Osaka: Before You Go

Airline

If you are flying from KL like us, you can fly either MAS or AirAsia. I chose to fly MAS because the fare was reasonable and besides, I could redeem my Enrich points for el niño’s ticket. You still need to pay the airport taxes though and Kansai’s tax is high because the departure tax is incorporated in the ticket.

Accommodation

I wouldn’t have minded staying at a capsule hotel but the ones I found online at first were only for males. Anyway, I reckoned it’d be awkward performing prayers if we stayed at a capsule hotel - I don’t like people staring at me when I perform prayers - not to mention that we’d definitely be staying at different levels (if there’s one for females). Not so convenient when I needed to coordinate times when el niño. So capsule hotel is out.

When I did my search, I noticed that there were less hotel rooms available by the day (it was apparently peak season). Oh, there were hotel rooms but it became necessary to focus on the possible areas to stay in. So I took out the Osaka map I picked at the previous MATTA Fair and decided the area around Osaka station looked central enough. I didn’t fancy spending too much time commuting which you would need to do if you stay at the outskirts of the city. And being the third largest city in Japan, there would be a lot of commuters meaning fuller trains and greater chance of losing el niño in the stations. A further quick search revealed that Osaka station is adjacent to Umeda station, itself a major transportation hub. OK, so Kita area it was then (the area around Osaka or Umeda stations).

Next, I looked for hotels in Kita area which provide WiFi. Most hotels provide wired Internet but I wanted WiFi. Most hotels provide breakfast at an additional cost but breakfast didn’t matter to me, not when we couldn’t eat most of what would be served anyway. So, after all these considerations, I finally booked Osaka Tokyu Inn. I was slightly discouraged by the comments given (most comments are about how small the rooms are) but as it turned out, we were extremely satisfied with the hotel. Our room was comfortably large enough for both of us and the bathroom, while compact, didn’t cause us to knock ourselves against the walls. I brought a small suitcase anyway but as it turned out, a large suitcase wouldn’t have had taken too much extra space or caused us discomfort over the space it took.

Here are some links to budget accommodation in Osaka: Osaka hostel guesthouse and Ten Hostel Osaka in Kita-ku, Osaka Guesthouse Koma and capsule hotel Asahi Plaza Shinsaibashi.

Food

Now, in Japan, it’s not easy to find restaurants that serve food that you can consider halal or kosher. I think it’s even more difficult to be a vegetarian there. You can’t simply eat ramen or udon or soba at your fancy because it may be served in meat broth or even tonkotsu (pork broth). There are some Indian restaurants but they are few and far between and you may not necessarily be able to find them when you need them. And while there are some vegetarian restaurants, again, they are few and far between and may not be available when you need them.

So, if you are on some dietary restrictions (halal or kosher or vegetarian), what you can do is go to the many convenience stores and buy your food there. And there are plenty of those convenience stores: Sunkus, FamilyMart, 7-11, Lawson, Daily Yamazaki, etc. You can buy salad, packed bento, onigiri (these may not necessarily be vegetarian as most contain seafood), or even instant noodles and you can ask at the counter for hot water for your instant noodle or microwave to heat up your food. Convenience stores in Japan provide an affordable economical, tasty and sensible alternatives even if you are not on a budget (though in Japan, of course you would inevitably be as most things are prohibitively priced!).

I also brought over a large loaf of bread, a smaller loaf of Gardenia butterscotch bread, some instant noodles, instant porridge, instant soup and even fruits. I also packed canned tuna and anchovies but we ran out of bread by the third day and the bread loaves they sell there come in very thick slices. One slice of their bread is as thick as two slices of ours. So any one loaf contains anywhere between three to five or six slices only. And the slices are too thick for sandwich.

There are the usual Western fast food restaurants like McDonald’s of course (I didn’t notice Burger King but then again, I wasn’t looking for it) but I don’t eat McDonald's and I certainly didn’t travel to Osaka only to break my vow not to eat McDonald’s ever again.

Visa Application

Japan has imposed strict visa requirement since my last trip there and it has been in place for some years now. In addition to filling in the visa form and providing the obligatory photograph, you need to furnish a few other documents, including a letter from your bank certifying your bank account balances (to vouch for your creditworthiness and that you have sufficient money for your stay there), a letter from your employer on your company’s letterhead certifying you're an employee of good standing, a schedule of your itinerary there, and for me, because I would be travelling with my nephew, birth certificates of myself, my sister and himself to certify that he is indeed my nephew. Yes, birth certificates and not identity cards. I called the embassy a few times to confirm this and each time, I was given the same answer. For more information, check this site. You can also download the visa application and itinerary forms there.

