Osaka Round 1

So I've finally gotten around to getting some photos up online so here are the highlights from our first stint in Osaka.




The flight over didn't feel that long and it wasn't a full plane either. I'm quite impressed with Jetstar since it was my first international flight with them.


After finding our way to the hotel we were greeted by this fluffy rabbit.


After unpacking and realising how I've forgotten a bit of my Japanese we headed straight to Namba for a feed.




If you've read my previous posts about Japan then you don't need an explanation for this. For everyone else, these are the famous egg tarts of Japan that Kim and I fell in love with when she came to visit me in Japan in 2010. They were really satisfying to say the least.






Then we were off to get some real food, we stopped by this outdoor ramen shop which filled us up for the night. Free kim chi to add to your ramen too, how could you go wrong for 600 yen?


It's only tradition that we head to the arcades after dinner and when we're in Japan, it's got to be darts! I was a bit rusty but still managed to hit a couple of bullseyes and surprisingly so did Kim.


We then decided to crash for the night to save some energy for the next day.


The view from our hotel room, it's nothing special but it sure beats the view from my room at home.


Strolling the streets since Coco Ichi didn't open until 11am.


We stumbled upon a Vietnamese restaurant too, so rare in Japan.


My lovely girlfriend in her Yakuza shades.


BOOM! 11am and I was a very happy camper that day. Chicken katsu curry!


Kim and her Tonkatsu Curry (I ordered the wrong one for her) looking happy, but not as happy as me haha.


We found this tree where people would write their Christmas wish and hang it up.


Here's ours, guess what mine says haha.


Bumped into Lewis Hamilton too at a sports store. He was too busy with his Reboks.


Every morning I'd get a warm Boss Coffee from the vending machines and let Kim keep her hands warm for a bit before I drank it. Win-win situation!




More egg tarts after breakfast, or was it for breakfast?


Spotted an Aussie restaurant in one of the alley ways around Osaka, I think it's even more rare than finding a Vietnamese restaurant.


Gotta love Japanese manners.




Some crazy looking iPhone cases, check out the one with the hand. Freaky!




Some shots of us.


Then I hit the jackpot, LEGO!




I haven't seen LEGO Technic in so long.


These vending machines are everywhere and I love it, so easy to just grab a drink when you want one.




Taking facebook photos in a sushi train in Japan, we're definitely tourists! Too bad the food wasn't as nice as we thought it would be but we still managed to fill up our bellies!


Like I said, it's tradition to hit the arcades after dinner but this time it was basketball. I forgot who one but it was a close one!


Another fave at the arcades in Japan is this one, it's called 'The Bishibashi' and it's just fun, weird, quirky games. The closest thing I can compare the type of games to is Point Blank but using those buttons. Try and youtube it if you want to see what it's all about.


Afterwards it was crepe time! We didn't have as many as we'd like but this one was definitely the best out of the whole trip.


Again with the egg tarts, yes they're that good.


Some swag, Kim's new watch for $25!




Our matcha floats at cafe down the corner from our hotel. They were delicious!


Our last meal in Osaka before we headed off to Hiroshima, they tasted a lot better than we expected.

That's pretty much it for our stay in Osaka for now, it was just lots of eating and just having a good time. It was really nice to be back in Japan even though it never really 'hit me' that I was back, I think living there for so long makes it feel like my home away from home. Even though this trip made me broke, til now as well, it was definitely worth every single dollar/yen. After this we headed to Hiroshima, a place where Kim and I haven't been before so keep an eye out for that.


The rest of the photos from this set can be found on my flickr.