hey guys! i'm finally back from osaka. the 5 days (or maybe just 4) over there have been great, and i totally enjoyed myself. of course not as much as last year when i went tokyo/osaka/kyoto, but still. anyway i'm blogging about my trip (for the first time, i know) so that (hopefully) this would help those who are going there & have a rough gauge about what it's like over there.
Our first meal there was dinner at a sushi restaurant called Daikisuisan. Didn't take many photos because the lighting wasn't that good and we had to choose our sushis from the sushi conveyor.
Anyway, this huge slice of unagi was only $3+! Way cheaper than sg's ones for sure. Overall, i feel that this restaurant's worth a try if you're a fan of raw sushis especially, since there were even raw tuna and fatty salmon. The best sushi i've tried so far in Japan was at a particular restaurant my tour guide brought us to last year at Tokyo airport, but any sushi restaurant in Japan should would be better than Singapore's one anytime.
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| on the plane to Tokyo! The clouds were so pretty and they looked like candy floss :( |
I took a 6 hours flight to tokyo narita airport by ANA airlines, followed by a 3 hour transit break then finally a 1 hour domestic flight to osaka. ANA airlines was good, but i still prefer SIA airlines anytime. The food were generous in portions but i felt that the entertainment choices (the tv i mean) was very limited so i didn't even watch/do anything with it in my entire flight.
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| probably the prettiest airplane food i've ever taken HAHA |
I finally reached tokyo airport and then waited for my next flight to osaka, and in the meantime i did some shopping around the airport and bought lots of tokyo banana. For those who haven't tried it, please do! But it's a lil pricey though, about 4 pieces for $10.
We reached the hotel at 5-7pm because we got lost at the subway station. They had lots of exit, from 1-25 so we had a hard time finding one while dragging our luggages around. Anyway, we stayed in Cross hotel (namba area) and it was really convenient because it's located super near the most popular shopping area in osaka, which is the dotonbori/shinsaibashisuji area. I'd totally recommend Cross hotel if you're looking for a more affordable stay over at the Namba area & if your purpose of going Osaka is to shop and eat. Swissotel at Namba is also a great choice as well but of course it would cost more.
Dotonbori is an endless street filled with restaurants and cafes while Shinsaibashisuji is filled with fashion shopping and also souvenirs and convenience stores. We left our luggages in the hotel and hurried off to dotonbori for dinner because we didn't want to waste anymore time!
tokyo banana heaven :")
Cross hotel! It's also located near a cafe called Solare cafe which sells western food like pancakes and waffles, and there's also a hair salon called Wella hair studio in the same building, but I'm not quite sure whether it's a training studio or a hair studio because it didn't look exactly like any. There was also a shop selling fitness and gym equipments on level 2 as well.
CROSS HOTEL OSAKA
2-5-15 Sinsaibashisuji, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi,Osaka542-0085
TEL: 81-6-6213-8281 FAX : 81-6-6213-8640
2-5-15 Sinsaibashisuji, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi,Osaka542-0085
TEL: 81-6-6213-8281 FAX : 81-6-6213-8640
the lobby!
mum checking in and confirming our details :) can't thank her enough for this trip and everything she has done for me.
bathroom! I liked the lighting because i felt that it was cosy. It also comes with a bidet btw! And there's even a small chair beside the toilet bowl below the sink area for you to put on make-up i guess.
The toilet's actually separated into two, i mean the showering area and the toilet bowl area itself.
Looks cosy right? Right.
Most importantly, the bed! Well if you're like me and prefer small and cosy rooms over big and spacious ones, then i feel it's just right for you. I actually find spacious rooms scarier especially when it's just one/two person sleeping in the room.
the desk area! and the chair i usually sit on every night before i go to bed since the charger is right there.
doorway area!
Dotonbori is an endless street filled with restaurants and cafes while Shinsaibashisuji is filled with fashion shopping and also souvenirs and convenience stores. We left our luggages in the hotel and hurried off to dotonbori for dinner because we didn't want to waste anymore time!
before going up the plane to osaka! i was wearing sleeveless under 8 degrees and everyone was totally judging me because they were all wrapped like burritos :(
mandatory ootd shot upon reaching the hotel! got this dress few days before i went to japan from Accessorize for $69.90! Jelly sandals from Factorie. I think it was really a wise choice to wear my jelly sandals while travelling overseas because it never ever makes my feet hurt or whatsoever.
the trademark of osaka! or maybe just Dotonbori area itself. But tourists never fail to take a picture of/with this qlico guy on the billboard.
this is the crab restaurant you should try at dotombori! It has great reviews and I've also heard that the crabs are really fresh so do visit if you've a chance to! We didn't go because there was a long queue and i didn't really crave for crabs at that time.
