May 10th, Osaka day 5
I should get up early, check out and heading back to sweet home in Vancouver, though I may want to stay longer. I had grown up by this trip and ready for the next chapter of my life!\
Thank you Kansai for this wonderful trip.
I would not forget the castle, shrines and temples that I saw. They were marvelous and well protected. I might make more friends and probably I can ask them to visit Vancouver some day!
Byebye Kansai! Byebye Japan!
6:31 AM |
Category:
Final,
Kansai
|
May 2nd, Osaka Day 1
I would be very tired after arriving at Osaka International Airport. After taking JR to Umeda station, I will walk to
the hostel, check-in and have a wonderful sleep.
May 3rd, Osaka Day 2
After having a good sleep. I plan to visit Namba area down the south of Osaka. It contains various kind of food and shopping centres. However, my first place to visit is
Kamigata Ukiyoe Museum. This museum is unique of its kinds.
It is the only one in the world to have a permanent Kamigata Ukiyoe exhibit. Kamigata Ukiyoe are woodblock prints from the Kyoto/Osaka region that typically feature portraits of kabuki actors.
I am going to Dotonbori area to enjoy my dinner. It is easy to recognize-----if you can see the crab logo.
May 4th, Osaka Day 3
Today I will unveil the secret behind Osaka. I am going to visit the Castle Museum and the Nakamoshima Park, as well as taking a boat ride. The castle museum covers about 60,000 square meters of ground and it is also 'Golden Castle' by Japanese. I can probably imagine the scene in Sengoku period that warriors were fighting for their leader and their own country. The castle must act like a indestructible barrier that stops many attacks.
Nakamoshima Park, on the other hand, is built in 19th century with the fusion of Western culture. It is located at the middle of an island and it was the first public park opened in Osaka.
Public Hall, Nakamoshima Park
May 5th, Osaka Day 4
Today I will be stay in the Den Den Town all day for electronics shopping.
Located in the Nipponbashi area, Den Den Town is an
electronics district comparable to Tokyo's Akihabara, and you may be able to
bargain to a better deal. Den Den Town is becoming known as an otaku paradise
with numerous manga and anime retailers as well as maid and cosplay cafes
located there.
3:29 AM |
Category:
Kansai,
Osaka
|
In order to find a cheap and clean, probably convenient and traditional place to stay, I had searched the internet for a while and finally pick
U-en Hostel as the most appropriate choice for this trip.
The hostel is located in a 103 years old apartment-looks very traditionally Japanese.
It is conveniently located at the center of Osaka City(at point B), which is the hub of the entire Kansai. It is very close to the 'Union Station' of Osaka---Umeda Station, only 15 min by walking. As you may not know that there are many private railway carriers in Kansai rather than Via-rail monopoly in Ontario. So it is urgent to live close to the Umeda station and then I could choose different options.
The price is also acceptable with cheapest room starting at 2700 Yen, or~$30 per night, which is below my budget.
3:25 AM |
Category:
Hostel,
Kansai,
Osaka,
U-en
|
Osaka：
1.Muguni (TEL:
06-6212-5068, $10 per person)
2. Umai-Nishino(Fine dining, $15-50 per person)
Kyoto：
1.
Kinmata Kaiseki Cuisine (fine dining, $70+ per person)
2.
Kyoto-Okakita(noodle, $8-15)
3:02 AM |
Category:
cuisine,
food,
Kansai,
Kyoto,
Osaka
|
AIR TICKETS
Air Canada(AC) is the flag carrier of Canada. And recently it was granted a 4-star airline by Skytrax. Although some people don't like it so much, personally my AC experience was above average. The economy class of Boeing 777-300ER is comfortable with 18.5 inch wide seat(in 3-3-3 configuration shown as below) and 32' pitch. I will also enjoy 2 meals and a quick snack in this long flight. It allows 2 piece of carry-on baggage and 1 piece of checked baggage at 50lbs. Therefore I don't bother to sit on it for 8 hours.
For domestic flight connecting to Osaka, I don't really bother with the size of the aircraft nor the seat comfort, since it is a short flight for 1 hour 15 min.
The sample ticket shows a fare of $1671 in 2014, which is below the budget.
RAILWAY AND BUSES
In Kansai, I can purchases passes for railway or buses. It is 2000 Yen for JR networks and another 2000 Yen for all other non-JR trains and buses.
The other option would be single fare. A typical Osaka-Kyoto will cost 540 Yen for JR fast train(25min arrival) and 390 Yen(40min) for other carriers.
The buses usually charge 200 Yen for stops in Kyoto Downtown
In general the average cost of transportation will be less than 2500 Yen a day, which will equal $26 per day
The transportation cost could be 20-50 dollars higher than original budget.
For more railway information, http://www.kansai.gr.jp/en/
For buses information, http://cn.japan-guide.com/articles/getting-around/kyoto (website in Simplified Chinese)
May 8th, Kyoto
1-day Trip(From
Kansai Window)
This Trip focus on the attractions of Kyoto as an old capital of Japan.
The entire trip will take roughly a day and the most exciting place will be the To-ji Temple
The temple is the tallest wood building in Japan and it was built in thousand years ago.
This would probably be the scene I am going to experience. It looks fresh and relaxing, unlike the high pressure urban concrete buildings. I can smell the flower and feel the freshness of this temple.
A closer look of the temple unveils a similar structure to many temples in China, but neither of those I saw match the height and the size of Do-ji. I will be surprised about how Japanese protect their culture rather than devastate and build more apartments in China.
On this day I will also visit a locomotive museum and see real steam engines working! Then I will also depart the Trolley Train and feel the nature. After that I will head back to Osaka.
May 9th, Day 2 Kyoto
Today I will visit Shrines. The Kamigamo Shrine and Shimogamo Shrine. Both Shrine are also very historic and quiet inside. As a single traveler, I will arrive early and sit inside the Shrine for hours to 'clean' my mind. I will temporarily forget the daily matters and other pressure and listen to the trees and even the god of these jinjia shrines.
Shimogamo Shrine
and
Kamigamo Shrine
After visiting shrines, I would probably visit the
Kyoto National Museum, for more collections of traditional Japan lifestyle, since Japan does contain a long history between different dynasty.