Itinerary

As I needed to provide an itinerary for my visa application, I had to make a quick research on the places to go. I couldn’t find any travel book on Osaka at Kinokuniya (plenty on Kyoto) but there are a few sites (besides Wikitravel). I also found out about the 2-day Osaka unlimited ticket and the free entry and discounts it provide which gave me an idea of places to go.

I also found that I could make trips to Kyoto and Kobe. I looked at the bus options then the train options before I found that Hankyu Railway provides a 2-day tourist pass (and you don’t have to travel on consecutive days) at a reasonable price.

Money Matters

I changed money after budgeting for the 2-day unlimited passes, the Hankyu train fares, the limousine bus fares from the airport to the city and back, the Universal Studios tickets and meals for both of us. The exchange rate then was RM3.75 for every ¥100. I used my card to pay for our hotel stay and was delighted to find that despite using my card, the exchange was favourable, at RM3.68 for ¥100. (Note: the Japanese Yen has further depreciated since and it is now about RM3.40 for ¥100).

Others

As for other trips, I went after printing maps of the area around the hotel, finding out prayer times and nearby vegetarian restaurants (we didn’t go to any in the end), vitamin pills (including Panadol soluble for el niño - because he has difficulty swallowing pills), airport limo bus times and like I mentioned before, some food. 

I hope the above has been helpful if you’re planning a trip to Osaka specifically or another destination in Japan.

Land Of The Rising Sun: Quirky Japanese

I had been to Tokyo twice before my Osaka trip and this recent trip reinforced what I had observed before:

- A very polite society. No one raises their voice and you won’t find anyone on the train talking on their hand-phones. If they do, they usually cover the mouthpiece so as not to disturb other passengers. Japanese are uncomfortable about making others uncomfortable. No one shouts. You get large crowds at attractions like Universal Studios Japan and the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Kyoto for instance but everyone queues and moves in an orderly manner. No pushing, no shoving, no queue jumping. No kids running everywhere and no parents letting their kids running everywhere they like terrorising the place down. I really wish more parents and children here are as well-behaved.

- A very clean country. No one litters. No one.

- Fascination with the cute and cuddly. Kawaii dominates the culture big time. I love it! Every girl would have a dangling bag or phone charm.

- Plastic bags are still widely in use everywhere. So much so I got the confused look when I declined them at supermarkets and convenience stores. They do recycle rigorously though. When Akak was there, she told us of the different rubbish collecting days: one day, it would be only organic waste; another it would be inorganic waste. You would have to sort out your waste accordingly.

- Creative people. Too creative at times (and no, this is not a criticism!) that they seem to be quirky. They are the ones who came up with robots. They excel at food decorating and arrangement, bonsai trees, fantastic and soothing landscapes, etc. They are also good at utilising space and inventing things to make life easier. However, I observed a lot of them still use flip phones.

- You can find squat toilets besides sit-down toilets in some bathrooms. Most sit-down toilets have integrated bidet and even warm seats. When you sit down, you can hear the sound of water flowing or you can hit the music button and some sound will come out to drown out your own sound. Ladies’ cubicles in some departmental store washrooms have a child seat in them. How thoughtful, eh! They are not big on hand towels though and some bathrooms don’t have hand dryer either.

- They like to drink cold water with their meals even in winter. I can hardly swallow it in summer (I don’t drink cold or iced water), what more in winter.

- They are big on meat. You have to be careful when you eat because some noodle dishes may be served in pork broth.

- Oh and vending machines are a ubiquitous sight everywhere. They even got me to thinking about the products sold: how do the companies know when to re-stock and how do they ensure products sold are still within their best consume-by dates.

I love the beautiful country and how the smart Japanese marry the traditional with the modern. Realistically though, I don’t think I will be back. I would love to but I don’t see that happening any time soon.

Land Of The Rising Sun: Part IV

Tuesday, 25 December 2012

We started off late today and left after 9 am. Again, we took the Whity Shopping Town underground route to Hankyu train station where we boarded the train for Kobe.

Now, Kobe has been designated as a UNESCO City of Design. It has flourished as a seaport and has continually embraced foreign culture since long ago. We got down at Sannomiya Station and (after searching for it for 15 minutes) sought directions from the information office at the JR station. We bought a day-pass for the City Loop Bus and took it to Kitano Ijinkan-dori where a large number of Western houses are located, among others the Moegi House, Weathercock House, the Wien Austrian House, the Denmark House and Rhine House. There is also a tourist information office in Kitano. We spent close to two hours here. It’s a charming area and there were some nice souvenirs shops too. We certainly couldn’t find any in Osaka, or Kyoto for that matter (but then again, we were not particularly looking for souvenirs as my priority was to cover the heritage sites).