Kani Doraku Honten
6-18 Dotonbori Ichome
Chuo Ward, Osaka City
Osaka 542-0071
(Open 11 AM to 11 PM Daily)
6-18 Dotonbori Ichome
Chuo Ward, Osaka City
Osaka 542-0071
(Open 11 AM to 11 PM Daily)
If you don't wish to dine at the restaurant, you can also buy some crab snacks sold at the entrance of the restaurant. Similarly, you can also buy grilled crab meat from the guys grilling them who are standing next to the snack stall.
Shopaholics, do not fret and worry about not shopping in osaka because in Namba itself, they have our favourite shops like forever 21, h&m, Bershka, Zara and not to mention other retail shops along shinsaibushi bridge! (The bridge isn't literal, it's just a long street.)
Had a hard time choosing what to eat because dotombori is just a food heaven and there's so many food everywhere. I even wondered how it would feel like to try every single food here. *~*
After dinner, we bought the famous takoyaki from one of the popular takoyaki stalls in dotonbori after seeing so many reviews of it online. I was never a fan of takoyakis and have always found it weird-tasting, but i decided to give it a try since...why not. Wanted to get only 2 but they said minimally it had to be 8, so alright then. Not a good shot of the takoyaki but still...i think it was definitely better than sg's. Mum agreed.
of course, who would give takoyakis a miss when they are in Japan, right?
what an unflattering photo of the takoyakis but :( anyone would definitely love this if they are huge fans of takoyakis!
Mum only ate two so i had to settle the rest and then i got very sick of the taste afterwards ): Don't think i'll eat takoyakis for quite some time already hahaha
Anyway, if you would like to try:
Restaurant: Dotonbori Kukuru Honten 道頓堀くくる 本店
Phone: 06-6212-7381
Address: Hakua building 1F, 1-10-5, Dotonbori, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka
Nearest Station: Midosuji Subway Line Namba Station Exit 14
Open Hour: Mon-Sat 12:00-23:00, Sun Hol 12:00-22:00
Phone: 06-6212-7381
Address: Hakua building 1F, 1-10-5, Dotonbori, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka
Nearest Station: Midosuji Subway Line Namba Station Exit 14
Open Hour: Mon-Sat 12:00-23:00, Sun Hol 12:00-22:00
Also visited forever 21 at dotonbori but didn't get anything on the first day but eventually got something the next day when i returned. Bought a pair of denim jeans and denim skirt!
I've to admit that i'm a supermarket mania and i'd rush to any supermarket hahaha #auntiemodeon! I swear, 99% of the time we leave the convenience store/supermarket with food. While shopping for clothes, the chances of us buying anything: 5%. Barely.
Bought a lot of things from the convenience stores and pharmacies over there and also got a pack of mini kitkats to eat on the way back to the hotel because i was craving for chocolates. Don't know why but i kept craving for chocolates in japan, probably because they look too good.
DAY 02
departed the hotel pretty early at 9am.
on the way to our first stop for the day.
and we finally reached!
the retail shops were still closed :(
On the second day, we visited American street (also known as Amerika mura) and Orange street. American street was just few streets away from our hotel so we reached quite early. Most of the shops were still closed in the morning so we roamed around and had breakfast at this beautiful cafe which caught my eye while i was walking past it. Eggs & Things is probably my best/fav restaurant in the entire journey so far, because i prefer western food anytime! I love asian food too but nah, western first because they always have healthier choices.
We were greeted with loud and welcoming voices from ALL of the staffs who bowed and smiled to us when we entered, and they do that for all of the customers. One thing i really like about going to Japan is because of their service and attitude; i really take my hats off to them for being so polite and friendly.
the interior and food choices reminded me of eggs & berries cafe at changi city point.
I took quite a long time to decide what to eat, because i wanted to eat everything hahaha. They had egg benedict, scrambled eggs, sunny side ups with the basic sausages and also pancakes, waffles and crepes. And they had an acai bowl too! Was pretty surprised when i saw it because acai is considered a superfood and it's healthy, so i totally wasn't expecting it from a japanese western restaurant. Finally gave in and picked the acai bowl!!
am i qualified to become a food photographer yet? haha just kidding.
doesn't the acai bowl look pretty! loved how they decorated the food bowl.
mum waiting for her food to arrive with her cafe latte on the table. love the sofa seat she's sitting on too, it gives me such a beach-vibe.
This was probably the most beautiful food photo i've from Japan hahaha because of it's colours and the arrangement of the fruits. Anyway, this bowl was full of banana coins, blueberries, cereal and acai ice cream. I thought there were only fruits and cereal since i asked the staff and they didn't tell me there was anything below the fruits (i was showing her the picture...) But the acai ice cream was pretty good, just that the taste was quite...i don't know, there's this taste to it. Nevermind, this was a healthy breakfast and definitely made my day!
