"Welcome to Osaka" Hello, everyone. I'm currently at Kaohsiung International Airport. A five-day, four-night trip to Kyoto and Osaka is about to begin ≧ω≦ Just completed security checks and document verification, smoothly exited the country! Today, I will take a flight from Kaohsiung (KHH) to Osaka (KIX). Kaohsiung Airport International Terminal has 12 departure gates. The arched corridor here has a futuristic feel. From the airport, you can see Kaohsiung's landmark, the 85 Sky Tower. With time to spare, I'll find a seat near the boarding gate to relax. Window seats have lamps and power outlets. Although it's a small airport, it has all the facilities. Finally, it's time to board! My seat is in the economy class. The aircraft for this journey is China Airlines' A321neo. The A321neo is a short to medium-range aircraft produced by Airbus. This is my first time at Kaohsiung Airport after the pandemic, feeling excited and eager. The flight departs at 3:45 PM. Bye Bye! Kaohsiung Airport. The view of Kaohsiung Harbor. Looks impressive from the air. The flight from Kaohsiung to Osaka takes about 2 hours and 45 minutes. I'll probably have an in-flight meal and take a nap, and we'll be in Osaka. This is a English version. It's Pikachu as the captain (´∀｀) What's the in-flight meal this time? The main course is a cheese hamburger steak~ Quite tasty for airline food. The main course includes cauliflower, radish, and mushrooms. Also, a salad-like side dish. Of course, there's the essential inflight meal bread (already bitten(๑´ڡ`๑)). Finished eating~ Outside the window is a sea of clouds now. Soon it will be sunset. Taiwan time, 5:28 PM. Does this count as a sunset? We're halfway through the journey, currently over Kyushu. I rarely take flights, even watching the map animation feels therapeutic, haha. We can see the southern city of Kyushu from the window. We're about to arrive at our destination—Kansai International Airport ! Now you can see the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge (the world's second-longest suspension bridge), connecting Awaji Island (left) and Kobe (right). Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, and the moon is large and round. Originally, I thought I could see some Osaka landmarks when turning, but the engine blocked the view, and I couldn't see. But I can still see the brightly lit night view of Osaka. Ahead is the Kansai International Airport Link Bridge, and across the bridge is Rinku Town. Kansai Airport is a sea airport, so it needs bridges to connect externally. This airport was built by land reclamation. It was a pioneering achievement in architecture when it was completed in 1994. Landing around 7:30 PM Japan time~ The flight time was 2 hours and 45 minutes, just as expected. Next is immigration, hoping it won't take too long. Just completed immigration checks, the waiting time (about 10 minutes) was less than expected. Next is to pick up luggage and go through customs. We entered Japan!!! Next, to take a train to Osaka, we have to find the sign for "Railways." There are schedules for various modes of transportation here, very thoughtful. As long as you follow the signs, you basically won't get lost. Going out, you'll see a pedestrian bridge, and the station is across the bridge. It's not clear at night, but this is what it looks like. I chose to take the JR Limited Express Haruka to the city. The reason is that the accommodation tonight is near Osaka Station. Taking the train to Osaka Station, you can choose either JR Limited Express Haruka or JR Rapid Service. Details and comparisons will be in the description. Left side in blue: JR West Japan; Right side in red: Nankai Electric Railway. Let's buy the ticket for the JR Limited Express Haruka at the green machine. A lot of people... whether buying tickets online or on-site,we have to queue here to get tickets. To get the tickets of limited express, we should go to green machine. After 25 minutes of waiting, I finally got the ticket. The train is about to depart; let's hurry! Bought the ICOCA transport IC card. The Granvia Hotel, where I'm staying tonight, is right above Osaka Station. The Haruka Limited Express features many Hello Kitty designs. Taking the Haruka Limited Express to Osaka Station takes 45 minutes. To Kyoto, it takes about 80 minutes. There seem to be many vacant seats for reserved seats. I don't know why I spent so much time queuing earlier. Before getting off, let's explore the interior of the car a bit. 9:31 PM, arrived on time at Osaka Station. The Haruka train body that I didn't capture well earlier. Next to the platform, there's another cool painted train. This is actually a train on the JR Osaka Loop Line. The departure music has started~ I might take this train again for the return trip. You can see that Haruka consists of two connected trains (this is common in Japan). This is my first time here, and everything is filled with a sense of novelty. Next, heading to the hotel for check-in. Including Haruka, platforms 21 to 24 at Osaka Station are located underground. This underground platform was opened in early 2023 and features many futuristic facilities. For example, this automated ticket gate with facial recognition. After exiting, let's take another look from outside. Haruka's platform is on the north side, so we need to head south. The hotel is inside the South Gate Building of Osaka Station. First, let's check in at the hotel, then explore around the Osaka station. It's almost ten at night, but there are still many people around. Arriving at the Central North Exit near the underground platform. Then walk along the North-South Free Passage to the South Gate Building. The hotel's elevator is near the Central South Exit.
