Planes, Thrills and Meals: SQ to Kansai, Osaka , Kyoto and Universal Studios Japan

[phaleesy]

I'm actually quite a sucker for scenery and views...even if there is nothing up there to appreciate apart from views of Osaka, it would be worth it for me...

Much nicer sitting in the ferris wheel at the Osaka aquarium.

[jhm]

Much nicer sitting in the ferris wheel at the Osaka aquarium.

Or head for Kobe and it's "ten million dollar" (so they say) night view of Kobe and Osaka Bay - one of the top three (apparently) in Japan (along with those in Hakodate and Nagasaki).

http://en.rocketnews24.com/2015/10/3...s-behind-them/

Three Major Night Views of Japan (Nihon Sandai Yakei)

Then there’s the Three Major Night Views of Japan, which will be touted on any of these city’s websites. These are all called “Ten Million Dollar Views,” although I’d think one million would have done the trick.

[yflyer]

Thanks for another gorgeous report, yflyer.

Many friends and relatives appear to have scooted off to Osaka and Kyoto for their Christmas and New Year break this year, instead of the usual Tokyo and Hokkaido. Your report came just at the right time, and has helped me decide my next vacation spot!

This is my first time seeing a north bound flight making such a sharp turn east immediately after take-off from Changi. Any idea if it was to avoid Malaysian airspace or were there other reasons?

I've never stayed in a Japanese style room before, but have seen plenty of them on "Japan Hour" over the years. Was there a cap on the number of occupants in each room? And was payment according to the number of pax or per room?

Would you say that Osaka is significantly cheaper to stay in than Tokyo?

Thanks, icn.sg!

It did seem as well to me that quite a few friends were also heading to Osaka / Kyoto this year, and not just Tokyo, although many did also include Tokyo in their itineraries.

For the Japanese style hotels such as Hotel Ichiei in Osaka, they were mainly charged per person, although I believe the AirBnB places and the Machiya could have been by the room. [Update: Mrs yflyer has confirmed that the Machiya was also by person i.e. the rate to rent the Machiya was for two adults. We had to pay an additional charge per day for each child. The AirBnB apartment in Dotonburi was by room.]

Not sure about the cost difference between Tokyo and Osaka...maybe some of the other folks here who travel to Japan often can comment. All I can say is that taxis in Japan are quite expensive, and we mostly walked or took the subway. Street eats are quite reasonably priced, though, and there is a lot of convenience food (and ramen!) available at decent prices.

Also no idea why the plane took the route that it did when it took off, though I am pretty sure it is not to avoid Malaysian airspace, since commercial aircraft routinely fly over Malaysian airspace when taking off or landing from Changi.

[yflyer]

Much nicer sitting in the ferris wheel at the Osaka aquarium.

Lots of Ferris wheels in Osaka, one downtown near Umeda, another near the aquarium, and another in Rinku Town near the airport. We only rode the one in Rinku Town. I like the old style Ferris wheels better than the modern ones like the Singapore Flyer or London Eye. The old ones feel much more fragile, and sway a lot more.

Or head for Kobe and it's "ten million dollar" (so they say) night view of Kobe and Osaka Bay - one of the top three (apparently) in Japan (along with those in Hakodate and Nagasaki).

http://en.rocketnews24.com/2015/10/3...s-behind-them/

Thanks for the link, jhm! Quite amazing. Especially the upside down one...

[HUGE AL]

Much nicer sitting in the ferris wheel at the Osaka aquarium.

Or head for Kobe and it's "ten million dollar" (so they say) night view of Kobe and Osaka Bay - one of the top three (apparently) in Japan (along with those in Hakodate and Nagasaki).

http://en.rocketnews24.com/2015/10/3...s-behind-them/

As supported by the peanut gallery! I'm telling you, skip that ride up…or take it and tell us how right we all were. LOL

[SQueeze]

These SQ Y meals (esp Jap ones) to and from Japan in this report and the other one look really really good. I wonder what the competitors (NH and JL) are doing in theirs.

[9V-SIA]

Great TR! Thanks for sharing

Love KIX as my gateway to Japan

Having said that, my last few trips have been to NRT & the easy connection on N'Ex to Tokyo Station

That said, I'll be flying to KIX for Easter & will try some of the restaurants you've reviewed ( can't do futon though!)

[Durian]

Thanks for the TR and fantastic pics !
1st reading was "just" for enjoyment. 2nd reading was copy-paste of some locations/restaurants you mentioned into the notepad for our Feb "special" trip to the Nagoya region
I might end up packing my running shoes, as these cities seem really geometrical and easy to navigate.

