7th June, 2018

Osaka is just gorgeous and so different to Tokyo. We really enjoyed our few days here.

The city is surrounded by a moat which is just so lovely in the evening, when everything is lit up in vibrant neon colours.

It doesn’t matter if it’s a Monday night or a Saturday night, there’s always people out and about enjoying the street food, or a boat cruise down the canal.
If you’re lucky, you may even spot some tourists enjoying the Mario Cart driving tours around the city.

Getting around is easy. Trains and the Subway line are always on time, inexpensive and simple to use once you get the hang of it.

There are so many restaurants around, just be aware that some still allow smoking inside, so finding a non-smoking one can be a challenge sometimes. This is the case in Tokyo and Kyoto as well.

Downtown Dontonbori

Osaka’s iconic crab restaurant – Kani Doraku

We found the most delicious restaurant in downtown Dontonbori for gyoza and Japanese fried chicken. We loved it so much, we went back a second time and ordered the exact same thing!
If you ever make it to Osaka, you must head to Gyozaoh! for a meal and try their sake too!

I got pretty sick for a few days during our time in Osaka. A visit to a Japanese Doctor who didn’t speak a word of English, and had to explain that I had Acute Bronchitis by pointing in his medical dictionaries was quite an experience.
He prescribed me a concoction of drugs and with a few days of bed rest, I was good to go.

I did miss out on a couple of days of exploring with Andrew and the kids though.
He got out and about and took them to see the beautiful Osaka Castle. They wandered the grounds and really enjoyed the gardens. Fortunately they had a perfect day, weather wise too.

Osaka was where we started and finished our trip to Japan.

When we first arrived, we had 10 days booked and planned. Osaka-Kyoto-Tokyo.
We loved Japan SO much, we just had to extend our stay and after Tokyo, we went back to Kyoto and also Osaka again.

Japan will always have a very special piece of our hearts.
We were fully immersed from the get go. We loved every single thing about this beautiful country.
Everything is so well organised, people obey rules and are so polite. I couldn’t fault a thing, and we will definitely go back some day very soon.

For now, it is Sayōnara from the Travelling Tribe, and thanks for the memories.

See you again.
xx

You can check out our awesome day at Universal Studios Osaka here
Tokyo here and Kyoto here x