Mum ordered a pistachio waffle sprinkled with icing sugar and it was pretty good too since it was crispy and not sweet at all & yet tasty. She couldn't manage to finish it so i helped her with the leftovers (happens everytime........)
After leaving the cafe, i searched for the cafe on instagram and realised it was a pretty famous cafe since they have other franchises in western countries. This is a hawaiian cafe and i definitely would recommend it if you were to visit american street!
some of the things they were selling at the counter!
such a cosy place to dine in :)
Don't forget to visit this place if you're at american street! Wished they had it here in Singapore too.
For more information:
The shops were still not open yet even after walking around for another 30 minutes so we decided to just stay in starbucks and use their wifi. Left the place after an hour and the shops decide to finally open at 1030-11am.
Quiet and peaceful American street which only started to get noisy at noon.
On the second day i wore a black midi dress which my mum got for me on the night just before my Japan trip and it fits me perfectly! So happy.
And then we spotted Orange street! It's located behind American Street.
saw this super pretty bike at a shop. probably one of the prettiest bicycles I've ever seen because my favourite colour combination is definitely white and gold hehe.
There was nothing much over there though. Only managed to get some home decorations for our new house from a store, so we walked around and to our surprise, we reached orange street as well! I knew orange street was located in/near American street but i never thought i would be able to reach there without using the map since their streets are all divided into many small streets. Anyway, orange street was a total disappointment because i thought it was gonna be a street full of shopping (for teenagers) like what they said online. To my dismay, it was more like a street filled with stores selling home furnitures!
Finally decided to walk back and walked past our hotel and all the way to Takashimaya.
Finished a packet of japanese nuts myself back at the hotel which i got from daiso because i love japanese nuts so much. It was pretty good so i bought another two on my second last day here!
Be prepared for a whole series of food porn!
vegetable and prawn fritters?
strawberries! so pretty but so expensive :(
never seen such pretty tomatoes before! they are in reddish-pink rather than orange red.
Finished a packet of japanese nuts myself back at the hotel which i got from daiso because i love japanese nuts so much. It was pretty good so i bought another two on my second last day here!
Bought a sesame ball for ¥150 each at a shop called 551 which is popular for their steamed buns and dim sum! This was good, so it was worth trying. Especially for a black sesame lover like me! They even gave each customer a packet of wet tissue so that you can clean your hands after eating it. This was the sweet potato fries which was selling almost everywhere in osaka! Never tried because it looked so oily. But 551 is worth trying as well.
Got a green juice at takashimaya and it was pretty good despite it being a lil pricey. Also bought a pumpkin bun and a UFO (basically a plain bun with crispy sides) from a bakery because i wanted to try japanese breads ever since i've tried the ones at Tokyo Disneyland and they were impressive. To my disappointment, they didn't taste anything special ): The only thing i liked was the crispy sides of the UFO and the generous fillings of the pumpkin bun! Other than that, i don't think there's anything more special. Ate them around 10/11pm for supper despite feeling full because i didn't want them to spoil.
Look at how fresh their fruits are! Literally felt like bringing home the entire supermarket when i saw the fresh vegetables and fruits over there :( Wished they had something like that in singapore though.....
the red apples there! the colours....*~*
they were huge as well!
pumpkins! my first time eating pumpkins that would melt in your mouth (literally) its hard and soft at the same time, totally different from those i had at home!
look at these fresh salmon! All my photos are unedited here and you can tell how fresh the fishes are by just looking at the colour.
pumpkins! my first time eating pumpkins that would melt in your mouth (literally) its hard and soft at the same time, totally different from those i had at home!
look at these fresh salmon! All my photos are unedited here and you can tell how fresh the fishes are by just looking at the colour.
Mum went to Agnes b to shop and their clothes were cheaper than sg's, and i saw this ribbon ring which was so cute and i like it hehehe. it was only $40-$50 and i was contemplating to get it but in the end i didn't because i realised that i could only wear it to a party or during occasions :(
Before returning to the hotel for good, we also went to Baskin Robbins for ice cream. I was completely drained out from walking the entire day and mum settled on one ice cream cone and i ordered a 3-scoops-ice cream and i was demanding for 5 scoops but they didn't have any :( so mum gave me half of her cone so in the end i had lots of ice cream.
{Gonna speed up a little because if i continue to be as naggy as I'm now, i'd probably not reach the end of the post even by the end of this week.}
rise and shine! also forgot to mention that i managed to buy quite a few lipsticks in Japan, and lipsticks are literally my life savers because i think i look super pale without them after being so used to seeing some colour on my face. I would post my personal hauls i've gotten from Japan in my next few posts, i hope!
also visited LUSH.
