I went to Osaka (then Seoul) alone in late June'14 after leaving my job of 14 months. It was a good (albeit terrifying) experience going around in a foreign land alone and I guess it's all in the name of spontaneity, huh?

Revisited Osaka with my mum in January'15 over New Year as we wanted to explore Japan in Winter. Turns out, it wasn't as cold as Korea and we actually found it rather mangeable. Haha!

A little bit of introduction to my trip in Jun'14 here: I booked a round trip ticket to Seoul on Vietnam Air (pretty good food but transit at SGN with no wifi is a nightmare) and a regional flight from Seoul to Osaka (2hrs, almost domestic?) on Peach Airways. It's the LCC (low-cost carrier, think Scoot, Tiger, Jetstar) of Japan and truthfully, it's not too bad if you're traveling on a budget and booking in advance.

An 8hr connection time at ICN meant I could drop off my luggage at the Hanjin Express Left Baggage counter near counter A (departure level, 3?) of Incheon Airport. It's about ₩5,500 for 6 hours of safekeeping so instead of lugging it around, think of it as money well spent in the name of convenience.

Fitting in a quick trip to Myeongdong isn't a problem as there were many transport options available – 6015 limousine bus that takes about 70 minutes to downtown Myeongdong area (₩10,000) or take the AREX to Seoul station and switch (₩2,000~3,000)! Takes a shorter time despite the transfer and is much more cost efficient.

Day One ☆

Arrived at KIX at 3.00pm. As Peach lands at the Terminal 2 (specially for LCC/Peach only), the immigration was pretty... Cosy and the queue can get insane if two planes land around the same time. 

Take the complimentary shuttle to Terminal 1 where all the buses to town are. I was headed for Dainichi Stn (大日駅) to meet Ayami for dinner. So, I took bus service no. 10 (￥1,850 one way), with the directions to Keihan Moriguchi 京阪 森口. Basically this is a residential area (this Bishan of Singapore) and not many tourists come by. 

The more popular buses are the Osaka Stn. (大坂駅), Umeda (梅田), Namba (難波) and Shinsaibashi (心斎橋) routes as most hotels are located in the city area. More about the different bus services here.

For my trip in Jan'15, I was headed for Namba (難波) area so I took bus service no. 11 to Namba OCAT (￥1,850 round trip). My flight landed in the evening, I took the 1855 bus and reached OCAT at 1945. Pretty fast! Walked through Namba Walk (15mins) to the Midosuji line and headed to Nishinakajima-Minamikata where I stayed for the trip.

Upon boarding, you will be given a ticket with your luggage number on it. Do not ever lose this ticket. Otherwise, you will have to take the bus to the terminal station and wait for everyone to take their bags and can only collect your bag if nobody collects yours. No idea what's the logic here, just safeguard your ticket till you alight and you'll do just fine.

I misplaced my ticket somewhere in my bag and had to face the wrath of about 20 passengers in the bus AND bus driver staring down at me, muttering angry-sounding Japanese while I scour my bag for that little green ticket. 

So... After all the fuss, I met Ayami for dinner at a resident chain diner that specializes in Ham-bagu. That's right, ハムバフー! Ham-bagu is a type of hamburger patty steak served with sides (sometimes rice) on a hot plate. I ordered mine with cheese on the inside as recommended and I love it! It's like a burger minus the bun, thicker patty and more flavorful. Try it if you're a fan of cheeseburgers! 

After a filling dinner, Ayami brought me around to Aeon (they have Aeon malls in Malaysia as well right?) to grocery shop (HAHA my friends know me well) and stock up on snacks. I also went crazy at Daiso (I know right, ¥100 shops) and the local Japanese pharmacies – selling everything from cockroach poison to beauty supplements to instant noodles! 

Just about a local's day, she said. With that, I ended my first day in Osaka. 

The second time I went in Jan'15, I had arrived on a morning flight. My following flight to ICN was in the afternoon so I had half a day to do some sightseeing in the area. With only 6 hours to spare, I went to Rinku Town!

Took the Nankai-Kuko line to Rinku Town Station for 360yen.

There is a premium outlet arcade and a mall called 'Rinku Pleasure Town Seacle' (hmmm). We went to both since it was only 5 minutes by foot. 

You can spot Pleasure Town by the Ferris Wheel from the station! Walk towards that direction and you won't be wrong. There are plenty of shops there, from GU (sister brand of Uniqlo) to Daiso. As it was 1st Jan when we arrived, there was a huge fukubukuro (福袋) activity going on! These bags are priced at 30~50% of the content's worth and are usually only released on New Year's Day/Week. I didn't get any as I was afraid it was mainly winter clothes. 

You can also chill or relax at one of the sea-facing cafes and watch planes take off or land at the Kansai International Airport. 