Then we took the City Loop bus to Nakkatottei Pier for the Kobe Port Tower. We didn’t spend a long time there and hopped on the next bus to Nankinmachi or Chinatown. It was lunchtime and there were a lot of people there. While the food prices were reasonable, it wasn’t anything we could confidently partake so we went back to the stop and back to the information office at the station to ask for direction to the Kobe Mosque.

We found the mosque and performed prayers there. A nearby halal restaurant was closed (it was in between lunch and dinner time) and would reopen for dinner only at 5:30 pm so we left after buying some food at FamilyMart. We took the bus back to Sannomiya Station and went to Sogo and Marui before taking the train back to Osaka.

This was our last night in Osaka (and I still hadn’t bought any souvenirs, not even for myself!) but tried as we did, we couldn’t find much. We went to Isetan to check out the food hall - even met the chap who spoke good English; he was leaving as he was done with his shift for the day - but left empty-handed. I know there are a few departmental stores in Tokyo which do sell souvenirs but apparently they don’t in Osaka.

We walked back to the shopping arcade near our hotel and had our dinner in a restaurant which served seafood. No one spoke much English (one guy gestured to us to order using the touchpad at our table but we wouldn’t have known how to operate it and the menus shown when we don’t speak Japanese) so we pointed at pictures of fish and chips on the menu instead. Oh, and dinner at restaurants attract 5% tax. Thank God tipping is a foreign concept there (and it should not be encouraged in Malaysia either).

Back to the hotel to pack... How time flew!

Wednesday, 26 December 2012

We left at a quarter to 8 (wanted to leave earlier but I’d told el niño that the 08:20 airport limousine bus was the last possible one we must catch for our 11 am flight). Bought single child ticket for him (¥750) and boarded the bus promptly at 08:18. We reached Kansai International Airport at 09:15 and went to drop our bags. It was a good thing Akak had helped to check us in online so we didn’t have to join the long queue and got assigned good seats.

Thankfully there were a few stores that sell souvenirs at pretty reasonable prices at the airport and that was where I bought my souvenirs (only managed to find myself one fridge magnet!) and even then, I’m sure I didn’t buy enough. Oh well...

We rode the train to our gate and boarded our plane. The plane took off on time and I managed to watch two in-flight movies and read a bit before we landed.

We performed prayers and good thing too as the bags were still nowhere on the conveyor belt when we were done. We took the KLIA Transit as I had to drop off el niño at Putrajaya station.

As I’ve told el niño, I’m not sure when our next trip together would be. It gets harder when they grow up. The only time we could travel together would be on school holidays and for me, that means either November or December only. And slowly and surely, they start growing out of the child category too...

I still have my other niece I suppose. Whether she will prove to be a good travelling partner remains to be seen...

Hope you all had a good end-of-year break too!

Land Of The Rising Sun: Part III

Monday, 24 December 2012

Today was the day we planned to go to Universal Studios Japan and we woke up early. I had checked the opening times: it would operate from 9 am to 9 pm tonight. We left just after 8 and took the Whity Shopping Town underground route to JR Osaka station. We bought tickets at the machine (if you go to Universal Studios Japan and take the train there, do buy tickets for the return journey too. It’s simple as it’s already stated at the machine that the fare from Osaka station to Universal City is ¥170 per person so you can just buy multiples of ¥170 tickets).

We took the Osaka loop line to Nishikujo and changed for the train to Universal City. The train was already waiting for us on the other platform so we just crossed over and boarded it (a bit like at Chan Sow Lin station here). There were hundreds of others also waiting to descend upon the theme park (and I was kind of hoping the crowd would be smaller on a weekday).

We emerged out into a very, very windy morning - no surprise as the theme park is by the bay – so strong that I wondered how we were going to survive any rides in those blustery wind conditions.

Somehow, despite the gale, we made it to the ticket counters and bought our tickets. It costs ¥6400 for everyone above 12 but we could use a coupon from our 2-day unlimited pass (one of those few coupons that we could use after the 2-day had passed) for ¥200 discount. Better than nothing, folks, better than nothing.

We went in and walked through Hollywood to the Space Fantasy ride. We had to deposit our bags into lockers before going on the Space Mountain ride. The locker was too small for our stuff so we had to take two lockers. You have to deposit ¥100 to lock your locker but you get your coin back when you open your locker. We joined the queue - such an orderly queue! No pushing, no queue-jumping! - to board. I enjoyed it but el niño had a headache from the ride. Plus, the ride was in the dark.