{Gonna speed up a little because if i continue to be as naggy as I'm now, i'd probably not reach the end of the post even by the end of this week.}
DAY 03
Top from Topshop, dark denim jeans from forever 21, bag from h&m and sneakers from online.
woke up later the next morning because we learnt our lesson and thus our faces look more radiant than before!
Love taking photos in the morning/noon at the street because the lighting is so so so perfect.
settled lunch at some restaurant at dotombori that day because mum kept complaining she was dying of hunger and so we hastily settled for a restaurant we came across. The food was pretty good, and see the huge bowl of rice over there? It was filled to the brim when it arrived and i polished it clean at the end because Japanese rice always taste SO good.
everything you see in this picture are only for me!
She looks so happy here :")
got an acai smoothie as well! wanted to get starbucks but i was afraid that i couldn't sleep at night so....anyway did i mention that acai is almost everywhere in Osaka?!
Afterwards, we headed to Namba City and Namba Parks to shop.
Was really happy when i saw this shop! Because the first thing i saw was "100% peanut butter" and I'm totally (and a die-hard) peanut butter fan.
Look at the nut butters available for sample! My eyes literally lit up when i asked whether i could try and they said yes. They even had pistachio butter, wow. And i finally tried almond butter! Always wanted to but when i finally found a reliable brand, it turned out to be very pricey :( [Yes, i'm referring to the brand Justin's] Anyway, they sell lots of japanese nuts there and my mum and i had a crazy time buying them!
Look at these humongous sweet potatoes! Never seen such huge ones in my life before.
even the tomatoes are so pretty :( what is life.....
mum holding a huge carrot!
on the side note, we've realised that there are no supermarkets like the ones in singapore such as cold storage or ntuc in osaka as most supermarkets are only located in departmental stores like Takashimaya and Isetan.
night life = fav!
one of those dried kiwis i bought from Nut Dom. First time trying dried kiwis and the next few days i was searching high and low for it everywhere.
And if you were wondering what my mum was munching on in the previous photos, it's actually this cake thing. It's not really cake either, but it's just crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, a little like waffle? We were excited when we first tried this because we always bought it here in Singapore. Well this uncle was so kind and he gave us extra for the two times that we bought from him. On the side note, i think he looks kind of creepy at the same time because he looks like the fella on the picture below (?) Some dude/character who is always playing the drum? No idea who he is though hahaha.
a must try! I'm still missing it until today :(
Anyway, it's located just right beside this statue of this character playing the drum at a entrance of some building in dotonbori.
Can someone just tell me who and what this character is already?! He looks so creepy.........
Also, MUJI's stuffs are also sold in convenience store like Family Mart.
DAY 04
decided to dine at Starbucks for breakfast on the 4th day! After my desperate attempts of trying to tell the staff what i wanted but she still couldn't understand, she kept smiling at me and kept her cool till the end. Their service is so good.......
Love love love the coffee flavoured cakes from Starbucks as well, wished they had it here. And they had menus and i thought it was good also because i always take a long time deciding what to drink at Starbucks here in Singapore because i have to squint my eyes and scan the board for the menu.
Have i mentioned how addicted i am to Iced vanilla latte now? Well, this was coffee frappe though, because the staff couldn't understand English and didn't get what i was trying to say, so i chose this instead.
Outfit for day 4: Black outerwear from f21, grey dress from Topshop
freshest bunch of broccoli I've ever seen!
gyozas are a must-try too!
pork bun from 551.
froyo!
I think i would love the mrt better if they had this :(
dinner on the last night! not even spicy at all though :(
Day 05
Was quite sad to go home but all good things come to an end....):
basically spent the entire day travelling out of Japan and......finally reached Singapore at 12am in the morning the next day :(
Anyway, this was the late lunch we had at Tokyo Narita Airport! Our first round of lunch was at a sushi japanese restaurant and we ordered sushi, chawanmushi, gyozas, tamagoyaki and lots of other side dishes!
Told my mum i wanted to try a Japanese pizza before i leave and so she said "okay, let's order one and then we save the remaining to eat on the plane." So round 2 of lunch was at this western restaurant called N's court! Ordered a mushroom pizza.
Ended up finishing the whole thing by myself because mum said she was too full and i'm basically a pizza monster so.........HAHA the whole pizza went in my tummy even after eating so many sushis ten minutes ago.
No idea why but I'm starting to not like pizza as much as i used to now ):
PHEW, i'm finally done with this post! Longest post I've ever written so far, I'm so exhausted now.
Alright, till then guys!
