Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Japan 2014 - Day 10: Osaka - Bye Japan :(

Leaving Japan after a magical 9-day holiday in the beautiful and culturally rich country, I was depressed and the dark morning clouds on my last day of the trip made it feel as though that the country was depressed that I was leaving.

Due to Malaysian Airlines not allowing us to do mobile check-in, we had to get to the airport by 8am to check-in. With a heavy heart, we bid farewell to our Osaka host, Saito whom we bumped into on the way to the train station. Staying Nul-Live Guesthouse a.k.a Namba Guesthouse was wonderful and I will miss Saito, Hyun and of course, Hanamizu. Anyone looking for accommodation in Osaka, do consider Namba Guesthouse and can check out my review of the guesthouse here.


The evening before we had purchased our train tickets for Nankai Rap:t  train at 1100yen (I think there is a discount for tourist) for reserved seats and after locating our carriage and seats, the train began pulling away from Namba station at 730am on the dot. Punctuality was key to Japan's organized system and it showed. We arrived at the airport right on time just as the check-in counters were opened.

There was still a queue though that grew even longer behind us as it seemed that every tourists in Japan had the same issue with Malaysian Airlines' inability to let us check-in via mobile. Once we had check-in our luggages, we immediately headed to the food court for breakfast and to get my last dose of Japan Starbucks.


We spent a while exploring the shops before stumbling onto another Starbucks near the immigration section and immediately was taken in by the colourful collection of Starbucks tumblers from all over Japan there. I, um, saw nothing but tumblers and ended up buying them all much to the horror of my travel companions.

Once passed the immigration section, we stumbled across a shop settling the limited edition Sakura Macha Kit Kats and I knew I had to get it. Little did I know how close we were to missing our flight then as there was a two minutes transit train to the gate terminal and if it wasn't for the airport staff calling out for passengers on our flight and assorting several of us latecomers, we would have missed it altogether. Not that it would have been a bad thing...

Because if there was one country I would want to be stranded in, it would be Japan. Until next year, I will miss this beautiful Sakura blooming country and its lovely people.



I'll be back, Japan and like a seductive mysterious lover, I'll explore every inch of you from Osaka to Hokkaido to Tokyo to the famous cat island. Slow and steady, one visit at a time.

Also read about:
Osaka on a Budget
Kobe: Yume Nomad Guesthouse review
Kobe Day 1: Kitano Ijinkan & Harbourland 
Kobe Day 2: Rokkosan Pasture, Mount Rokko & Sannomiya
Kyoto: Hana Hostel Hybrid Inn review 
Kyoto Day 3:Fushimi Inari Shrine
Kyoto Day 4: Imperial Palace, Kitano Shrine, Kinkaku-ji & Gion
Kyoto Day 5: Arashiyama & Cat Cafe Nekokaigi
Osaka: Namba guesthouse (NUL-Live.com House), Osaka Review
Osaka Day 6: Nara & Dotonbori 
The Artistic Manhole Covers of Japan
Osaka Day 7:  Pokemon Center & Cherry Blossoms, Osaka Castle Park
The Flavours of Haagen Dazs Japan  
Osaka Day 8: Tsutenkaku Tower, Den Den Town & Umeda Floating Garden Observatory 
Osaka Day 9:  Ramen Museum, Kyoto Hanami & Kiyomizudera Night Illumination
Osaka Day 10: Bye Japan :(
Kobe, Kyoto, Nara & Osaka Itinerary (10-days) 

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