It’s a little disappointing but we don’t let it get us down.  It proves quite tricky to get a good view of many of the aquatic animals as it's so busy.  We do see a baby emperor penguin who is incredibly fluffy and cute, even if he is pretty smelly!  There are also some entertaining octopi...

There are stamps to collect along the way and I’ve bought a notebook with me especially!   I’m very happy to find a stamp which depicts Yu-Chan the whale shark who is the pride of the aquarium.  We watch in awe as she glides gracefully around and she seems to have a close friend in the large ray who is often by her side.

 

The highlight of the aquarium for me is the swarm of Spider Crabs which are creepy and thrilling in equal measure!  They sway slowly from side to side and their sheer size makes me feel as though we’re on an alien planet.  They’re quite simply mesmerising!

We make time for a trip around the (not so little) gift shop and I come away with a selection of whale shark items including an adorable plush toy which squeaks and a rice paddle.

We take the Captain Line, which is operated by an all female crew, from the Tempozan Harbour area to Universal Studios Japan.  Unfortunately we don’t have time to visit the theme park, but we make a beeline for Universal City Walk and the Takoyaki Museum located on the fourth floor.  I buy endless items dedicated to the Osaka speciality of takoyaki including socks, decorative tape, a purse and a happy plush takoyaki.

Feeling hungry we enjoy lunch at Bubba Gump’s; a family favourite holiday restaurant choice.  It’s funny to find all of our usual favourites on the menu, and there are surprisingly few dishes which are Japanese exclusives.  

We board the Universal themed train and head back to the heart of the city so that we can visit Osaka Castle. Osaka Castle is located in a large park, and as it's a Sunday afternoon there are a variety of rock bands performing. There are also food stalls and groups of teenagers hanging out and having fun which helps to create a lively atmosphere.  Although the castle looks close it proves to be quite a trek, and we make it to the entrance just twenty minutes before it is due to close.  We join the queue for the lift and head up to the observation platform on the top floor.  There's just time to take a few quick snaps of the view, stamp my book with the two commemorative stamps and view one of the exhibitions before the castle closes for the day.

Back on the train we head to Umeda so that we can take a ride on the HEP Five Ferris wheel.  The night view is lovely with lots of bright lights twinkling and we can just make out Osaka Castle in the far distance.  Not wanting a big meal for dinner we head back to Shake Hands within Tokyu Hands where we enjoy a portion of apple pie and a stack of banana chocolate pancakes.  Delicious!

There's time left to browse all three floors of Tokyu Hands tonight and I end up with a basket full of goodies.  Highlights include a set of panda cookie cutters, a cutter for making panda shaped sandwiches, a piggy steamer and even more stationery and stickers!  With my appetite for shopping sated we return to our hotel to get some rest.

A day in Nagoya

We’re up early for our first full day in Japan.  Not far from our Tokyo hotel is a Family Mart and I’m excited to see what snacks and drinks I can find.  I choose a packet of mixed sandwiches, a box of strawberry Pocky, a banana and a bottle of Fanta Grape to keep me going during our bullet train ride.  We take the JR Yamanote line to Tokyo Station and figure out which gate we need to access the shinkansen platforms.  We have a little time before our train departs so I explore the mini branch of Kinokuniya within the station.  I’ve visited a Kinokuniya book store before on a trip to New York, and I’m surprised to find that the Tokyo Station branch specialises in food.  I spot an adorable bun in the shape of a panda and figure out from the wrapper that it’s full of chocolate cream.  Perfect!

 

We make our way to the platform and wait for the shinkansen to arrive and whisk us off to Nagoya.  From my research I found that the bullet train is due to pass by Fuji-san, and if the weather is good he will be visible out of the window on the right hand side of the train when heading from Tokyo.  Unfortunately all of the window seats were booked up when making our seat reservations, but I have at least managed to secure a seat on the correct side of the train.  I really hope I can catch a glimpse of Fuji-san! 

