The motto of Osaka is “Kuidaore”, which means “Eat yourself broke”. Osaka is known as Japan’s kitchen.
Any city where the people are willing to eat themselves into poverty is a place where food is taken seriously.
Japan Airlines (JAL)
Osaka! Oh yes we made it. We flew Japan Airlines (JAL) from Singapore to Tokyo, and then transited from Tokyo to Osaka. There are direct flight options from Singapore to Osaka via Singapore Airlines as well.
In my opinion, JAL has modern fleets and their level of service was pretty impeccable. This was my first JAL flight and i was quite impressed with the quality of the food and the comfort of the seat. They are quite strict with their luggage weight restrictions though, be sure to weigh and pack properly to avoid troubles at the counter check in.
Why Osaka
With nearly 2.7 million inhabitants, half of Singapore’s population, Osaka has grown to be Japan’s third-largest city and a highly popular travel destination in the Kansai area. What brought us to Osaka? My friend! She wanted me to experience Osaka for the first time with the highs of the relatively new Super Nintendo World (18 March 2021, cue Covid period) at Universal Studio Japan, the famous Osaka Castle, the Glico poster and the famous street foods of Osaka.
From skewered meats to gravity-defying sweets, eating is big business in Osaka. They are best known for takoyaki, stewed beef tendon (doteyaki), deep-fried skewers (kushikatsu), okonomiyaki and many more. Due to limited stomach spaces and time there, we only tried what we could get around the vicinity that we were traveling in, more on our favourites to come in the next post.
Being a virgin to Osaka, i was expecting it to be like Tokyo, with the confusing metro lines and the hustling with the crowds to get to a certain place. However as i set foot into Osaka, it felt comfortable. We were there mid-may, the weather was mild and comforting, neither too warm nor humid. The airport custom lines weren’t even as bad as Tokyo as i’ve remembered and we got out of the airport relatively fast to the train station, to take the train to the city centre.
Getting to Central Osaka
There are many ways to reach Central Osaka from Kansai International Airport, rental cars, limousines or trains. We opt for the most economical and straightforward way which is taking the train. From our research, we’ve decided to take the Nankai Airport Express and Limited Express Rapi:t. The Limited Express Rapi:t is best as it covers the distance in just 34 minutes. It may cost slightly more, but with more comfort. Besides, the train is beautiful!
Tips, we brought our tickets last minute on Klook, which gives you a cheaper rate than buying on the spot. It should cost about SGD10.30/ USD 7.60/ 1,030 yen whereas buying at the ticket station or machine cost about 1,130 yen which is around SGD 1 more each. Head over to the counter as instructed in Klook’s instruction to redeem and you are set to go.
Here’s some images and videos to enjoy from the train station!
Next, we navigated the metro and head to our Airbnb which will be our home base in Osaka. In the next few posts, we will talk about our favourite foods in Osaka, the attractions we went and also a post dedicated just to Universal Studio Japan and Super Nintendo World because there’s so much to do in a day there.
Accomodation
Our airbnb is located at Nishi-ku Osaka-Shi, 10min from Shinsaibashi station and 8min from Honmachi. As you can refer to the map above, it is very well connected to Central Osaka, 12min to Dotonbori and 25min travel time to Universal Studio Japan by Metro.
The airbnb is equipped with a kitchen, washing machine, a separate bath and has everything one needs for a comfortable stay. I would recommend just 2 person maximum in the room, as the space is quite small.
Here’s the listing if you are keen to know more and book!
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