Japan Travelogue P2 - Osaka

We made a mistake on this day to travel early to Shin Osaka..we got caught in the morning train crowds and it was a terrible experience. It would be at least twice the amount of crowds we have on a train to raffles place and you are being squeezed to the point where you there are no extra room space for you to fall.

All ready for the trip!

Fion with her purple outfit ready for Osaka!

Views we caught on the Shinkansen

Mount Fuji....the place we didnt get to go on this trip to Japan

Look at how beautiful the sky and clouds are...

Found our Chisun hotel easily with the help of Sam's direction...we basically just read the note and move according...and there it is...not a min is wasted searching for the hotel...Thanks Sam!

We were a little late for lunch..so we bought a bento to have it at the hotel...its a little expensive at ard 800 yen but it taste nice!

Our first stop at Osaka...Namba..its a city area in Osaka...where you can basically find everything here...i actually like this place more than Tokyo.

Me and my Jump!

The famous Crab signage of this place!

It was pretty cold here, so we bought a can of warm coffee from the shop and drink along the river while enjoying the sun set.

And here we have Glico

Lights up at nite!

After checking out the shopping malls here, we walk thru the Dotonburi canal and its a completely different style..

While Fion shop her accessories in the shop here, i ventured out to the small alleys around this street...

This is a very nice cafe..in a very quiet alley..

Found this little temple within Dotonburi

I realised that every temple will have a special highlights that is unique..This temple worship the gods with water and plants...

We met up with Autumn, yes coincidentally her name is Autumn and she brought us for dinner around Namba

And dinner comes with Alcohol...guess im the only guy who drank this alcohol lemonade as most of the guys there are beer drinker....

Osaka is a little different from Tokyo. I feel that the people here are a little more relax and laid back..and it has almost everything you can find in Tokyo...

Given a choice, i would fly to Osaka direct the next round...

Japan travelogue P1

This trip was something i looked forward to, as mentioned in my earlier blog entry.

It was always my dream to visit Japan. I dont know why i took so long to finally go to this country but at least i fulfilled my dream now, on my 30th Birthday.

I remembered mum went when i was in my Secondary and i wanted to join her so much but we weren't rich..and she told me that i could always go when i started earning.

And with great expectations, i finally went.

I wont want to start the topic on why the trip ended up with Fion and me only, as its not important..that's what friends are for right?

Fion was a great travelling companion...I was rushing thru the itinerary at some point and she patiently followed...She was also quite considerate, turning off all the lights so i can catch some rest while she is busy packing her purchases. Letting me use the computer n use it after i slept....so much more...

There was a few hiccups along the way but i didnt hear a single complain from her...Kudos for being such a nice travelling pal...making this trip a memorable one!

We didnt really took much picture here...we just wanted to board the narita express to Shinjuku and start our journey.

here's me, reaching Shinjuku! Carrying my precious file with all the notes and tags.

The view when we step out of the station

Alright, on the webpage, it says 15min walk from Shinjuku station to the Hotel...it really mean 15mins of non stop walking at a constant pace...and so heading that direction, it was a really long walk...before we finally spot our hotel...along the way, we saw Sunroute hotel which we couldnt get a room...

Here's our tiny room during our day 1 at tokyo Shinjuku Washington...

These are complimentary drink from the hotel...some low grade beer...and Japanese are drinkers! U see them every night drinking after work.

As Japan is approaching Winter season, the skies get darks around 5pm and we reached the hotel at around 5pm, we choose to visit the Tokyo tower that night.

It was really nice to see the tower at night...

We spend a bit of the time at the temple infront of the tower....it was so peaceful...that we get to play around with our camera settings etc..

We went to its nearby street to grab a dinner thereafter..The first meal using a coupon machine. Luckily i read a blog before i went to japan and i wasnt as suaku as fion..haha

My choice for dinner...based on the exchange rate..this is considered cheap.

They offer only 2 choices for noodles, Soba or Udon..and this goes for the next few shops we visited during our stay...We discovered finally at a ramen shop that Ramen is considered expensive?

I chose Udon and this is nice...

Oh yah, the Japs will make alot of noise when they are having their noodles..its supposed to mean the noodles are nice...haha and they will clear their bowls etc after their meal and wipe the table before leaving the shop....interesting.

This shop looks cozy

We travel back to Shinjuku after our dinner..

and we went to this shop call LABI...its like best denki in Singapore just that it is a building on its own with 10x ...no 20x more selection than best denki in Singapore..

The only thing similar to Best Denki is the use of white fluorescent lightings in the shop...i think its their culture to brighten up their electronics shop

None of these are dummy...u try till you are satisfied before u buy...so unlike Singapore....

I had a trial with Sony Nex5n..its good!

Yodabashi is a must to explore in Shinjuku! The legendary film fridge of Japan...its a must visit place for me!

We ended up day 1 pretty early as we need to prepare ourself for the next morning trip to Shin Osaka.