Japan Travelogue 2013 (cont)
the second part of my travelogue leggo
PSSSTTTĀ I updated the first part with much more photos and info and just organized it into days properly since Iām now more well-rested and more patient with the uploading in general eheh
Day 6 (Heading to Osaka, Cat Cafe)
The next day was heading to Osaka, we took the JR subway line from shinjuku to tokyo station to take the shinkansen (bullet train).
Explored the area for a bit, as always, itās food first lmao
their pastries look sooo good but are pretty pricey /sighs
It was a 2.5 hour ride *^* we passed other cities like kyoto and nagoya on the way
Inside of the bullet train
the view outside of the train, these werenāt taken so well because the train was moving pretty fast and I just captured the scenery as fast as I could lol
just a few of those I took.Ā
after arriving, we went straight to our hotel. thank goodness it was pretty easy to find, and conveniently located near namba station and shopping areasĀ
the view from my hotel room :3
we just went and explored the area around Ā namba station. there was a street full of food and shops just outside of the station, Iām not really sure what itās called though.
there were these places with soo many UFO catchers as well, we tried them and ended up spending like 1000 over yen WHYĀ
I wanted the alpacas so bad omfg
I didnāt take a picture but there was one with a 8 pack meiji chocolate prize. my brother tried really hard to get but it was impossible even though it was pretty near the āexitā
we ended up in a teppanyaki/okonomiyaki restaurant for lunch the omelettes were HUGE we totally didnāt expect them to be that big.
after that we headed towards dotonbori to find Neko no Jikan, a cat cafe that Iāve always wanted to visit.
It was pretty tough finding it, we had to stop and ask for directions a few times. the osakans were pretty ok in general, we didnāt meet anyone exceptionally helpful like what I read online but they helped to the best of their ability lol. sometimes, we still ended up lost and confused even after asking for directions.Ā
Dotonbori area
the streets walking towards the cat cafe~
soo fucking excited when I finally arrived at the cafe
CAAATTTSSSSSSS! they were all really well groomed and their fur was so soft *^* they were also much bigger than I was expecting
you had to pay like 1000 yen for one hour with the cats orz but it was worth it to me
My broās favourite cat, itās really smart and would climb all the obstacles just to get a treat lol
Munchkin cat that didnāt like to be touched~ it dodged away everytime someone started petting it
FURRY FAT CAT OMGGG
we paid like 200 yen for cat food. the cats would swarm to you once they sniffed food on you lmao
Brave cat that dared to look at my camera lol
pretty cats :3 the cafe was playing musicbox lullaby CDs ā a really conducive place to sleep
by the end of our hour, most of the cats were going off to dreamland~
the cat cafeās sign. poorly taken photo but I accidentally deleted the nice one orz
we walked back to our hotel and I got a giant ice cream on the way. I heard someone say āsugoi!ā when I was taking the photo lol.
I got a massive ass brain freeze trying to finish this, coupled with the fact that it was about 7 degrees with the wind blowing really strongly. The Japanese were like staring at me, they must have thought I was crazy eating ice cream in this weather lol
The famous dotonbori district
the glico man~
H&MMMMMM which I didnāt visit TT_TT
Dinner was at Pepper Lunch which I didnāt get to take photos of /sigh. Itās different than in Singapore such that you need to order via a vending machine. You put your money in and choose the meal that you want. Then you go to the counter and get your food when itās ready. It kind of tastes the same except that they were more generous with their beef haha. It was kind of a let down yet reassuring to know that Singaporeās pepper lunch is pretty authentic then.
DAY 7 (Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan)
We took the subway to Osakako station to get to the Osaka Aquarium, itās the largest in the world!
starting off the day with the beautiful view from our hotel Ā (ā”āæā”āæ)
streets near osakako station
The aquarium was soo crowded since it was a Sunday, it was totally ridiculous tbh you literally had to squeeze to get to the front of the glass panel before you actually got to see any animals.Ā
There were so many families with little kids and they were really cute thoughĀ āā½ā
A Capybara
disgusting octopuses omg they had yellow balls sticking out of their brains I just wanted to die
the Japanese kept saying ātako, takoā at the octopuses.Ā yep this is what they put in your takoyaki lmao
they had a petting station like the one in Underwater World.
I didnāt dare to touch those in Singapore but since I was in Japan I was like heck it why not,Ā so I touched the stingrays and a shark-like fish.The stingray was really smooth and the fish was just scaly haha.