The bullet train pulls smoothly out of the station and it feels like we’re gliding along.  We pass through the densely packed heart of Tokyo, and then through Yokohama before the landscape merges into fields and countryside.  There seems to be a high proportion of factories and heavy industry scattered throughout the area.  My heart skips a beat as I spot a glimpse of a white peak off in the distance – could it be Fuji-san?!?  As we zip along the businessman sat next to me keeps peeping out of the window while tapping away on his laptop.  The mountain peak starts to grow and he closes down his laptop and joins me in gazing out of the window.  The weather is glorious and we get such a clear view of Fuji-san.  The businessman gets up and indicates for me to swap seats with him as we pass directly past Fuji-san.  It’s such a lovely gesture and I thank him profusely by repeating “Arigatou gozaimasu!”  I manage to snap some amazing pictures and I feel so lucky to have been able to see the icon of Japan so clearly!

Lunchtime is now approaching so I take the opportunity to enjoy my conbini lunch as we zip along.  The sandwiches are so soft and tasty, and the panda bun is truly delicious!  Just two hours after departing Tokyo we arrive in Nagoya and we’re all a little sad to leave the bullet train.

Our plans in Nagoya include a visit to the Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology and Nagoya Castle.  I’m also desperate to find an adorable Pyorin pudding which I’ve read about and are a Nagoya speciality!  Our first mission is to find a locker to store our little case, but as we walk around the main concourse of the station we find that all of the lockers are taken…oh dear!  We do however walk past the home of the Pyorin, Café Gentiane Leger, and I’m so excited to see rows of little chick puddings lined up in the window!  For anyone looking for the café it’s on the right as you exit the shinkansen ticket gates.  I don’t want to buy a pudding yet, for fear of it getting ruined as we explore Nagoya, but I promise myself that we’ll return before we reboard the shinkansen later.

To explore Nagoya we need to buy a Donichi Eco Kippu which will give us one days unlimited travel and discounts at many attractions and shops.  These special tickets are only available on weekends from the subway ticket office.  After getting lost and wandering around for over half an hour we spot the ticket office and I manage to secure us three tickets.  We also find hundreds of empty lockers and manage to stow our mini suitcase.  Finally with our tickets in hand we take the subway to the Toyota Museum.  It’s a straight forward journey, and we emerge into a suburb of Nagoya.  After a short walk we arrive at the museum which provides a fascinating insight into the history of Toyota.  Half of the museum is dedicated to weaving and looms and the other half is devoted to cars.  It’s interesting to see how the weaving industry has progressed from a labour intensive operation to state of the art machines which can convert digital images into elaborate woven panels in minutes.  All of the displays have extensive Japanese and English explanations, and we’re even given some live demonstrations of different machines by the guides within the museum.  

 

The car pavilion is equally fascinating and many of the attractions are interactive with demonstrations of how key components operate.  There’s some huge industrial machinery which we viewed above, and below factory floor level, and some state of the art car manufacturing robots.  My dad particularly enjoys looking at the range of Toyota cars from the past century, but my personal highlight is the trumpet playing robot!

In the gift shop I manage to buy a mini plush of Hachy ハッチー who is the mascot for Nagoya’s transportation department.  Hachy is based on the kinshachi which adorn the top of Nagoya castles. 

On our way back to the subway station we pass an adorable house which is clearly a tribute to Moominhouse!

We hop on the subway and head to Nagoya-jo, which is an exquisite castle in the heart of the city.  We have to make a quick tour of the grounds as we lost so much time when we were wandering around the station earlier.  A friendly man who works at the castle greets us in English and points us in the direction of the main castle buildings.  We’re disappointed that we don’t have sufficient time to allow us to enter the castle, but we snap some photos before heading back on the subway to Nagoya Station.  On the subway a local lady asks in Japanese where we are visiting from, and if we are enjoying Nagoya.  I respond as best I can, and say that we’d love to return to Nagoya again – there’s so much to see.

Ume Blossom in the grounds of Nagoya-jo

It’s not long now until our shinkansen to Osaka is due to arrive, and there’s just time to grab our case out of the locker and head to Café Gentiane Leger to secure ourselves some Pyorins.  The lady at the counter carefully selects us three of the little chick cakes and wraps them in cardboard nests, before placing them in an elaborate box with ice packs and some mini spoons.  We just have time to grab a drink from the café in the shinkansen waiting room, and my dad spots a bottle of water in the shape of a bullet train which he must have!  We board the train with all of our purchases and sit back and enjoy the view whilst we eat our puddings.  The Pyorin is delicious, and turns out to be most similar to a crème caramel which is dusted with sponge to give the chicks a fluffy outer layer.  Each Pyorin has chocolate drop eyes and a beak and wings made from a delicate white chocolate.  It just seems such a shame to eat them when they’re so beautiful.