(This part was filmed later in the evening.) Turning left, and there it is! The lobby and front desk of the Granvia Hotel are on the 19th floor of the South Gate Building; the large structure in front is the roof of Osaka Station. The 1st to 15th floors of this building are Daimaru Department Store, and the 19th to 27th floors are the Hotel Granvia Osaka. This is what the room looks like inside. The view outside the window is amazing! Going to a izakaya in Umeda for a late-night snack later~ As soon as I get downstairs, I see a street performer singing "First Love." She sings really well~ I later got her profile. I found this department store, E-ma, on Google Maps, which is open until 11 PM. There aren't many places to explore around this time (almost 11 PM), so let's go inside and take a look. Looks like it's related to real estate or property. The manga-style advertising is interesting. Actually, there's a movie theater upstairs in E-ma. I hope to watch a movie in Japan if I have enough time. After a few minutes, we arrive at the Ohatsu Tenjin Shopping Street. The characteristic of this shopping street is the many izakayas and restaurants. There's a shrine for matchmaking in the shopping street. In addition to izakayas, there are also many karaoke places around here. The izakaya we're going to dine at is called Nanatsuya(七つ家). Inside the restaurant, the staff tells us that the last order is by 11 PM. After being seated, the staff brings an appetizer (otōshi) ; this is a chargeable item, an unspoken rule in Japanese izakayas. Let's take a look at the menu~ This is the lettuce salad we ordered. Although it looks ordinary, the seasoning is excellent. It makes you want to eat it bite by bite, and then it's gone in no time. Next is a dish with Mentaiko and cheese. Delicious. This is seared liver. This dish is personally the most delicious for me; the meat really melts in your mouth. The interior decoration and atmosphere of the restaurant are also very nice. The signature dish of this restaurant is the Shichisei Chicken(七星鶏), so I'll leave that for you to experience. The drinks are also very good. Thank you for the meal. Overall, very satisfied; I would want to visit again. After having a late-night meal, continued to stroll through the shopping street. Japanese shopping streets are so clean! In the Umeda area, there are many intersections, and the roads are not as square as in Namba. In addition, with nearby tall buildings, navigation can sometimes malfunction. So, for the first time, it might be a bit challenging to find the destination immediately. I recommend allocating some extra time for navigation when planning your itinerary. Earlier, when looking for E-ma, I took many wrong turns. Originally, I intended to walk towards East Umeda but ended up near West Umeda due to the navigation. The direction to Hankyu and Osaka Station is on the left. I firstly explore the lively area on the right. This is the Don Quijote Umeda Main Store; I'm going inside to browse. Just bought some snacks to take back to the hotel. It's getting late; it's about time to return to the hotel and rest. Satisfied after experiencing the delicious food at the izakaya (Japanese pub) (๑´ڡ`๑). The place I'm walking up to now is the Umeda New Pedestrian Bridge. The pedestrian bridge connects several buildings around Osaka Station, such as Hankyu Department Store. From the bridge, we can clearly see Osaka Station. The distinctive streamlined roof above Osaka Station is highly recognizable. I feel that the station itself can be considered a landmark. JR Osaka Station has an average daily usage of over 800,000 people, exceeding Taipei Main Station's 500,000. If considering the surrounding transfer stations (including Umeda Subway Station, Higashi-Umeda Station, Nishi-Umeda Station, Hanshin, Hankyu, JR Kitashinchi Station), the number goes up to over 2.3 million, ranking fourth in all of Japan. Next to us is Hanshin Electric Railway's Osaka Umeda Station, located underground at Hanshin Department Store. We're about to walk back to the South Gate Building. It's the building right in front. It's a model of JR Osaka Station. Now, around 12:15 AM, we're finally heading back to the hotel. Today was really fulfilling. Although we arrived in Osaka late, we still spent about three hours exploring the area around Osaka Station South Gate. After 10 PM, the places to visit in the Umeda area are mainly the Ohatsu Tenjin-dori shopping street. Restaurants on the shopping street usually stay open later. The shopping street is also a place where crowds gather at night. You can also explore nearby places like Don Quijote Umeda Main Store and convenience stores. You can find some delicious food there. The video ends with a preview of the next episode. The hotel's elevator is on the first floor, so we need to go down. The Umeda area has the highest building density in Osaka. Here, you can feel the liveliness and strong economic power of Osaka. I recommend spending some time exploring Umeda when you visit Osaka. Next, let's unbox some desserts purchased from the convenience store. You can skip to the last part with the preview of the next episode if not interested. The main ingredients are milk ice and fruits. The fruits are likely produced in Japan and are of high quality. Apart from that, the milk ice is also rich. There's a good variety of TV channels in the hotel, including news, anime, and movies. Watching TV in the hotel won't be boring. The first day in Osaka is coming to an end, and the video concludes here. Thank you for watching until the end! (There's a preview for the next episode at the end.)