Next, we headed to New York for the Amazing Adventures of Spiderman ride. El niño loves Spiderman and I told him I rode the ride twice in Orlando. Again, we joined the queue. Different queue, different people, but a similar disciplined orderly queue. It was a long queue but the ride was sure worth it.

After that, we headed for San Francisco where we rode the Back to the Future ride and then the Backdraft experience where they showed you how special effects of a movie are done. Next was the Jurassic Park ride - had to don ponchos for the ride. Good thing I brought raincoat from KL. El niño had to buy one for ¥400. Even the seats were wet so I was glad to don my raincoat. Next, we rode the Jaws boat at Amity Village before heading to the Waterworld for the 12 noon show.

After the Waterworld show (it’s called Miami Vice at the Universal Studios Florida), we sauntered over to Universal Wonderland where Sesame Street Fun World, Hello Kitty Fashion Avenue and Snoopy Studios are. I wanted to check out Hello Kitty while el niño wanted to check out Snoopy Studios (we did both, me dragging him to meet Hello Kitty!). We had lunch first at Snoopy’s Backlot Cafe - fish burger meal with fish filets, some fries and a soft drink thrown in. It cost a hefty ¥1150 each.

El niño wanted to ride the Big Bird’s Big Top Circus (merry-go-round) so I told him to go alone while I waited. We then checked out Hello Kitty then we went on the plume ride at Peppermint Patty’s Stunt Slide. I had thought we’d get wet all over again and while the canoe was wet, it wasn’t too bad (also because we had donned on our ponchos again). In fact it was quite good that we immediately queued up for it again! It was a longer queue this time.

After that, we rode the Snoopy’s Great Race roller coaster. A pretty mild one because we wanted to test if we would proceed on to The Ride but poor el niño had another of his dizzy spells so no, we didn’t go on Hollywood Dream: The Ride at all.

It was getting dark by then and some of the polite crowd had started their vigil for the evening show. We decided to go check out Terminator 3D (long queue), then Shrek 4D (a longer queue) and then we went back to Spiderman (a much longer queue). The evening show had started when we exited Spiderman but it wasn't a parade or anything so we didn’t join the crowd.

We had to wear 3D glasses for both Terminator 3D and Shrek 4D shows

We had checked some of the stores in between but most things didn’t quite tempt us so we went back to Hollywood to check the Universal Studios Store. There were just too many people and again, I was at a loss of what to buy. No t-shirts (because it was winter) and besides, the more affordable things are hankies and magnets and even those didn’t come cheap.

We had earlier wanted to stay until closing time but as we had done and watched and rode pretty much most of it, we decided to leave. It was not yet 7 pm when we left and after waiting for the train, changing trains and journey time, we reached Osaka station before 8.

We ventured to Isetan Mitsukoshi and bought our dinner from the food hall there. One chap there spoke good English and he helped us with our purchases. Then of course el niño wanted to check out the toy department so we rushed there (because they were closing at 8:30 pm) before rushing out when Isetan closed.

It had been a full day so after checking out Hankyu and then Hanshin departmental stores at Umeda, we headed back to our hotel.

To be continued

Shaken And Stirred But Not Scared Shitless

I was clearing the dried leaves outside our gate yesterday morning, a normal Saturday evening or Sunday morning task. It was a bright sunny morning, even at 8. I was aware of a young man walking down and then I noticed that he turned and retraced his steps. I was squatting down and concentrating on my task but not totally absorbed that I was unaware. Then I heard a motorbike passed me. It turned and the sound kept lingering. I was beginning to feel suspicious: why did the motorbike still sound so close? Why hadn’t he driven off yet? Was the rider lost? Or, were they planning to do some hanky-panky on me??

Before I could turn, I felt myself being attacked from behind. I still have a shiver running down my spine whenever I think of it. I struggled and I shouted obscenities at my attacker and I fought to free myself. He had his hands around my neck. I fell on my side to the road and scraped my left elbow and knee. I continued shouting. They certainly picked their time well. The whole area was deserted and devoid of people.

Then suddenly my attacker jumped on the motorbike and they drove off. I could see him from behind (I didn’t really notice the one who drove it). He had a slight built – like a woman’s and has short hair. I ran after them and noted the registration number: CAN2270. Then I ran back inside crying out for my dad hysterically.

As it turned out, they didn’t get my necklaces. They got about 3 inches off my tennis necklace (I found out when I sent my necklace for repair) but both necklaces broke and they slipped down my t-shirt. And they stayed there somehow throughout my run into the garden through the kitchen and into the living area.

