JAPAN: Day 1 Osaka

Yay! Finally the day of departure has arrived. As the flight was scheduled for departure after midnight, we had a short nap at home in the evening. The children's bedtime was usually 8pm. We put them to bed around 5pm so that they could get sufficient sleep before flight. After a restful nap, we were all fresh and ready to go to airport. There is a playground outside the departure gate A21 which is a welcome respite for the parents of two active children.

The attentive cabin crew gave the children some toys including an activity book, journal with stickers and colour pencils to keep them entertained. Thankfully the children were starting to feel sleepy after an hour into the flight. We managed to get a few hours of sleep on board too. We arrived in Osaka around 830am. We brought along a stroller for Alexis as we foreseen there would be some walking involved before we get our rental car on the third day of the trip. It was so useful the entire tour as we manoeuvred our way in the crowd at tourists' landmarks and train stations.

After a quick and efficient immigration clearance, we took the lift to Level 2 and exit the building, crossing the overhead bridge to Kansai Railway. We bought four 'reserved seat' tickets for Nankai Rapid Limited Express Train. We bought reserved seats to ensure everyone have a seat as it can be crowded at times. We got the train timetable from the website before our departure. We reached the station at 1020am just in time for the 1035am departure. The journey took about 35 mins from airport to the heart of the city, at Namba Station. Other modes of transportation to the city can be found here http://www.japan-guide.com/.

After exiting the train station, we took a lift from B3 to Level 1. We walked through the tempting food section in Takashimaya and exited the North gate. After the bustling Ebisubashisuji, we reached the famous food street Dotonbori soon enough thanks to Google Map. Colourful billboards covering buildings and larger than life signboards like one giant moving crab and one puffed up fugu fish welcome hungry visitors. It is where the fragrant of takoyaki ("octopus ball" made from savoury batter shaped in a ball stuffed with a small piece of octopus) filled the air and the searing sound of okonomiyaki (aromatic pancake mixed with vegetable, seafood or meat) gathered visitors. These two dishes are developed in Osaka, where its strong food culture has won many hearts. We introduced to the children takoyaki and other grilled seafood (scallops, octopus and snow crab) along the street.

 

Lunch were three bowls of delicious piping hot ramen, premium sliced pork in Kamadare style and the perfectly boiled ramen eggs with runny yolk at Ichiran Yatai (1-4-16 Doutonbori Chuo-ku Osaka-shi Osaka-fu). There are two Ichiran restaurants in Dotonbori. Ichiran Yatai is a family-friendly restaurant. You can bring your stroller up to Level 4 where the tables are and park your stroller at the allocated area besides the lift.

After catching up with our sleep in our hotel which was just behind Dotonbori, we were excited to explore this part of lively and vibrant Osaka. We took a relaxing stroll to shopping street Shinsaibashi and to the temple of all things you can find in Bic Camera. We bought some toys for the children there. There are some familiar brands and also a wide selection of famous Japanese cartoon characters. We found many interesting and well-made toys.

For dinner, we chose savoury Japanese pancakes okonomiyaki and other interesting dishes at Kyo Chabana. As the restaurant also served teppanyaki, there was iron grill fitted to every table. We chose food from the menu which the chef prepared in kitchen instead of live cooking at the table. We ordered tomato omelette with shiso leaf and radish topping, seafood drenched in tomato sauce, vegetable filled okonomiyaki and crispy lotus root with cheese. After dinner, we bought assorted grilled seafood in Dotonbori on our way to hotel. There were plenty of snacks to choose such as fried food on skewers, tempura,  sushi, maki, yakitori, and even wagyu beef steaks from stalls at the food street.

 

 

Yummy dinner in my tummy!