Next stop Osaka!

The Adventure Begins...

My Japanese adventure begins on the 14^th March 2013...
 

On arrival at Heathrow Terminal 5, we check in our baggage and we’re thrilled to discover that we’ve been given a free upgrade to Premium Economy by British Airways.  What a treat!  With our baggage zipping along miles of conveyor belt from check-in to the airplane we take the opportunity to explore the airport shops and grab some breakfast.  While on the whole the shops are far out of our price range I do manage to secure myself a massive meringue from Carluccio’s, where the lovely lady goes out of her way to sort through the pile and find me the largest meringue in the stack! 

I enjoy a lovely breakfast at giraffe of free range eggs on toasted focaccia, a side of crispy potato wedges and a refreshing glass of fresh lemonade with mint which is served in an adorable mason jar with a handle.  The fancy fruit juices served at giraffe include a brightly coloured giraffe swivel stick, and I am suffering serious envy as other people’s drinks whizz by.  Our lovely server can clearly sense my love of cute and swiftly presents me with a set of five giraffes, one in each colour.  I am over the moon, and we haven’t even boarded the plane yet!

Finally it’s time to board, and we take our seats on the plane.  The on demand film selection is fantastic and the first few hours fly buy as I enjoy watching a selection of the newest blockbusters, a Japanese film and some of my old favourite Disney movies.  As our flight is at midday we are served lunch, and I enjoy Japanese miso yaki with cute carrots that are cut into flowers, a potato salad and yummy apple pie with custard.  I am so surprised when our lunch is served on actual ceramic plates with metal cutlery – such a treat for plane travel!

It’s soon enforced night time, which I find the least enjoyable aspect of any long haul flight.  My subconscious control freak never lets me sleep when on a plane; I think it’s the fear of the unknown, and if I’m not awake I don’t know what’s going on.  As I know we have a full day ahead of us on arrival in Japan, I do try to get some rest by listening to The XX on my iPod and sitting with my eyes closed for four hours.  I fail miserably at actually falling asleep, but at least I feel more refreshed than if I’d just sat watching more films.

The arrival of scrambled egg and baked beans indicates that there are just a couple of hours until our arrival!  It's a beautiful day in Japan, and the captain announces that Fuji-san can be seen out of the windows on the right hand side of the plane.  I frantically try to catch a glimpse, but can't see him anywhere.  A couple in the row in front soon spot him and point him out to me.  I'm overjoyed that Fuji-san was visible and happy to greet us as we arrive in Japan!   The next thing I know we’re stepping off the plane and into Terminal 2 of Narita Airport.  There’s a whole host of ground crew waiting to greet us with a chorus of “Good Morning”.  My year of Beginners Japanese comes in handy, and I’m so proud to hear my parents join me in a chorus of “Ohayō Gozaimasu”.  I’d spent the month prior teaching them basic greetings and phrases and it’s lovely to hear them participating.

There’s a brief moment of panic as our cases appear to be the last to arrive in the terminal; probably something to do with the fact that we were some of the first passengers to check-in!  With our luggage safely in hand we make our way through immigration and into the arrivals hall.  The first thing I spot is the mascot of Narita, who is known as Unari-kun.  Apparently Narita city is famous for both eels and Narita Airport, and Unari-kun is a combination of an eel and a plane.  I think he’s adorable, and dash over to watch the video of him doing a funny little dance!

When planning our trip I’d read about the convenience of using a luggage delivery service to move baggage around Japan.  As we have three large suitcases and two cabin bags between us, and we’ll be travelling extensively on the train network we decide to let Yamato take care of our big bags for us.  We find the desk and instantly a lovely man comes to us and helps fill out the paperwork for our baggage.  Although he has very little English, and I have only beginners Japanese we work together with a series of broken sentences, hand gestures and the help of the guide book I made (more on that later) to ensure our bags are all tagged with details of their destinations.  This is the best welcome to Japan I could’ve hoped for as the Yamato man is so sweet and helpful, and makes us feel so welcome.  It really is true that the best customer service can be found in Japan!  For the equivalent of around £25 Yamato are going to deliver two of our bags to our hotel in Osaka the next day, and they’re storing our other large bag for a week before delivering it to our second Tokyo hotel.