We went to lodge a police report and the sergeant who then took my statement said I did the right thing even though my attackers didn’t succeed in their attempt. He said in any snatch theft incidents, the victims always get injured or hurt and as such, he viewed snatch theft seriously. He pointed out that even though the thugs weren’t successful with me, they might have vented their frustration elsewhere on another victim. The police did a search and the motorbike, though bearing a Pahang number, belonged to an Indian man in Ipoh. I told them I was very sure the attackers were young Malay men, probably in their late-teens (or perhaps still in school?) or early twenties. Damn you both to hell and back.

So girls, remember, always be aware of your surroundings. Be alert on suspicious characters. Make a note of as much as what you can see as possible. Equip yourself (although in my defence, I was clearing the bloody leaves blowing from my neighbour’s tree so no, I wasn’t equipped then). And even though you may think it’s pointless, make a police report because it will help the police to know the frequently-attacked areas, the statistics, the peak hour of attack, etc etc.

This is what happens when we not only refuse to implement God’s law but even mock them. Hudud is only applicable to Muslims so non-Muslims should not be worried. Facts must be established first before punishment can be meted out. God is not cruel. It’s men, who are tasked to protect the women, who are cruel. For why else would they attack the weaker sex without regard, thought and remorse?

I kept hearing things throughout yesterday. Sounds that didn’t seem to belong either in or outside the house. And I hate being made to feel angry about being physically weaker. Had I been stronger, I would have attacked them back. Had I been more quick-thinking, I would have thrown something at them to deter their progress or even hurt them.

But I am thankful. Thankful that God still loves and protects me. That the thugs didn’t have their helmets with them or if they did, they didn’t use it to hit me. That they didn’t come armed with knives or parang to hold against my neck or to stab me with. That they didn’t have chloroform-soaked rag to render me unconscious. That they didn’t strangle me half to death. And I’m glad I wore gloves that helped conceal my wrists or they probably would have tried to get my bracelets and bangles too.

And don’t tell me women now have to stop wearing jewellery, that we must stop toting our handbags and that we should live in fear of being a victim. We should not let them rule our lives because our lives are not determined by them. I still feel angry, I still feel somewhat spooked but I refuse to be scared. In fact, I can’t seem to stop fantasising of how I could exact my revenge on them. I’d hit them with a stick or throw something at them that would hurt them, make them lose their balance and fell on the road. Let them see how fun that is when the table is turned.

Land Of The Rising Sun: Part II

Saturday, 22 December 2012

It was an overcast grey gloomy start to the day. Today, we planned to go other attractions in Osaka as the 2-day unlimited pass must be used on consecutive days. We left at 9 and walked to Umeda station to get the subway to Osakako, changing trains from Midosuji Line to Chuo Line at Honmachi station. This area is by the bay and is known as Tempozan.

We decided to ride the Tempozan Giant Ferris Wheel first, one of the world’s largest ferris wheel. It provides you with a bird's eye view of the bay, port and the city beyond. You can even catch a glimpse of the Universal Studio Japan from your ride. The highest point is at 112.5 metres above the ground.

After that, we went to Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan. The 2-day Osaka unlimited pass didn’t provide a free entry, merely an entry discount so I redeemed my coupon and bought a child ticket (redeeming both of our coupons and buying two adults tickets would have cost an additional ¥1000 because the discount wasn’t significant and anyway, a child ticket costs a lot less. We spent close to 1.5 hours in there.

After Kaiyukan, we walked to the nearby pier to board the Santa Maria cruise ship, named after the ship sailed by Columbus when he reached the New Continent, around the bay. The cruise lasted close to an hour and we performed prayers on board.

Next we rode the subway to Tenjimbashi-suji Shopping Street, which at 2.6 km long, is the longest shopping street in Japan. The things sold here are mainly goods the locals may find useful: winter clothes and grocery and supermarket goods, and not something tourists would actually buy. We had a late lunch at a restaurant after determining the noodles and ramen aren’t served in pork broth.

We studied our maps during our meal and decided to ride the subway to Matsuyamashi. Here, you can find many shops selling Japanese Hina dolls. Alas, they are very, very pricey - just like most everything else!

I had tired of subway by then - even in London, I try to ride the bus as much as I can instead of the tube - and persuaded my nephew to walk instead to Shinsaibashi. It took us all of ten minutes of a pleasant walk. I just followed road directions to the area. I’m sure it would take longer by subway: going down the stairs to the platform, waiting for the train, train ride and walking out of the subway. Shinsaibashi is a main shopping area in Osaka with many luxury boutiques, high-end departmental stores and high street shops. We didn’t stay there long though and before long, left for Umeda. El niño wanted to buy some toys so we searched for Kiddy Land at Hankyu Sanbangai Building.

