Reaching Osaka and Kyoto (Series of Summer Vacation)

Promised myself to write series of summer vacation trips while in Japan. Still, making promises is way easier than fulfilling it.

After talking about how to explore Kumamoto (well at least its famous spot), now please allow me to talk about Osaka and Kyoto, two extraordinary prefectures in Kansai Area. If I am not mistaken, there are four famous tourist spots in Kansai; they are Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, and Kobe. To be honest, I didn’t have that much interest on Osaka or Kyoto before. I did hear both areas are must visit prefectures in Japan. Osaka is extremely famous for its Takoyaki. People said it’s the best in Japan and you can easily find takoyaki stall around the town. Beside, Osaka is also Japan’s second largest city after Tokyo. If Tokyo is well known for its business district and harajuku, Osaka is then worth visited if you are interested in Japanese famous brand which most of whose factories located in Osaka. While Kyoto, which can be reached by 30 minutes train for Osaka, show its charm through thousand of shrines and geisha in Gion.

Since we (me and vita) were using 18kippu ticket to reach Tokyo, we must take a night stop in either Osaka or Kyoto. We could actually go further, but both of us agree we should taste the famous takoyaki and see geisha as a warming up before entering the atmosphere of Tokyo. Then, we booked a hostel for two nights in Namba Area, Osaka. According to the travel website, our hostel location is close to Osaka tower, Osaka castle, and namba (an area full of takoyaki stalls ) area itself. After staying for two days, we quite regretted our decision for not extending our stay in those two cities. Osaka was fun and Kyoto was unbelievably beautiful.

How to Get There
There are many options to choose. From Fukuoka, people can go by train (local, sleepers, or shinkansen), plane (there is newly established Osaka based low budget airlines who offer reasonable price. At least 4000 yen for one way ticket), night bus (>2500 yen depending on bus you choose), and even ferry (directly to universal studios, I heard the peer is around the studio).

If you are a budget traveler and have enough time to enjoy the journey, I’d like to recommend night bus or train. Low budget airline is a great consideration especially when you get the deal. I have never tried ferry before, but my roommate has. She said it’s quite fun. However, unless your main destination is universal studio, you better consider other transportation.

If you happened to read my old entries, you would find out that I and Vita were using 18kippu train tickets. It took us 12 hours from Fukuoka to Osaka and changed about 6 times. But do not get it wrong, it wasn’t boring at all. It was real fun instead. We saw many sub urban areas and types of Japanese. 

Arrived in Osaka station, it was huge, there were also plenty of choices to access the city. To go to our hostel, the easiest way was taking the subway. During our stay in Osaka, we mostly used local train since the train station was just less than 5 minutes walk from our hostel. Convenient!

Where to Stay
Once again, it really is depending on the budget. Looking at our financial condition, me and vita looked for a budget hotel near the city centre. From some reviews on the internet, we agreed to book this hotel near namba area. I forgot the name of the hotel, but it was located along the street with similar types of hostel on its left and right side.

We were satisfied with the hotel. I would give 8 out of 10 for it. First, it was easily accessed from nearest subway station and local train station. Even if you are a slow walker asian like us, it was still less than five minutes. Second, there were many convenience stores and food stalls (like I said it’s just few minutes walk from Namba shopping district). Food wouldn’t be a problem. Third, which made us very happy; we got a Japanese style room and pajama for a very good deal. It cost only 1500 yen per night. Such a cheap price for a hostel in Japan, it was the cheapest indeed. Not to mention other facilities like its small onsen where I saw Vita went naked for the first time hahaha.

Another thing I love about staying in a hostel is the opportunity to meet fellow travelers. On our first morning in Osaka, we met a Japanese backpacker whose name I forgot (sorry). He was on his around Japan trip for months and would leave the very next morning. I guess he was quite surprise to meet two Indonesian in hostel in Osaka tough he mentioned he visited Bali once. We exchanged number and later knew he was from Hokkaido, which later turned to be my next destination. In the evening, he invited us for dinner (read: yay free dinner)in Chinese restaurant nearby. Additional information, he was cute. Double lucks, no? :p

We didn’t book any hostel in Kyoto since the price was quite above the average rate. Thus, in order to overcome the problem, we planned a one day visit in Kyoto before we took the last night train to Tokyo (which later turned into the most incredible part of the journey). Don’t worry about the luggage. Every train station in Japan has luggage storing locker. You don’t have to be that lucky to find the empty one, it is usually available. However still, you have to pay. =D

What to see
As I mentioned earlier, we stayed for only two nights in Osaka and Kyoto. On the first day, we arrived at around 6 pm. We only managed to walk around namba area and ate takoyaki. It was great, though.

