Journey to Osaka, Japan (Part 1)

**Be Warned! Loaded with pictures**

Hi everyone^^ Darrin and I set off for our 5th Year Anniversary trip to Osaka shortly after we finished our Spring semester on May 27th.

Yea... I am so late in updating the blog! Truth is... I was working on a vlog about our trip and wanted to do a blog post after I upload the video, but for some reason, the video got CORRUPTED before I could upload and now I have to start all over again!!!!!! I don't know how it happen but Darrin was unable to save it! So now, I will work on it again and upload it as soon as I am done! Also, I purchased a extra memory card for my vlogging camera before the trip, and it kept showing me "file error" when I try to playback! So mad!!! I lost so many clips and pictures... Wahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!! (Now, majority of the pictures I have are from my iPhone.)

Our trip was pretty short (mainly to try out local food and explore)... only 4 days 3 nights because both of us couldn't really take too many days off from work. Because of that, Darrin figured that we should make things easier by just bringing a carry-on sized suitcase and no check in bags. My towel alone took up half the suitcase... but somehow, the packing worked out^^

We arrived to the airport pretty early (more than 2 hrs before flight departure) because Mr. Darrin is an "always-early-rarely-late" person. He got everything ready and was watching drama while waiting for me to do last minute packing ><... I actually packed last night, but you know... majority of the times, there would be something you forget to pack right? We still got out of the house early and thanks to that, both the check in process and security check was a breeze to get through. And we were able to enjoy breakfast without rushing.

Security done!! 

Heading to our gate

Waiting for boarding^^

Time to board the flight! SO EXCITED!!!!

First time in the front cabin d(=^^=)b

                                    

Ready for take off!!

I was too excited throughout the whole flight to fall asleep. I thought about where we should explore first after we  landed and whether the weather, which showed chances of thunderstorm and rain, would affect our trip. Mr. Darrin, who was sitting beside me, relaxed and enjoyed his flight to the fullest. HAHAHAHA!!

The flight time from SFO to KIX is about 10 hours. We arrived to Osaka a bit earlier than the original flight time too! Lucky^^

Arrived in KIX

The currency rates at the airport

Of course, we wanted to go to our hotel after we landed. Hearton Hotel was located near Shinsaibashi Shopping Arcade and one of the way to get there from the airport was to take the Nankai Rail from Kansai Airport to Namba station, then change to Midosuji Line for Shinsaibashi Station. The hotel was a short distance from the station. Darrin and I don't speak the language, but everyone is so nice and welcoming. 

On the Nankai (comfy + clean)

Checked in! Time for a quick rest..zzZ

Vending machines on our floor

His + Hers

Alright, freshened up and time to explore the city! It was sprinkling on the first day so I had my Rilakkuma umbrella with me. Weather was warm and totally different from the Bay Area at night! Loved it because I can wear the new dress I brought!!

Dotonbori River

Glico Man of Osaka

Big H&M  and Forever 21 @ Dotonbori

"Hey, don't push!" ><

Kani-Doraku, famous crab restaurant

The whole street of Dotonbori was full restaurants and food. There are also many people standing outside the restaurants passing out flyers and trying to get customers. We went into an Okonomiyaki restaurant where you can cook the okonomiyaki by yourself! There is a takoyaki stand right outside of the restaurant so should be easy to find. I was so excited because I've never been to one before. But!!! The people sitting next to us was smoking... I really dislike people smoking and eating so we asked the host if there was non-smoking tables. The host brought us to the upper level, which was non-smoking and not as exciting because the chef did all the cooking. They let us put our own toppings on the takoyaki and okonomiyaki tho...

Our first meal (forgot restaurant name...)

Of course, we took a stroll in Shinsaibashi after dinner and got crepes^^ Everything is tempting!!

Our first stop for crepes

I forgot to take a pic of the crepe O.O

Second crepe stop!! (crepes stand by Hearton Hotel & Tokyo Hands)

Must try crepes in Japan^^

Jetlag probably gotten to me and I woke up very hungry around 4am! I pulled out the Osaka map and found the 7-Eleven (opens 24hr) by the hotel!! Very different from the ones in SF!

Woke him up to get food with me! 

So convenient and cheap ^^

They even microwave the noodles for us!

His ~ around 530yen

Hers ~ 480 yen

Looks really yummy huh? The taste is AMAZING for local convenience store quality (don't buy the drink tho... I didn't like it).

Since we are staying in Osaka for just a short amount of time, we headed out for breakfast around 8am. We remembered seeing a 24hr ramen shop at Dotonbori. Probably it was still early, so the street was pretty empty. Most of the people we see were store owners getting ready for business. I HAVE to mention something about the cars in Osaka!! Make sure you are aware of your surroundings because the drivers don't seem to care whether there are passengers walking in front of them or not... THEY DO NOT STOP!!

