Category: Osaka

JapanEats: Nakau (Tennoji)

There is a downside to finding yourself with a little bit of free time on your hands: you don’t know what to do with it, and yet you can think of so many things you want to do but, for some reason, you can’t. So you end up doing what you did not really intend on doing. (Did that make sense so far?) Take right now, for example. Weather’s foul outside, I am in between writing projects, and there’s a bit of a window where I can opt to not work. So I clean up my hard drive, and stumble upon photos that I forgot existed. Like these ones taken of the fastfood/restaurant, NAKAU in Osaka. Continue reading “JapanEats: Nakau (Tennoji)” →

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Osaka 2014: Osaka Castle Part 2

I thought I could “take up” the Osaka Castle in one post; turns out I was (gleefully) wrong. Trips to places like these always remind me how, when I was younger, I was such a sucker for history. Somewhere along the way, that kinda left me. But being reminded in spurts – and major spurts, too! – isn’t such a bad thing, though, because it makes me remember parts of myself I once thought were long forgotten. After wandering around a bit outside, it’s time to step inside the Main Tower of the Osaka Castle.

Continue reading “Osaka 2014: Osaka Castle Part 2” →

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Osaka 2014: Osaka Castle Part 1

One would easily realize how much they have been “duped” by fairy tales when their only concept of castles and palaces involve towering turrets where princesses are locked up, doing nothing but wait for a prince to rescue them. Welcome to the East, my friends. Castles aren’t all about that; but, right here, they are all THAT. (I wish that made sense for you, because it totally did for me.) For this entry, let me take you a bit around (outside) the imposing but highly impressive main keep of the Osaka Castle or, if we’re going to be really Japanese about it, Osaka-jo. Continue reading “Osaka 2014: Osaka Castle Part 1” →

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Osaka, Japan 2014: Osaka Castle Park

I’ve always thought that taking walks in a park is possibly one of the more boring ways to spend time. In short, it’s a waste of time. Until recently, when I realized that it could be one of the most relaxing things one can do. A sign of old age? Or just enlightenment coming in a bit late? But then again, perhaps it has a lot to do with the kind of park you’re going to walk around in. Osaka Castle Park, or what little we’ve seen of it in the hour that we were able to walk around it, for example, would be one place where the word “boring” would never have a place in.

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Osaka, Japan 2014: Minoh Park

I’m back from a 4-day sojourn in beautiful Coron! Still recovering, actually. My first day back at work was spent mostly in a daze because I just wanted to go and curl off to sleep. 🙂 I haven’t even downloaded all the photos I’ve taken from my camera! Still in denial, I suppose. Before I do, however, I have to clear some things off my long backlog for this blog, and one of them is about my visit to Minoh Park, which I consider to be one of the highlights of my Osaka stop.

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Osaka, Japan 2014: Shitennoji Temple

Osaka had soooo many interesting places worth checking out, but we had soooooo little time to spend here, so we had to just go for the choicest ones. And by “choicest”, I meant the ones that are closer and would not take so much time to get to. And we also had to make sure that we visited the first Buddhist temple, and the oldest administered (state-built) temple in Japan, the Shitennoji Temple.  Continue reading “Osaka, Japan 2014: Shitennoji Temple” →

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Spinning Rainbows at cafe & bar Arasick

As much as planning is a very good thing, sometimes having bouts of spontaneity also makes every experience even more special. We weren’t planning on going to the cafe and bar Arasick, primarily because we didn’t know how to get there, not even if we had the address written down somewhere. I keep saying Arashi was instrumental in opening up a lot of doors to wonderful and unforgettable experiences for me since I became a fan more than 9 years ago. I’m so glad that, nine years on, that still holds true. Continue reading “Spinning Rainbows at cafe & bar Arasick” →

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Osaka, Japan 2014: Sumiyoshi Taisha

This was probably the day that I did the most amount of walking during my Japan trip. Seriously. We set off at 6:30am, then went home later that night close to midnight. At the end of the day, my feet were literally killing me, and I was unconsciously apologizing to them (and, by extension, to my shoes) for putting them to so much abuse. But a happy explorer is happy, and that’s what counts most, eh?  Continue reading “Osaka, Japan 2014: Sumiyoshi Taisha” →

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JapanEats: Daiki Suisan Kaiten Sushi (Dotonbori)

Think Japan, and one of the first things that will likely come to mind is sushi. In an earlier post, I shared about my first encounter with this quintessential Japanese food IN Japan when I hunted for Genki Sushi. That was an experience I enjoyed immensely, but that did not stop me from wanting to try a kaiten sushi place. And I’m glad I got to try it when I was in Osaka, right in the middle of Dotonbori.

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Osaka, Japan 2014: Dotounbori Street

Foodies frequent Osaka to get a taste of its culinary delights, and one of the main destinations is Dotounbori Street, or what is often simply referred to as Dotonbori. Since it is basically clustered together with the Shinsaibashi Shopping Arcade, Amerikamura, Namba Walk, and Den-Den Town a bit of a distance away, Dotonbori has become a major shopping, entertainment, and food destination. To be honest, my friend and I weren’t actually able to explore the entire complex. It was THAT vast. Dotonbori, however, we visited twice. Continue reading “Osaka, Japan 2014: Dotounbori Street” →

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Osaka, Japan 2014: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (Part 2)

If you ask me, they could have simply set up a separate theme park altogether, all devoted to Harry Potter. You see, while walking around other parts of USJ, I did not have any sense that there is a “wizarding world” close by. In fact, I wasn’t even able to get a glimpse of the Hogwarts Castle from the outside. And then, when you enter the Wizarding World, you’ll immediately forget that just around the corner were the other rides and attractions. It’s definitely a theme park within a theme park.

Continue reading “Osaka, Japan 2014: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (Part 2)” →

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Osaka, Japan 2014: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (Part 1)

Personally, I had a bigger goal for checking out Universal Studios Japan. It is to visit The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, an attraction that opened on July 15, 2014. I’m not an expert on Harry Potter lore, so I am going to apologize in advance for any mistakes or errors I am likely to commit. Also, this will be another two-parter, since there were simply too many photos I wanted to share and putting them all in one post will result in an image-heavy post. #ExcusesExcuses

(Oh, and I can’t believe it’s February already! I was just lamenting being broke over Christmas, like, yesterday! Time, slow down, please?)

Continue reading “Osaka, Japan 2014: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (Part 1)” →

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Osaka, Japan 2014: Universal Studios Japan (Pt 1)

Back when I was in high school and college, I used to be quite the fanatic when it comes to movies. My cinema-going record never went below “twice-a-month”. There were even times when I do cinema-hopping, which is basically moving to another cinema to catch a movie, right after I finished one. Also, just this Christmas break, I had to regretfully part with two huuuuuuge boxes of movie magazines, dating all the way back from 1998 until around 2008. I don’t know when it somehow toned itself down.

So you could just imagine how much of a treat it was for me when I went to Universal Studios Singapore a couple of years ago, and to Universal Studios Japan in Osaka just over month ago. IT. WAS. AN. ABSOLUTE. BLAST.
Continue reading “Osaka, Japan 2014: Universal Studios Japan (Pt 1)” →

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