We then went to ride the HEP FIVE Ferris Wheel before returning back to our room. I had to rely on tweets to find out the score of our match away at Wigan.

Sunday, 23 December 2012

We woke up early today and left by 7:15. I decided to take the underground route from Whity Shopping Town (or Whity Umeda) to get to Umeda station for the Hankyu train. We arrived in time to board the rapid express train to Kyoto Kawaramachi station. My brother-in-law’s friend, Toshi Hirose, was already waiting for us at the East Gate. He drove for two hours from his residence in Ise to meet us in Kyoto.

We exited the station and walked to a street where we took a cab to Kiyomizu-dera temple, an old but well-preserved temple by the hill. There are shops lining up the street leading to the temple and I noticed some of them sold the local delicacy. We left after close to an hour.

Now, as the previous capital of Japan, Kyoto is home to dozens of temples. Not surprisingly, it also has a high concentration of the country’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites and indeed some of the temples are world heritage sites themselves. We had planned to visit some of these sites. I had told Toshi my preferences and that it’s OK if we didn't go to all temples because I’m sure after a certain number, I’d be templed out.

We left Kiyomizu-dera temple and walked down the hill to a bus stop from where we took a bus to Ginkaku-ji temple, a Zen temple established in 1482 by Ashikaga Yoshimasa, the eighth Muromachi Shogunate. You can buy a Kyoto day-pass and ride buses and subways to the heritage sites. Most of them are scattered across the city: north, east, west, central and most are too far away from each other to walk. Toshi had bought us the day-pass - he also paid for entrance to all the temples we visited today and our lunch and refused my money. That’s Japanese hospitality for you. As hosts, they would be offended if you try to pay them back. We reached Ginkaku-ji after 20 minutes.

Next, we took another bus to Kinkaku-ji temple (The Golden Pavilion), a Buddhist hall containing relics of Buddha. It is part of a temple formally named Rokuon-ji Temple although it is commonly called Kinkaku-ji. It was registered as a World Cultural Heritage Site in 1994.

After Kinkaku-ji, we decided to stop for lunch first before resuming so we walked to a compact restaurant. As it could only seat a certain number of patrons, we had to wait outside before being called in. You have to write your name in a book by the door. I do wonder how a gaijin like me who is Japanese illiterate would know that is the procedure.

There were a few tables and chairs in the restaurant. Most diners would have to take off their shoes and sit down on tatami mats which were what we did. The menu was in Japanese so again, I thought, if I was travelling alone, how would I know the seating procedure for this restaurant, how would I know I have to put my name down to be seated, and how would I understand the menu? I don’t think the ladies who cooked and served us speak much English if at all.

After lunch, we waited for the bus to Ryoan-ji temple. This temple is originally a country house of the Tokudaiji Clan. It was acquired in 1450 by Hosokawa Katsumoto for use as a Zen training temple. Destroyed by fire during the Onin War, it was rebuilt in 1499. It was registered as a World Heritage Site in 1994. It features a rectangular Zen rock garden of 15 stones and white gravel. We had to take off our shoes and don house slippers to walk in the temple.

Next, we walked about ten minutes down the road to Ninna-ji temple. This temple was founded by the 59th emperor, Uda, in the fourth year of Ninna (888). It was formerly called the Old Imperial Palace of Omuro as it served as a residence for the ex-emperor. It was designated as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site in 1994. We had to take off our shoes and walk in our socks around the hall.

After Ninna-ji, we walked to a car-park where Toshi parked his car. He wanted to bring us to Toji castle but it was already closing when we reached it at 4:01 pm. I only realised then that some places do close early during winter. I then suggested for Toshi to drop us at Hankyu Kawaramachi station. He had earlier told us he needed to leave by 5 pm as he had to drive back to Ise and work the next day. Japanese don’t celebrate Christmas - oh, you will see Christmas decoration everywhere but it’s just for commercial reasons - and work on that day.

We returned to our hotel after searching high and low for a restaurant to have dinner. But we did discover a shop two doors away which sold a lot of things from ¥100 (!).

To be continued

Land Of The Rising Sun: Part I

I had promised el niño that I would take him to the Universal Studios Japan if he did well in his exam. As results were only released after mid-November (and I had to be sure of his results), tickets were only bought a couple of days following the release of the result and as Akak was reluctant to let him go for too long, we compromised on a 5-night trip. Hotel booking was made subsequently before I could plan on the places to visit. More on that in a separate post.