With our baggage taken care of we head to the JR East Travel Service Centre where a friendly lady swaps our exchange orders for JR Rail Passes.  I’ve included details of all of the Shinkansen trips we intend to take in my guide book, and we soon have a mass of seat reservation tickets which will last us the whole of our trip!  We also book return tickets on the N’Ex airport service, and purchase our Suica cards ready for exploring Tokyo.

We take the next available N’Ex into Tokyo and I enjoy the view out of the window as we pass through fields and areas of traditional wooden houses, before the landscape merges into a cityscape.  A lady wheeling a trolley of snacks and drinks traverses the carriages of the N’Ex in an adorable lilac apron with cute big buttons and a criss-cross back.  I don’t buy any snacks yet as I am saving myself for the conbini later!  Soon we arrive in Tōkyō Station and the excitement really hits me!  We’re actually here at last!  I read the signs and we soon find the JR Yamanote line heading in the direction of Hamamatsuchō.  As the train arrives in the station the doors open and we hop on.  Just before the doors close a cute little tune plays, known as a train melody.  Each station, and sometimes platform, has its own unique melody.  You can hear the Yamanote line Tōkyō Station melody here.

Hamamatsuchō is just six minutes from Tōkyō Station, and provides us with our first opportunity to use our Rail Pass as the Yamanote line is operated by JR.  We show our passes to the two men on the station gate and they smile and wave us through.  I’m pleased we chose Hamamatsuchō as our base for the first night as the station is very tourist friendly with just two exits.  It’s a beautiful sunny day, and we stroll through crowds of suited people on their lunch breaks as we make our way to our hotel for the evening, The Intercontinental, Tokyo Bay.  As a family we’re not usually accustomed to such plush surroundings, but family rooms in Japan which accommodate three adults are few and far between, and even at Intercontinental prices it worked out far cheaper for us to stay in a family room, then have two separate rooms in a standard hotel.  We’ve even gone as far as treating ourselves to a Bay view!

I take the opportunity to take a few snaps of the Rainbow Bridge out of the hotel window.  Refreshed after a shower, we walk back to Hamamatsuchō Station and take the Yamanote line back to Tōkyō Station.  You can hear the Hamamatsuchō Station melody here.  My guidebook includes a map for an afternoon of exploring, but we get a little lost just trying to exit the station!  We find an exit next to a large branch of Daimaru, which includes a branch of Tokyu Hands.  I make a mental note to return here later!  At the crossing there’s a man handing out pocket tissues and I’m a little over excited when he hands me a pack too.  The packet has some adorable animals in suits and bowler hats, and I figure out from the hiragana that the tissues are advertising an animal mansion game.

We’re on a mission to find the Tokyo Stock Exchange, but in our tired state we soon get lost.  I realise we’ve walked a little too far, so we back track and I find a few business people to ask for directions.  I feel so proud when they understand my wobbly Japanese and we get pointed in the right direction.  We were just one street away!  We take a free self guided tour of the Stock Exchange, and are intrigued by a film crew who keep ringing the big bell and clapping.  I think they must be filming for breakfast TV.  There’s not too much to see at the stock exchange as it’s now mostly all automated and there are just a handful of people at desks.  I did find the slightly imposing mascot, “Mister Share”, and didn’t miss the opportunity to have my photo taken with him.

Although it is still only early afternoon we are all starting to feel a little sleepy.  I had planned to visit the Kite Museum, but instead we go straight for dinner at Taimeiken.  Sorry Kite Museum, I promise to visit you on my next trip!  Taimeiken is famed for its omuraisu, which is a savoury omelette which is traditionally filled with rice mixed with ketchup, ham and vegetables, and is topped with more ketchup.  My absolute favourite J Drama is Tumbling, and I don’t think there is a single episode were the cast aren’t seen eating omuraisu.  The omelette was perfect and so fluffy!  I would love to know how the chef manages to make each one so uniform.  My mum proclaimed to the waitress that the food was delicious with a cry of “Oishii” and instantly all of the staff are grinning from ear to ear!  Our waitress rushes over to present us with a gift of branded matchboxes, such a swift gesture.  These will definitely make it into my Japanese memento box.