The next day, we went to universal studio. To enter this famous amusement park, visitors had to pay for 6000 yen. If you don’t want to pay for such amount but willing to take some pictures in front of its phenomenal logo, you can still do it. The logo was placed before the entrance gate that it was not necessary to hold a ticket in case you only want the photos.

Though we didn’t have that much money, we insisted to buy the tickets. It was not that we were so much into roller coaster and stuff; we just wanted to enjoy our holiday. As far as I remembered, we spent almost the whole day in universal studio.

The next day, it was already the time to pack our stuff and go to Kyoto. Before headed to Kyoto, we spontaneously decided to go to Osaka castle first. Unfortunately it was cloudy and the rain poured as soon as we boarded on the train to Kyoto.

The rain didn’t stop falling even after we finished lunch in station. But the show must go on. With city map which we got from the information centre nearby in our hand, we faced the rain and the strong wind. As Kyoto was famous among tourists, almost all of its buses which go to tourist spot was occupied with English. There was also one day ride ticket which cost around 1000 yen.

Since we didn’t have that much time left before our train schedule to Tokyo, we could only visit Kinkakuji Shrine, Shrine near Gion, and Gion itself. Kinkakuji is the most famous yet beautiful shrine in Kyoto. It was made from Gold which made it splendid no matter what. It was the very first time I fell in love with a shrine. You wouldn’t believe how beautiful it was. Sadly, it was raining so bad. I had to be really careful about my camera.

Our next destination was Gion. Right in front of the Gion area, there was another beautiful orange shrine. We decided to take some rest there and coincidently met Indonesian family. The wind was still so strong that we had to hold on our umbrella tight and “right”. Why I mentioned the word “right”? Because there is a special technique of holding umbrella in Japan in such windy weather unless you want it to be broken and turned into the opposite side.

*Additional information: We learned the technique from our previous trip in Nagasaki. I was the victim back then. It was also a windy day that I had my umbrella cover flew from its iron frame. On that day that I learned, even umbrella is unique in Japan. No wonder I saw many broken umbrellas in front of convenience stores in Gion later on. I knew other new victims (read: foreigners) were everywhere.*

Finished with the orange shrine whose name I didn’t remember, we continued our step to the most magical spot in Kyoto, named it Gion. If you are a fan of geisha or have read about them before, you would find out that Gion is an area where geisha usually gathered to serve their customer. We knew it was considered inappropriate to capture geishas without their permission. We also didn’t expect that much since we knew it wouldn’t be easy to see them walking around Gion. But we were lucky that day. There seem to be a celebration that so many geishas were showing up. Sorry, we couldn’t bear not to take any pictures. =D

What else?
Those are all I can tell about our two days trip in Osaka and Kyoto. There was so much to be explored, but we there was no time left. As far as I know, if you are interested in marine world, Osaka has great aquarium. Also if you are curious about shokuhin (food model which usually placed in front of restaurant to give description about food they offer), Osaka is the perfect place to go. For further information, visit official website of tourism in Japan.

How long should I stay?
As long as you can afford. Beside Osaka and Kyoto, it will be a pity for not giving yourself chances to see other area in Kansai, like Nara, Kobe, and Arashiyama. Kansai area has special train tickets to commute from one area to another. If you plan to stay longer, that special ticket will help you to economize your budget.

Best time to Visit?
Autumn. Brown yellowish momiji leaves and shrines are the perfect combination to describe what heaven on earth would be like. Second best, for sure spring. Nothing beats the beauty of Sakura. However, summer and winter are still tolerable. To conclude, Osaka and Kyoto are always beautiful and worth to visit all year long. Enjoy Japan! =D

Total Spending
Train Fukuoka – Osaka = 2500 Yen
Train Osaka – Kyoto = free (included in train rate to Tokyo)
Local transportation in Osaka = 1000 yen
Local transportation in Kyoto = 1000 yen
Hostel = 3000 Yen
Universal Studio = 6000 Yen
Meal = 5000 Yen
Total = 18500 Yen