Thursday, 20 December 2012

After a series of unfortunate events (which started with my water bottle spilling half of its contents into my bag and ruining most of everything in it including the novel I specifically set aside for this trip (Arsenal: The Making of a Modern Superclub), I finally reached KLIA at 10 pm for our 2350 flight. Akak and family were already there. I had checked in online and chosen our seats beforehand (and a good thing too because our pre-assigned seats were far apart from each other as the tickets were bought separately - mine a normal-priced ticket and his, redeemed from Enrich points) and after dropping our bags, I tried to choose seats for the return flight at the counter. Unfortunately, despite waiting for ages for our number, we couldn’t do it because our tickets were purchased online. Strewth!

It was a full flight and despite planning to sleep, of course I couldn’t, just as I can never sleep on any long-distance flights (even on those 24-hour flights to the States). And despite wanting to watch in-flight movies and play games, sleep came easy to el niño. How unfair is that???

Friday, 21 December 2012

We got up just before breakfast was served and performed prayers. We landed on schedule, took the train to the main terminal and got through immigration quickly enough but our bags took their time to be loaded on the conveyor so we only emerged out just before 0745. The lady at the Information Counter told me the next bus to Hotel New Hankyu would depart at 0805 so I took the opportunity to freshen up first. We bought bus tickets from the vending machine near bus stop no. 5: a return ticket for me at ¥2700 and a single ticket at ¥750 for el niño (there’s no return ticket for children). Oh and by the way, the definition of child changes depending on where you buy your ticket from. For Universal Studios Japan, anyone above 12 is considered an adult. But at some other attractions, a child is anyone up to the age of 15. Yes, strange, I know.

The trip to Hotel New Hankyu took slightly more than an hour. It was after all, a working day and we were entering the city at peak hour. We got down and tried to find our way to the visitors’ information centre at JR Osaka station to buy the 2-day Osaka unlimited ticket and the Hankyu tourist pass (which we could use on two non-consecutive days to travel to Kyoto and Kobe). It took a while to get our bearings and finally we stumbled upon the Hankyu tourist centre, Osaka-Umeda. I bought two adult Hankyu tourist passes (no child ticket sold) for ¥1200 each. We were told that we had to find the visitors’ information centre at JR Osaka station to buy the 2-day unlimited pass. As our bags were weighing us down, we asked for directions to our hotel too as we wanted to deposit our bags there.

The directions provided proved accurate and we found our hotel, checking the location against the rather inadequate map I brought, the area map provided by the tourist centre and also asking at Sunkus, the convenience store around the corner two blocks from our hotel. Our bags safely deposited, we headed back to JR Osaka station to find the visitors’ information centre. This time, we had more problems, no thanks to wrong directions provided to us by the ticket office and a station inspector. It was starting to get frustrating and finally we crossed over to Hankyu building to ask for directions again. They drew out directions again and we crossed back to JR Osaka station before finally finding the visitors’ information centre. I bought two 2-day Osaka unlimited passes at ¥2700 each. A bit steep but it provides free entry to quite a few attractions or discounts off the entrance fees. Oh and by the way, the pass is valid for subways and buses. You can’t ride the JR trains with it.

We walked to Higashi-Umeda station on the Tanimachi line and took the subway to Tanimachi 4-chome station and walked to Osaka Castle. We took the lift up to 5th floor and walked up to the 8th floor before going down the stairs to the lower levels. You could get a bird’s eye view of the sprawling city from the observation deck at the 8th floor. The castle displays the life of Hideyoshi Toyotomi (the man who built that castle) on the 7th floor, the scenes from the summer war in Osaka (5th floor), artefacts (3rd and 4th floors) and the castle’s facts and figures on the 2nd floor. We spent close to two hours here (even performed prayers there) before leaving.

The plan was to catch the Osaka Suijyo Bus (Aqua-Liner) from Osaka-jo Pier but despite our best efforts, we arrived a couple of minutes late. It was quite a walk from the castle to the castle gate and to the pier. The boat departs hourly on the hour so we decided to explore the area.

We located some convenience stores and went to explore them and left with some packed food to go. Then we went back to the pier and waited. It turned out that there was quite a crowd also waiting to board the 3 pm aqua-liner bus. You can check the route here. You can board the boat at any of the three piers but I decided to maximise our trip and so boarded it at the first and last pier. Oh, you actually need to exchange your coupon for a ticket prior to boarding.

It was starting to get dark and getting rapidly colder (sunset was at 1650 but it was a hazy day so even at 4, it had started to appear dark). We walked to Tenmabashi station and took the station back to Higashi-Umeda. From there, we asked for directions to the Umeda Sky Building at Shin Umeda City as we planned to go to the Floating Garden Observatory. It was a confusing trek and we joined the office workers who just finished the week at work. It had also started to rain by then so it felt quite cold.