Slightly delirious, we return to Tōkyō Station to explore Tokyo Character Street.  I make my first purchase of the trip from Snoopy Town, which is soon followed by a plush totoro from Donguri Garden and little souvenirs from the Rilakkuma and Kapibara-san stores.  Overloaded by the kawaii goods on offer, I make plans to return later during our trip.

We’re all shattered by the time we make it back to our hotel and after a few snaps of the night view from our window I crawl into bed and am soon fast asleep.  I sleep well until my dad accidentally makes the toilet get stuck on constant flush.  At one point I think about ringing reception for assistance, but after pushing a combination of buttons on the crazy toilet control panel it finally quietens down.  When I get back to sleep I find myself dreaming of tomorrow’s adventures in Nagoya.

Fun times in Japan

I created this blog to help share resources and ideas for anyone planning a trip to Japan.  I'm embarrassed that I failed to actually provide any updates in over a year, but I intend to make amends now! 

After years of dreaming and planning, I finally managed to make it to Japan in March 2013. I had such a fantastic time that I've already began saving for my next trip and I would love to share with everyone some of the things I saw, bought, ate and experienced ^_^

Over the duration of my trip I made extensive use of the brilliant Japanese train network and I would strongly advise investing in a JR Rail Pass if you are visiting Japan from overseas and intend to travel beyond Tokyo.  Not only is the train service incredibly convenient, it's super efficient and provides a great opportunity to see Japan as you sit back and relax in the comfort.  The JR Rail Pass also provides major savings; my 14 day ticket cost less than the combined price of a connection from Narita and a return trip to Kyoto from Tokyo.  It also provides the opportunity to travel on the iconic Shinkansen, also known as the bullet train! A thrill and a definite must if you visit Japan!

Over my 18 day adventure l visited Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Nara, Hiroshima, Kyoto and Hakone.  I intend to provide a trip report and details of fun things to do, together with some of my dreams for my next trip.  If you have suggestions of fun things to do and see in Japan I would love to hear from you.

More trip details coming soon...

London Tripette

Yesterday I took the train down to London to see a performance of Howl's Moving Castle at the Southwark Playhouse.

Picture from http://www.pmstudio.co.uk/project/howls-moving-castle

I was curious to see how the many fantastical elements of one of my all time favourite books could be translated to stage.  I am a major fan of Studio Ghibli's film interpretation of Howl's Moving Castle even though at times it varies hugely to the original novel, so I was expecting a level of personal interpretation from the cast and director.  The stage set was a wonder, and Davy and Kristin McGuire did a fantastic job converting their cut paper set designs into a full scale stage backdrop.

Original paper set design.  Picture from http://www.davyandkristinmcguire.com/Howls_Moving_castle.html

Actual stage set.  Picture from http://www.theatrefixblog.co.uk/?p=1797

Projections were played onto the white set to add detail to the various scenes and give a real sense that the castle was alive and moving.  It was really interesting to see the actors interact with the castle set and the projections, and I enjoyed experiencing the different media forms together.  The music by Fyfe Dangerfield of The Guillemots really added to the action too.  The stage set and projections definitely stole the show for me, and while at times the play strayed wildly from the original story overall it was a fun performance.

My visit to London also gave me a chance to browse the post-Christmas sales, and Paperchase was my first stop.  I bought many different items that I have been coveting for a while, and when I got home I calculated that I saved 60% across my total shop, yey!  My favourite buys were from the Patisserie Pals range.  I managed to get a super cute mini purse, biscuit tin, shopping list notepad and various other kawaii bits and pieces.

Lovely things I bought from the Patisserie Pals range

I also bought some lovely items from the Tokyo Trippers and JPop range which I hope will be useful for my planned trip to Japan next year.  The bag is huge and has many handy internal pockets so I can't wait to start using it.

Purchases from the JPop range

Awesome Tokyo Trippers bag

I also made a visit to the Japan Centre just off Piccadilly Circus were I picked up some sweet Japanese snacks and some character bread.  I recently visited China for work, and I discovered yummy bread bears with sweet red bean paste filling.  I've wanted to introduce these to my friends since, so when I spotted some character bread it was a must.  The Anpanman bun had a red bean paste filling, the Rilakkuma bun had a choccie custard filling and the Totoro bun had custard filling.  Our verdict was that they were all yummy, and a lovely happy treat.

Yummy character bread from the Japan Centre