[yflyer]

These SQ Y meals (esp Jap ones) to and from Japan in this report and the other one look really really good. I wonder what the competitors (NH and JL) are doing in theirs.

Hi SQueeze! I have always found the SQ Y meals to/from Japan to be great! Not sure why cold soba as a 2nd starter tastes so good inflight, but I have always enjoyed it, in addition to the Japanese mains.

For JL, I have flown them on red-eyes and have not been too impressed with their breakfast selections on either SIN-HND or HND-SIN flights (I've had congee on one flight, and clam chowder on another, although they were ok. That said, the Y dinner on JL001 SFO-HND was superb.

I've not tried ANA yet, and will probably not do so until the next KF qualification year, and since I've already qualified for KF Gold, the rest of my year is on Oneworld carriers...

[yflyer]

Great TR! Thanks for sharing

Love KIX as my gateway to Japan

Having said that, my last few trips have been to NRT & the easy connection on N'Ex to Tokyo Station

That said, I'll be flying to KIX for Easter & will try some of the restaurants you've reviewed ( can't do futon though!)

Thanks, 9V-SIA!

Enjoy Osaka during Easter!

[yflyer]

Thanks for the TR and fantastic pics !
1st reading was "just" for enjoyment. 2nd reading was copy-paste of some locations/restaurants you mentioned into the notepad for our Feb "special" trip to the Nagoya region
I might end up packing my running shoes, as these cities seem really geometrical and easy to navigate.

Thanks, Durian!

"Special" trip...those types of trips are always nice!

I have a pair of running shoes permanently packed in my luggage...try to take them out at least once for each trip I make, ideally more than once if my evenings are free. I have had ony good experiences running in Japan, either along the streets or in the parks.

HUGE AL: Whoopsss...forgot to use the multiquote feature again...old habits die hard....

[Durian]

From Osaka, we took a train to Kyoto, a place of scenic beauty, steeped in history and tradition. We spent four days in Kyoto, and by the end of it we were all seduced and charmed by everything Kyoto had to offer.

Kyoto Station is only a 30 minute train journey from Osaka Station by the special rapid express train. The express trains between Osaka and Kyoto are inexpensive and run frequently. The local trains take much longer as they stop frequently.







I used Google Maps extensively to get from place to place in Japan. Google Maps does an excellent job of suggesting your route across walking, subway, and the excellent Japan Rail Network.

This example shows how Google Maps suggested a route from our hotel near Namba Station all the way to our accomodations in Kyoto, using subway and railway.



I can recommend Google Maps as a primary tool to get around, as long as you have a cost effective wifi internet connection (If using your mobile phone as a hotspot, it is critical to sign up for a low cost daily mobile data roaming plan, or even buy a separate local SIM card, since the last thing you want to do is incur prohibitive data roaming charges on your phone. Another option is to get a portable wifi router, which you can rent from Singapore or obtain in Japan).

For the internet connectivity, what solution did you use in the end ? There are SIM-rental booth at NRT arrival but never looked at the prices... Thanks !

[CarbonMan]

For the internet connectivity, what solution did you use in the end ? There are SIM-rental booth at NRT arrival but never looked at the prices... Thanks !

In my recent trip I used this vendor for 12 days in the big cities as well as small towns like Shiragawa-go and I had connectivity throughout. The neat thing was that they would mail to my hotel in Tokyo (I didn't have to wait for the shop to open at the airport) and I could return it by popping it into a pre-paid mail envelope when I left in Osaka. I took up the Premium Wifi option and it allowed me and my wife to share it on our iPhones and iPads at decent speeds. Very useful when on the move.

[Durian]

In my recent trip I used this vendor for 12 days in the big cities as well as small towns like Shiragawa-go and I had connectivity throughout. The neat thing was that they would mail to my hotel in Tokyo (I didn't have to wait for the shop to open at the airport) and I could return it by popping it into a pre-paid mail envelope when I left in Osaka. I took up the Premium Wifi option and it allowed me and my wife to share it on our iPhones and iPads at decent speeds. Very useful when on the move.

Wow, thanks CarbonMan
For a 15 days rental of the Super Premium device, it turns out to be JPY 16,000 only, which is negligible 1) in the grand scheme of the total cost of a 2-week trip to Japan 2) compared to roaming charges... Even cheaper than Starhub $18/day unlimited data...

[SQ218]

In my recent trip I used [URL="http://www.globaladvancedcomm.com/pocketwifi.html"]this vendor

Thanks CarbonMan. Another vendor I might look to try on my next trip. I used Japan Wireless on my last trip.