We came out of the aquarium and headed to a small cafe for tea.
streets of japan why are you so pretty /sighs
we headed back to namba station for dinner/last minute shopping since it was our last day before departure
we walked around the shopping centres- namba parks shopping centre and namba city mall. (I didnāt take any pictures lol) the clothes they sell are all so stylish but it was all winter clothing so I couldnāt get anything WHY.Ā and their uniqlo was having massive sales too like turtleneck fleeces were going at 8 sing dollars like what?? I bought cashmere scarfs for future trips (hopefully there will be future trips) because they were less than half the price than in singapore omg.
and we bought so many freaking shoes from this shoe shop called ABC Mart lmao. The designs were so pretty and you couldnāt find them in Singapore since they were suede and kind of designed for winter? Like I saw so many suede new balance and nike shoes that I only saw in korean dramas/on korean idols and whatnot. I was wondering where they got them and I didnāt even know new balance/nike made such stylish shoes(!). In the end my father got 3 pairs, my mum and bro got 2 and me and my aunt got one pair each. The sales assistant must have been laughing all the way to the bank ok goodness think about the commission he would get. They were brand name shoes too, like timberland and nikes and vans. I got a black suede adidas chukkas and I just love them omg even though it was pretty expensive since they were a new arrival but whatever. YOLO
OHH and the service you get in tokyo is pretty dang good I must say. theyāre really fast and they always serve with a smile. Iām gonna miss that kind of customer service tbh itās a farrrr cry from that in singapore
I also went to CD shop and saw so many TVXQ CDs lol this was only one section of it. sorry itās not too clear. I also got my XOXO CD from here and I got a Kris card ehehe.Ā
Dinner was at a teppanyaki restaurant and it was goooood like wow it was also our most expensive meal lol
we had several helpings of beef, scallops, shrimp, chicken, mushrooms, squid. and you just canāt get this kind of quality in singapore
I still wanted to walk around dontobori and shinsaibashi againĀ and since it was our last day. Theyāre next to each other and have long stretches of shops selling clothes/food and supermarts etc.
I tried my hand at another UFO catcher and failed miserably OTLĀ the one I tried the most was the huge alpaca one and it was so close to dropping but it just wouldnāt drop oMFG I REALLY WANT AN ALPACA
they put the dolls really near the drop but yOUāLL NEVER GET THEM ITāS JUST THERE TO ENTICE YOU DAMMIT
it was about 10 plus when I walked about, all the shops were closed already or closing and I sawĀ so manyĀ youths in their 20s going home after eating with their friends in big groups. they were all so well-dressed and good looking /sighs I wonder what itās like to be a youth in japan.Ā but the education system seems to be pretty bad though
Day 8 (Departure)
This day was just going the airport and departing lol. nothing interesting happened, I just felt pretty sad to leaveĀ
Final pictures of the view of osaka. Itās pretty dark because I had to get up really early for our morning flight.
taking the train~ the seats were really comfortableĀ
ANNDDDD thatās it for my travelogue lol phew I took SO long just to type this and upload all the pics ><Ā
my haul from tokyo:
XOXO album. It wasnāt actually cheaper but I figured itād be about the same price if I were to ship it from yesasia or something
my rilakkuma stuff :3
the snacks we got. it turned out to not be enough for all of us to eat and give out to to friends >< we did get more actually but we ate them in japan itself haha
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā ***
all in all I just really enjoyed this trip, but I also regretted not being able to shop more cuz it was winter and stuff lol. also we didnāt get to so much sightseeing which was a waste, like the osaka castle and tsukiji fish market.Ā
I just really wanna go back there again like wow just. Itās a beautiful country and. I canāt even put it in to words. like I donāt even know how to describe being there, I wish I could show you guys everything I experienced but I canāt possibly take pictures of everywhere I went lol. Iāll probably be editing this along the way when I read it again.
Another thing was that I felt distinctly foreign in Japan heh. Like everyone would be talking really softly and their voices all sound really soothing (or maybe itās because I donāt understand a word of it) ok fine except for in certain places like disney and whatnot and my family is really loud and singaporean and not-japanese lol. especially in restaurants, we would always cause a scene since we were a group of 5 and their cafes/restaurants are really small (like reeeeaaally) and didnāt always have enough space for us. Weād then need to split up and because we like to share food to save money/reserve our stomach for other things we would be running around talking to each other, discussing what to get, moving plates here and there etc. I donāt know if this is just a tourist thing but I felt kind of embarrassed that we were making such a big fuss when everyone else was really calm and chill lol. Even in Mcdonalds I SWEAR it was soo quiet like everyone just doing their own thing and eating on their own. I guess maybe it was a city area so most people ARE on their own. But I Ā dofeel kinda sorry for them actually. Even though my family is rowdy and kind of embarrassing sometimes Iād still rather eat and hang out with them than be on my own haha.
I guess it would be best if tourists went in smaller groups preferably in twos I guess. But IādĀ definitelyĀ want to go back and further explore the area, preferably in spring or autumn when the weather isnāt too extreme. Iām really gonna miss the biting cold though, itās just something that will always fascinate me, growing up in a country where itās summer all year round. Ā
anyway until next time~Ā
