Discovering Osaka In A Day

You just arrived at the Kansai International Airport, and you have a whole day to spend in Osaka before heading to somewhere else. Where to go?

First place you should go (if you're heading anywhere that is) is the Osaka Station. There are ample lockers available for rent should you prefer to leave the heavy backpack for a less burden walking experience. 

Streets of Shinsekai

From the Osaka Station, you could visit the Shinsekai (新世界, lit New World) located in the south of Osaka (approx 23 minutes via rail).Inspired by New York City and Paris, this old neighborhood is Osaka's little haven for its culinary forte. Kushi Katsu, Fugu, and Okonomiyaki are found along the vibrant street, perfect for meal hunting. There's a zoo nearby, Tennōji zoo, but if you're under time constraint, you can opt out for this.

Aside from Shinsekai, you should also visit the Osaka castle (alight at the Osakajokoen station, minutes away walk from the castle). The most famous and iconic castle in Osaka, which also played a major role in the unification of Japan during the sixteenth century of the Azuchi-Momoyama period. Some also argued that Osaka is rightfully the capital of Japan. You can view the castle at awe or opt to enter the castle for the tour, totally optional. Don't miss the small park near the castle, had my green tea ice cream near there :D

Did a random act of kindness and helped this chick from Poland for a picture!

Towards the evening, do make your way to Dōtonbori, running alongside the Dōtonbori canal between the Dōtonboribashi and Nipponbashi Bridge, this neon lighted street is one of the many reasons why tourists flocks over to Osaka. Leading fashion names blending together with rustic restaurants, no wonder here is the place to be. Notable landmarks are the famous Glico man and Kani Doraku Crab , you just gotta take a pix with them, otherwise you're never in Dōtonbori. 

This was our one day itinerary in Osaka (which was the first day when we were there).

Naruto, Luffy or me?

Alternatively, you can opt to spend a day in Universal City Walk, which is less than 30 minutes away from Osaka Station. We made our way here on the last day after our stay in Nanten En, and before heading to the airport. Home to notable attractions such as Jump Shop (where you can get merchandises from your favorite anime such as Naruto/One Piece), Okonomiyaki Museum, Hard Rock Cafe and of course, as it name suggests, the Universal Studio Japan. We did not enter the Universal Studio Japan, since we aimed to reach the airport by 7pm (Japan time) and 4 hours and less just did not cut it for us. Recommendation, if you have enough time to spend in Universal City Walk, do go for Universal Studio Japan, and enjoy the whole day there.

Osaka In a Day shouldn't be much of a problem, but 2 days would be even more ideal if you were to cover the above (and other touristy locations which I did not cover/ did not go when I was there).

Bonus Tips : If you're a fan of Pokemon, there's a 'Pokemon Center' in Umeda, Osaka (not too far away from the Osaka Station). It has a number of plushes to purchase, but I couldn't find the Psyduck Hat that I wanted :(

Do check it out though :)

Picture courtesy of Wai Ming. 

Paranormal Activity - The Marked Ones (Movie Review)

A quick recap on the Paranormal Activity franchise :

Paranormal Activity (2007) - 'Found footage' of an unexplained haunting that happens to a young couple, Micah & Katie, encapsulating all the paranormal activities in a voyeuristic perspective (yes, bedroom scenes included) using home digital camera. 

Paranormal Activity 2 (2010) - A prequel to PA1, the 'found footage' of the unexplained (which is later explained to the audience) haunting that happened in Katie's sister, Kristi's household. PA2 further explained why the haunting happened in PA1, with special appearance by Katie.

Paranormal Activity 3 (2011) - A prequel to the prequel of PA1, the 'found footage' explained the previously unexplained incidents in PA1 & PA2, where the story delved further into the history of Katie & Kristi's haunting/demonic possessions/behavioural changes.

Paranormal Activity 4 (2012) - Finally, no more prequels, PA4 is a sequel of PA2 and focuses on Alex, who also recorded a series of paranormal activities on recorders, security cams and video cams, who happened to be a neighbor of the said missing Katie (eh, news never showed Katie's pictures on TV/newspaper ah?).

Now, our beloved franchise brings you a slight spin off of the Paranormal Activity franchise - The Marked Ones.