From Pleasure Town level 2, cross the bridge and you will see Rinku Premium Outlets. There are tons of outlet stores there, it's great if you're looking to buy branded for less! I remember seeing the usual Coach, Kate Spade, Tory Burch, Burberry, Hollister, Adidas... I didn't know there were outlets for Lego too!

There were also the fukubukuro activity going on and long, long queues were formed outside the stores. I don't know if it's a good time to come during this period, haha! So I just roamed about, looked for OOTD spots, snapped and left. 

Prices are about 30-50% lesser than retail and you could save some money with the tourist coupons. You can also deposit your luggage for a nominal fee at the information counter or help yourself to the lockers for less than 500yen. Definitely beats shopping with a baggage, huh?

After taking pictures and just walking around, we had a quick ramen lunch at the cafeteria and took the shuttle back to the airport. It costs 200yen per trip per pax and is just 20 minutes to the airport. For bus information, click here.

Day Two ☆

It was going to be a day trip to Kyoto so I woke up extra early to catch the first few trains, and to avoid the crowd. 

I was staying around Nishinakajima-minamikata station, which had a direct train to Kyoto. It is on the red (Midosuji) line, which also connects you to Umeda/Namba/Shinsaibashi, so if you're thinking of exploring these places, this area would be ideal. Close to town, yet away from the hustle and bustle. 

If you're heading to Kyoto from Nishinakajima-minamikata station (Midosuji line) 西中島南方駅 (御堂筋線), take the train to Awaji station 淡路駅 and switch train bound for Kawaramachi station 河原町駅 (Kyoto). Upon alighting, you should see this signage and a stream of people walking in the same direction... That's where you should be heading. 

The first thing that greeted me when I set foot in Kyoto is not the old street that you'd imagine... It's a busy traffic. Haha! What a spoiler. There's a famous matcha (抹茶) tea/desert house in Kyoto that specializes in, well, matcha. Think decadent matcha shaved ice and cold matcha soba in summer and hot glutinous matcha balls in winter. Heavenly! Queues can start as early as 9am (store opens at 10.30am) in summer so make sure you go early! Avoid the peak (post-lunch, post-dinner) if you can, so the queue won't kill your excitement. We were really lucky to have to only queue for 5 minutes before getting a seat! Really cool interior eh? These are matcha whisking brushes! 

Ayami went for the summer matcha parfait while I... Being weird... Ordered the cold matcha soba. 

After desert (for breakfast, LOL) we headed for Gion (祇園) and started our temple day tour. It's a magical feeling waking through the old streets of Japan, looking at the old houses and thinking what was life back then for the Japanese. If you're looking to get souveniors... There are plenty but I'd say save your yen for the Tsukiji market later. 

Went to the Kiyomizu-dera temple. A part of it was under construction so we could not access it.

Stopped by the Nishio Yatsuhashi Chaya (八ツ橋茶屋) for tea. I ordered the New Year's Parfait (above). Love the dango, red bean paste and creamy vanilla ice cream!

As we only intend to spend half the day there, we went straight to one main shrine and some small temples. A little regret that I didn't get to see the famous Fushimi-Inari shrine but exploring Kiyomizudera was good enough. We walked through the gardens, up the hills and drank from the well. Combed the shrine in less than an hour and we walked over to Ichiran Ramen for a late lunch.

I guess this isnt the same fancy store as the one they have in Tokyo (multiple toilet rolls??). Instead, you get a really cosy little ramen store with individual stalls and private servers (you can't see who serves you, it's almost like an automatic production belt where you submit orders, go to the seat, and server hands you ramen from the half-window). Still, pretty good ramen.

Edit: Had Ichiran at Umeda too! It was nestled in one of the chomes along 'E Street', a little difficult to spot but it is worth the time. If you have wifi, you may want to route to: 3-13 Doyamacho Kita-ku Osaka-shi, Osaka-fu 530-0027.

Next up, we walked to Yakasa Shrine, located at the intersection of the road leading towards Kawaramachi Station. The shrine is decorated with many many paper lanterns at the entrance. It should be relatively easy to spot~

You can buy lucky charms or have your fortune told here too! I shook the wooden container (pictured in foreground above) and got the results above. Not that bad right? 

As we began our walk back to the station, we chanced upon the Nishiki Market. Tsukiji market is near the Kawarasuma train station where it is about 5 minutes on foot. Look out for Shijo Street and you should be on the right track! There are many stalls selling traditional japanese food, like the below...

Tsukemono (漬物)! These pickled vegetable even comes in different flavors and variety - from lady's finger to brinjal in miso paste to raddish in vinegar. I am not a fan of pickles, so I didn't bring any back. Looks good in the pictures though! 

After Nishiki Market, we took the train back to Osaka as my mother couldn't take the walking (old people). Still, a reasonable day tour of Kyoto!

That is part one for now! Will continue with a small shopping post (part 2) tomorrow or later this week~ Enjoy!