Solo Osaka Japan Travel in 2017
I’m sure everyone has dreamed of a solo overseas travel adventure. I for once was very fortunate to experience that and I will love to redo it again soonest. The reason for this blog post is basically correlated to the Covid-19 pandemic and that its obstructing my passion for travel. Thus, I decided to take a walk down memory lane and reminisce my past most favorite travel journey and had the privilege to share it with my fellow readers.
Hang in there with me
on this journey as it’s been some time ago since this happened, and this is a
recollection of memories rather than a yesterday’s walk in the park. I have
been known to make spontaneous decisions especially of those that is going to
give me an enjoyable experience, and that’s exactly how this Japan trip kicked off.
It was the beginning of
June 2017 where AirAsia had just announced their free seats promotion and my
friends were talking about absurdly cheap flight tickets to several
destination, one that intrigued my interest was Osaka. So, without wasting anytime
I got on to the computer and booked my flights to Osaka on the following week
barely 10 days away and decided to go alone as its always been on my bucket
list.
I went home and told my
parents that I’m going for a vacation to Osaka, Japan alone in 10 days as how I
told my boss and he was equally shocked as I had purchased the flight tickets
prior to getting my leave approved which I got anyways as it was my first
vacation for that year. They were surprised at first as it was unannounced and
just came out of nowhere. When I was asked about the weather season there, I
was not too sure as I hadn’t done my homework and just decided to leave.
Since I was looking forward to my solo trip to Japan and wasn’t so prepared, to my luck my colleague had just returned from a trip herself a month ago and she was nice enough to share all her experience and knowledge with me on where to stay, eat and travel. I heeded her advice and I took off as the 10 days arrived sooner than expected. I took a flight from Johor Bahru to Kuala Lumpur on the 13th June 2017 and I decided to have a plate of Nasi Lemak at the Airport before my flight to Japan which was on same night just that it took of past midnight on 14th June 2017 and since it was an overnight flight I managed to get as much rest as possible for my next day’s adventure. The flight landed in Kansai Osaka on the 14th June 2017 at 8 am.
I got off the plane and went through immigration's and headed straight to the travel booth to get my Osaka Amazing Pass which granted entrance to most of the sights and the subway train network which was my designated mode of transportation. I was slated to spend 4 days in Osaka, since it’s a city and I was told its more than enough to get around to all the famous sights which was true, but I always felt I should’ve stayed longer. Since I was so excited and obtained a decent amount of sleep in the plane, I decided to head to the famous Osaka Castle straight away before even going over to my hotel. I had my basic needs attended to and then I got myself a bottle of coffee and I was off on my Osaka Japan adventure all alone, this feeling along had me so riled up that I was literally so pumped I couldn’t sit still.
I took the Kansai Line
out of the Airport straight to the interconnecting Namba Station, from there I
switched to the Subway Line and was off to Shinsaibashi and to my destination Tanimachiyonchome
Station, where I had to get off and walk to the Osaka Castle entrance. To my
awe, it was indeed a mesmerizing sight that I couldn’t stop grinning as I made
my way from the airport to my first destination with the help of google maps
and the local public transportation by myself without having the need to ask
for directions or once stood blank looking which way to go. At this point I
decided I’m going to do this again soonest as it gave me an exhilarating
feeling and it was delightful.
The Osaka Castle is one
of Japan’s most important landmark and is filled with numerous artifacts and
antiquities since the early 1600. Its surrounded by an outer moat and has large
central tower which is the Castle. This castle has a Sky-deck where the whole
city can be seen since it offers a full 360-degree view as per the video clip
attached below. This view shows the diversification and how heritage is guarded
as the city is scaled with towering corporate buildings and here stands a 16th
century castle surrounded by a park and a moat in the middle of a bustling
city.
Since I had a cultural
start to my trip, I decided to carry on with it and my next destination was
also a shrine namely the Shitennoji temple which happens to be centuries old
where it was constructed with bamboo and wood.
I got so carried away with my first day’s travel that I missed lunch which could’ve partly been due to the difference in time zone which was an additional hour later than back home.
I was done with the
spiritual and heritage journey for my first day and headed off to the big city,
since Japan is very famous for their electronic gadgets and me being a tech
savvy person I was off to Yodobashi Camera Multimedia in Umeda which is one of
the largest retailers of electronic gadgets in the whole of Japan. This
specific outlet is 7 stories high filled with the latest electronics and some
that are unique only to Japan. I was in that store for close to 4 hours and did
some decent amount of shopping getting my hands on a Made in Japan Frogman
G-Shock which is also of my bucket list.
The sun was setting, and the famous Japanese rush hour was onto me, so I took off to another spot to enjoy the view of the sun set at Umeda Sky Building which to my luck was nearby to the store. The Umeda Sky Building was chosen as one of the top 20 buildings in the world for its unique architecture, it had two enclosed escalators going from one tower to the other on the exterior of the building situated right at the top.
What a joy to read! Hoping I get the chance to do a solo travel myself!
ReplyDeleteHey Natalie, I'm glad you enjoyed the write up. You should do it, the experience is priceless.
DeleteBefore you know it, you'd be wanting to do it again.
Nice one! I hope I can go for solo trip one day too!
ReplyDeleteNice one! Cant wait for my turn to go. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm supposed to go there on 23rd March this year but have to cancel due to MCO. It will be my first destination right after the boarders open, i miss the planes...!!!
ReplyDeleteYou reminded me of my Osaka trip T.T Everything was perfect there. It was excited to try different Ramen, as each of the restaurant has their unique taste, all of the chefs were very professional, and they honor their job. I had Japanese rice ball and coffee as breakfast in Family Mart every morning, their fried chicken were super tasty and juicy. I can't wait to go again !!!
ReplyDeleteNice sharing, feel like going to osaka too
ReplyDeleteI sure did enjoy Japan a lot too. The Tokaido Shinkansen was a real great experience. Food was good too.
ReplyDelete