The 'found footage' taken in 2012, revolves around the protagonist, Jesse who unfortunately happens to stumbled across the strange phenomena known as Paranormal Activity, and yada yada suffers the same haunting. Same B-grade acting to be expected along the way, slightly clever lines that won't bore you half way throughout the movie, ridiculous video shots and angles, and one clear thing I noticed along the movie, it looks like elements from Chronicle/ Resident Evil/ Insidious are mashed up into this movie (no spoiler intended, you would have to watch/read spoiler reviews).

Same WTF moments to be expected at the end of the movie, but I personally enjoyed the show for good laugh (whether it was intentional or otherwise) & very minimal scare factors (whether it was intentional or otherwise). 

Paranormal Activity : The Marked Ones opens in cinemas nationwide on the 2nd of January, 2014.

Running Time : 84 minutes | Director : Christopher B.Landon

This premiere screening is courtesy of Nuffnang :)

Tips and Tricks : Nanten En Ryokan

If you are ever in Japan, do consider spending a night over an Edo style ryokan (旅館) for a unique Japanese home stay experience.

The one my travel mates and I chose was Nanten En, located in Amami. We slotted our ryokan stay towards the last day of our week there so that we won't be so adventurous to the Kansai International Airport. Getting there is easy, if you're from KIX, there are 4 different train routes you can take (all praises to Japanese public transportation system) that would land you to Amami station. The ryokan is just next to the train station, we arrived when it was pitch black (mind you, it was only 7pm that time, autumn in Japan has shorter daytime) and we still managed to find our way to the inn, it's that near.

We were greeted with the warmest welcome from the inn keepers and they showed us to our room after confirming our earlier reservation. If you wish to have your saiseki dinner, you would have to show up by 6pm (last call). There are no convenience stall within walking distance in Amami, so your option is pretty limited, either buy your supplies when you're in town, or enjoy the Japanese dinner in the room.

We were pretty lucky as they still take in order when we arrived. We opted for a hot pot with generous slices of pork from black pigs and fresh local vegetables to complement all the meat. The inn keeper that took our order is well versed in both Japanese and English, so not that much of language barriers to order what you want. 

The dining table was in the center of the tatami matted room, and we were first served with hot tea and welcoming sweet appetizer. The kaiseki we had also included sashimi, fresh cuts of salmon & tuna, a joy to the palate. The soup is flavoured with miso, and the broth that was infused with the goodness from the pork and vegetable has its taste still resonates on my taste bud till today (too much info?). And hot sake, perfect combination need I say?

What is a ryokan without donning the yukata? Provided for the guests, the yukata is a complimentary outfit which we wore throughout our stay there.

As the night kicks in after the awesome dinner, we couldn't go for further sight seeing as it was pitch black and freezing cold outside. Another must have experience when you're in Japan, is of course the onsen. The hot spring bath is said to be medicinal and rejuvenating, which to a certain extend I do agree after the whole day of walking, a relaxing bath is all I need. 

Nanten En's onsen is not an outdoor hot spring bath where you can bath with snow monkeys, but non the less adequate enough for the hot bath experience. Proper etiquette of onsen needed to be adhered, including showering before entering and the small towel must not immerse into the bath water. To be perfectly frank, there's no one who is watching, so even if you don't exactly follow the rules 100%, you will not be penalized (as long as you're not caught that is).

When we were done with our onsen, our room was already made with the futon for the night, the dining table miraculously disappeared and replaced with the futons. 

Breakfast

The next morning, before our breakfast, we took the opportunity for a morning onsen bath, complemented with the morning breeze, it was truly refreshing to say the least. The breakfast we ordered was a traditional Japanese breakfast with rice, fish and soup.

We then went for a shutterbug spree around before packing up to Osaka again. Nanten En is truly a home stay experience that was worth every yen spent. All in all, we paid approximately 27,000 yen (about RM250 per person - there were 4 of us, for the night) for the room and 39,000-ish yen (RM300-ish per person, party of 4) for the kaiseki , sake & the breakfast.

4 ronins

Next trip to Japan, if possible, I would want to venture into a more remote, exquisite ryokan for a different experience. But if you're in Osaka, do give Nanten En a try :)

Getting There:

Nanten-en

158 Amami, Kawachinagano-shi, Osaka, 586-0062, Japan

TEL:0721-68-8081, (International:+81-721-68-8081), FAX:0721-68-8012

Check-in 15:00p.m. , Check out 10:00a.m.

By train : Suggested routes by Google Maps. Please do your research before hand as the train map might not be that easy to read in Japan. Just saying :)