Day 5 – Japan trip (Osaka, Dotonburi & Umeda Sky Building)

On the next day, we took the train at Kansai train station from Kyoto to Osaka and the whole journey took us 75 minutes. Before that, we stopped at the train station for a mini lunch a.k.a Bento set. We were impressed by the gifts and snacks assortments displayed at rows of souvenier shops.

My Bento set. ♥ YUMMEH!

A customary selfie portrait. 

Well-dressed and trained officers. Upon request, they were able to pinpoint to us some of tourist attractions in Osaka along with the routes and destinations.

                                 

Once we reached Osaka, we can’t help but to notice the lively and vibrant city. The people here were generally friendlier, warmer and more open to communication. As we had some “lost in the city” moments on our way to our hotel, they were able to show us the way to our hidden hotel. 

Managed to capture unique and theme-inspired hotel design. 

Our cosy little hotel room with paneled wardrobe and Japanese-style tatami bed.

Once we’ve dropped our luggage bags, we hurried ourselves to the heart of the city – Dotonburi. Posing with the signature “Kani Doraku” – the big crab. 

Immersed in the beauty of the city; flurried with activities.

We settled down for a bowl of piping hot ramen at Ichiran Dotonbori, a self-managed ordering and payment vending machine. Don’t get me wrong, the machine does not dispense ramen but all the ordering and customisation of your ramen is done via this intelligent machine. It’s kinda cool and a new eating experience for us. Once we walked inside the shop, we were surprised by the compartmental style of the restaurant whereby the customers can enjoy their bowl of ramen in privacy. This has made it so much easier for on-the-go white collars to enjoy their lunch in a jiffy.

Devouring our densely broth lunch.

We had some shopping around the town whereby the pharmaceutical goods were sold at a slightly cheaper price compared to Kyoto. There were rows of buses bringing in tourists to shop at the mushrooming networks of shops. 

My shopping haul. ∩__∩y

Around evening, we were greeted by the neon lights at night. Hipsters, young adults, metropolitans started to fill up the place after a tiring day at work or school. As it was weekend, many teenagers thronged the place to hang out with their friends or simply enjoying the view of the “pick-up” bridge. 

The night was transformed into a colourful street packed with activities.

Nipponbashi, a nearby shopping arcade district selling mainly electronics and consumer goods products. 

We end our day by exploring Umeda Sky Building, a 40-storey building made up of two glass-and-steel tower linked by a bridge. We were truly mesmerised by the enigmatic vibes of the city {{{(>_<)}}}

XOXO

sassycat