Our second trip, to the land of the rising sun. Damn excited to finally get to see legit sakura trees (and not just in the movies). There is never a vacation that ain’t awesome, but Japan tops it all. We’re gonna miss the onigiri man…
What we love: The deer of Nara, the edo-era streets of Kyoto, and Kobe beef.
What we don’t: Taking a JR ride without reserved seating.
What we think: ★★★★★ (101% will be back).
Day 1: Osaka Here We Come
We’re Leaving, on a Jet Plane Always wanted to bring Minmin on a trip, faraway. After months of planning, shopping for jackets and figuring out how to tackle the Japanese subway systems, it is time. It’s the first time Minmin is going to Japan, second timer for me. So damn excited about the trip, as…
Day 2: A Visit to Osaka Castle
Osaka Castle Sometime before we arrived, I checked out the Sakura forecast. Seems like the erratic weather (due to global warming and what not), caused it to full bloom earlier. Therefore we tweaked our plan to visit all the Sakura-worthy places in the first few days, Osaka Castle being the first stop Everything is just…
Day 3: Himeji Castle and Umeda Sky Building
The White Heron, Himeji Castle Yesterday we learnt that touristy places get crowded really early. As Singaporeans, we are proud to display our sense of urgency in whatever we do, wherever we go – a.k.a. sibeh kiasu. Damn, 6.30am and we’re on the JR towards Himeji Castle. 为何… We ate our breakfast while walking from…
Day 4: Nara Deer Park
Nara, Deer, Deer Everywhere Before taking the Kintetsu Line towards Nara, we popped by Family Mart again to buy our breakfast. This time round we got sandwiches. Damn nice! Henceforth it is decided that our breakfast would be settled via convenient stores. Period. It’s just egg mayo bread. But tastes so good. Not sure why…
Day 5: Kyoto, the City of Temples
From Osaka, to Kyoto Experience has taught me that hotels in Japan can and will look after your luggage while you travel to other regions. Provided you come back for another stay that is! We left our luggage back at Ookini, and only took a backpack with enough clothes for the next 5 days. Kyoto,…
Day 6: Torii Gates and Two Kimonos
Fushimi Inari Taisha Had breakfast prepared by Okami-san before heading out to Fushimi Inari Taisha. So nice of her to have prepared some bites for us even though our accommodation didn’t include breakfast for today. Today we learnt that Japanese sweet potato is called Satsuma-imo. You know, that purple-skinned version that you see at Somerset’s…
Day 7: Arashiyama and the Sagano Ride
The Arashiyama Bamboo Groove Again we woke up super early to start our day. After losing to the crowds at Fushimi Inari yesterday, we are determined to beat them at Arashiyama today. We are Singapore, Singaporean. Kiasu is in our bloodstream. Damn. Dam. Artsy dumpling lookalike dessert. Pro-tip: You better be damn early. Like way…
Day 8: To the Land of Beef
Kobe Beef, Here We Come! Not too sure which is more exciting. The traditional breakfast that Okami-san is preparing for us, or the Kobe beef we’re having for dinner tonight. Tough choice. I must say the breakfast was so damn good. Hearty breakfast, made with love, and passion. Thank you Okami-san. Our hearty breakfast With…
Day 9: A Trip to Rokkosan Pasture
Rokkosan, or Mount Rokkō A few days ago we exchanged for our Rokkosan Tourist Pass. Remember that I said, spend some time exchanging all your passes in the first or second day? Without that we wouldn’t have had this amazing farm experience today. So up we go, to the top of Mount Rokko. The first…
Day 10: Kani Doraku and Shinsekai
Osaka, Hello. Goodbye to the land of beef. Hello again Osaka, we are back! We were given a different room this time round, actually just right beside the original room. Have to say, the Japanese are the neatest. Our luggage were placed orderly in the room, futons and all setup neatly, spick and span. Actually…
Day 11: Cup Noodles Museum and Minoo Park
Cup Noodles Museum Osaka Ikeda Today’s plan is to go to the Cup Noodles Museum. We read that there’ll be an activity where you get to customize your cup before filling it up with actual instant noodles. Lots of tourist there, mainly family and kids. Why are we always doing kiddy stuff? So basically we…
Day 12: Senkoji, Tempozan and USJ
Senkoji Temple, Experience Heaven and Hell Here Before we head down to Tempozan Harbor Village, we routed towards Senkoji Temple. Saw this online and thought it might be pretty interesting. The focus of this shrine was to give an experience of heaven and hell. It was pretty much like Singapore’s very own Haw Par Villa….
Day 13: Goodbye Japan
The End of Our 13 Days Journey The dreaded moment has come, reality is beginning to sink in; it is time for us to say goodbye, Japan. Clearly, the both of us were sad. Today, we took a photo of all the ticket stubs and attractions passes we’ve collected. Makes a nice collage doesn’t it?…