Good morning^^ 

Dotonbori food street (Still can't believe we are in Osaka)

~ A picture with Billiken ~

Yes... A lot pictures right? Hahahahha! I'm allowed because we're tourists^^ Okay! After taking pictures with basically everything, we arrived at our ramen location! 24 hr ramen shop!! It's so cool because it's the first time we placed our ramen orders through a vending machine.

Shitenno Ramen (4 Heavenly Kings?!)

Too many selections! Everything looks so good!!

Decent priced ramen

Put money in n pick ramen

Out comes tickets n give to chef!!

Mine^^ 

Darrin's^^

I am not a big fan of ramen and usually I can't/don't finish my ramen. Shocking! I this is the first time I finished all the ramen by myself and I wanted more. Delicious and flavorful! Spiciness was perfect too! You might think I'm over exaggerating... I'm NOT okay? I tasted Darrin's ramen, but I prefer mine more^^ Pretty cool ramen shop and seems like there was just one person operating the whole store (He prepares, cook, and wash all by himself). Darrin said maybe the chef is one of the 4 kings! Hahahaha! Hey...it could be true O.O

 Ice cream after breakfast! PERFECT!!

Instead of heading back to Shinsaibashi-Suji and the hotel direction, we walked the opposite direction towards Sennichimae Shopping Arcade and Doguyasuji Shopping Arcade to explore other streets in the city. We also wanted to look for the shabu restaurant that was featured in a magazine.

A big BIC Camera department store

Cuteness overload!!!!!

So many pachinko parlor!

So tempting to try it...

Then we sort walked to the other part of the city which consisted many restaurant to dine in, as well as 

stores that sells home-related items. 

Will try this restaurant next time we come^^

Pretty cheap food! Less than $4.00 USD

So funny! The other one joined in for pic 

Everything is so cute! The food in this area is not as expensive as I thought it would be. We found the shabu restaurant, Shabuchin, that was from the magazine, but it's not open yet... will return for it later. In the meantime, we headed to Hozenji Temple^^ There was info online that said the temple is a must go if you are in the area. Many tourists and locals would go there to pour water on the temple's statue for luck.

First, scoop the water

Then pour over statue

And wish for luck ^~^

The alley had a traditional ambiance similar to Kyoto (haven't been there but I saw pictures online). Even the lid had beautiful art. I had to take a picture!

There was many restaurants in the small alley too! Seems like there are food everywhere we go! Hahahhah! We had some time before the shabu opens, so we went back to Dotonbori.

Not too full, not too hungry! Perfect time for some takoyaki in Dotonbori^^

Big octopus = TAKOYAKI

They are definitely professionals in flipping

Picture time while waiting (=^^=)

Ordered the 8pc

Softer and smooth. Different than the ones I had! Still delicious^^

Shabuchin is probably 25~30 minute walk from the hotel and 10 minute from Dotonbori... best is to stay around the area so we can go somewhere else after trying out Shabuchin.

Shabu time^^

Menu front page - selection of meat

Individual portion and pot for shabu

Menu back page - After meat is done

Cooking noodles using shabu broth

Darrin's happy because he loves shabu!

So thoughtful to have basket to hold belongings

Shabuchin was established in 1972 and is known for it's top quality pork. Both Darrin and I like beef more so no pork for us this time. Guess what? It is less than $10 USD for lunch!! Quality is very good too considering it is a very cheap price. U guys have to try it. Oh... and make sure to also pick up a Osaka map that is near the cashier because the map is very useful!!

Cute cafe on the way back!

On the way back, we stopped by the drugstores for some shopping. Drugstores in Japan sells basically everything. From toothpastes to medicine, beauty products to snacks, everything. I can stay there all day! One thing to keep in mind is that the price from the first store can be different than the store just right across for the same exact item. Oh well, next time I know^^

Found another crepe stand called "Crepe Ojisan" in Shinsabashi and had to try it!

Price is under $5.00 USD

 The crepe itself is very delicious. Size is smaller than the ones in U.S.

Yup... and he had to get a drink

Back to hotel to get some rest...zzZ

The left side is 7-11! Also vending machine across the street.

Did I mention there is a business center in the hotel which had computers for you to use? Unfortunately, Hearton Hotel does not have wifi in all areas and rooms... Wifi only in the lobby. It wasn't a big issue to us because we spent most of the time outside of the hotel (most important is for contacting Nicole to see if Miku is being a good boy and checking our flight status).

After our lovely nap, we headed out for sushi and skewers^^