Here’s What I did in Osaka in a day!
I flew to Osaka via Scoot during the end of September for 6 days and after deducting flight time and all, I essentially only have 4 days. So it’s important for me to plan my day properly to cover as many places as possible. There’s so many attractions in Osaka and you just have to take your pick depending on who you are travelling with. I know my travelling companions are more towards the shopping and eating type so I didn’t add in places like Umeda Sky Building or the Aquarium etc.
And this is how I decided to spend my first day in Osaka!
We always start the day with a selfie. 😛
Ok, I’m just joking. Of course it’s more proper to start the day with a meal. And for me, I decided to have a hearty Sushi Breakfast over at the famed Endo Sushi located at the Osaka Central Market at JR Noda.
After having breakfast, it’s time for a little shopping! And the nearest choice would be Umeda that is filled with loads of shopping malls! And the first place I was headed to is none other than the POKEMON CENTER!! Pikachu!!!
And more Pikachu! Awww!!! Too cute!! Did I mention that I brought home several Pikachu Merchandise too? Hehe.
After spending time at a couple departmental stores in Umeda, I made my way to Kuromon Market located near Nipponbashi Station. Kuromon is also known as Osaka’s kitchen and obviously it’s gonna be all about food again! But I would recommend to go early because when I reached there at about 4 plus nearing 5, about half the stores are closed or closing.
When in Japan, you can’t go wrong with seafood. Check out this Ojisan searing my Hotate with the fire gun thingy!
Two huge Hotate seared to perfection! I’m salivating as I’m typing this.
Of course, when we are in Osaka, Takoyaki is a must.
This is the highlight of my Kuromon trip. This plate of snow crab is about 5000 yen and it’s so good! Got to be the sweetest crab I ever ate.
Ichigo Daifuku!! I’ve always wanted to try this but never got around to do so. These are like freshly made and sold at one of the Sweets shop in the market. Super nice and the strawberry is sweet but not overly sweet!
I’ve seen this Baby Octopus stuffed with quail egg on one of the blogs while doing my research and was so happy to find it. Bought one even though I was super full! Really good! If I didn’t already ate so much, I think I can at least eat 5 of these. The texture is just nice, not too hard and the taste of the egg goes pretty well with the marinated octopus.
Nipponbashi where Kuromon is located is actually very near Namba. With the help of google maps, I made my way to Namba just by walking. You know you are in the right direction when you see this huge crab sign which signifies the entrance of Doutonbori.
And my main focus at Doutonbori is Don Quixote! See that tall signage on the right! That’s the Namba Don Quixote! Don Quixote is like the must go shopping place in Japan! They have everything from food to cosmetics etc. I bought a whole load of daily contacts there. 😛 Not forgetting the pretty view of the Osaka River at night.
I spotted Ichiran Ramen right next to Don Quixote and despite the queue, I went ahead to try it as it’s highly raved. But to be honest, it’s nice but not fantastic. And to be honest, it’s was a little rush for the order that I kind of got confused and ended up with no Char Siew. Sad die me. >< But it’s ok, I had one of the best ramen the next day in Kyoto which I shall talk more about in my Kyoto post.
You can’t go to Osaka, Namba and not take a photo of the Glico man along with the many signboards. Shisaibashi shopping street is just next to where the Glico man signboard. Sadly, it was already pretty late when we are there so most shops are closing. Still, we did managed to comb through a few drugstores and did some shopping before we head home to our Airbnb.
Random super adorable pastries we spotted at the train stations while transferring to another line! Too cute! I ended up buying two small boxes of 3!
This basically sums up my day in Osaka where I managed to cover some of the main areas like Kuromon, Umeda, Namba where Doutonbori and Shisaibashi is located. One thing that I would change is that I would have started my day earlier (I headed out at 8) so that I can enjoy more of Kuromon and Shisaibashi at it’s busiest instead.
Till the next post!
XOXO,
Joyce.Forensia
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