There was some sort of Christmas market at Shin Umeda City and we admired the stalls before we went inside the Umeda Sky Building. El niño had been nursing a headache so we waited a while and finally he said he would not go up so I went up alone. Well, what I meant is that I joined a few other people in the lift. We had been observing the lift earlier and noted that it took about 40 seconds to reach 35th floor from where we were (I think the lift started at 3rd floor). We had been in the lift for less than 5 seconds when suddenly the walls cleared and we could see the whole of the city sprawled out all around us. The lift walls were actually transparent glass only we didn’t realise it earlier as we were still within the building before we travelled through the column that makes up the foot of the building. I experienced a sudden panic attack as I saw the only thing protecting us from plunging down to our deaths are the transparent/glass walls of the lift. It’s a bit like those tower rides at theme parks where you go up and up and up and then plunge down. Of course this one didn’t plunge down but the feeling as we ascended was the same. I tried to calm myself down, telling myself the agony would last another 30 seconds or so.

We finally reached 35th floor much to my relief (although a new panic attack appeared: how on earth was I going to survive the lift journey back down?). Oh well, I’d worry about it later. I went around taking photos and then summoned my courage to climb up to the next level to the open-air observation deck. It wasn’t too scary but the wind was strong and the rain was still pouring so I walked about 100 metres before turning around.

I returned to the lift area and joined a family and some young men. I tried not to look down and was very relieved when we reached 3rd floor. Told el niño it was a good thing he didn’t go up for his headache might have intensified. Indeed, I know a friend who had some health problem after travelling up the elevator at the Petronas Twin Towers. I can’t recall if it was her blood vessels suffering pressure from the ride but it was quite serious. And yes, the thought did enter my mind too. What if...? Thank God nothing untoward happened.

We returned to the hotel and checked in. El niño had earlier said he wanted to walk around and explore until 10 pm but because of the early dusk, we felt like it was already late by the time it turned 8 pm. Indeed, we came back every night around 8 pm and were fighting to stay awake by 10. And Japan is an hour ahead so we were usually already sleepy/asleep by 10 pm KL time!

To be continued

The Year That Was: 2012

It was a mixed year so I guess that’s normal there. Ups and downs, happiness and sadness, new places explored and old ones visited, good friends reacquainted with… I had also made the conscious decision to reduce time on Facebook. Really, I find it tiresome and Boring with a capital B, not to mention so 2006. So indirectly I have not really been in touch with my friends’ numerous activities. Must say I don’t miss that at all.

Alhamdulillah, I managed to squeeze in some trips, both locally and abroad as follows:

January: Flew to JB to check out Johor Premium Outlets then spent Chinese New Year on a Field Trip (i.e. Padang and Bukittinggi). Flew to London at the end of the month

February: Iceland and back to London for a night; day-trip to Melaka

March: another day-trip to Melaka

April: New Town (Pekanbaru); flew to London before hopping over to Ireland and then back again to London

May: Travelled to Albania via Milan and Thessaloniki and travelled by road and sea to Corfu before flying back to London

June: overnight trip to Melaka; train trip to Singapore; a weekend in Taiping

July: birthday trip to Manila, Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur; went to watch Arsenal in Hong Kong

August: Merdeka weekend in Penang

September: Malaysia Day weekend in Bangkok

October: day trip to Ipoh; overnight trip to Melaka

November: long weekend in PD

December: end-of-year trip to Osaka

I set a target of 60 books and managed to read 65 books in 2012, up from 57.5 books the year before. Not bad considering I’m juggling two households on top of my hours at work. I didn’t manage to watch as many movies as I would have liked: either there were fewer that appealed to me or those few which did were no longer screened by the time I was free to watch them.

We saw Arsenal struggle before overhauling the Spuds and panted in at the end of last season in third place. Wenger made me happy when he brought over Poldi, Giroud and then Cazorla, and we got rid of the Dutch skunk and Song. My grief over Cesc’s departure has been cured somewhat with Giroud’s presence. Our performance so far has been hot and cold, up and down, in and out... just like that Katy Perry song.

My resolutions are to continue to eat well (although I have succumbed to the odd bar of chocolate already!), to take care of my health (must cut down eating food beyond their best-by dates!!!), to take care of my relationships, to rein in my temper and to continue to travel. I don’t really do New Year’s resolutions anymore because I try to do them continually.

It’s going to be a tough challenging year (when does it get any easier anyway? That’s just how life is) so fasten your seatbelts and prepare for the ride ahead!