DAY 8 (20 - 21 May 2014): Osaka & Back to Malaysia
- Osaka Castle
- Ebisubashi Suji
- DenDen Town
- Shinsaibashi

Today was to be our last full day in Japan as we're returning to Malaysia on the next day :'( 

But first, pictures of our Airbnb stay! Highly recommended as it's very near Dotonbori and a 10minute walk to the subway (although again, heavy luggages beware).

Breakfast for the day.

They even have bicycles you can use around Osaka! Although there were only 2 so it wasn't enough for the 4 of us.

We made our way to Osaka Castle since my friends haven't been. It's too bad we're not in time for the cherry blossoms because it would've been a beautiful sight.

Look at this guy just chilling in a field of flowers.

We were too early, so most of the stalls weren't opened yet :( Would've loved to eat the takoyaki there. But we consoled ourselves by having the takoyaki near the Ebisubashi suji entrance for breakfast :D 

Had a look around Ebisubashi suji (which was heaven for my friends since they were bakers) and then made our way to Den Den Town. I had a blast shopping today, looking for my denshi jisho (which I finally bought in BIC Camera in the end lol) and buying secondhand manga at Book Off (I LOVE BOOK OFF).

And before we know it, it's time to go back to Malaysia on the next day :( Bye Japan! I'll see you again in Apr-May 2015!

My final haul :DDD

Go to Day 7 (Fushimi Inari & Osaka) | END OF JAPAN 2014
Japan 2014 Masterpost

DAY 6 (3 February 2012): Nanba, Umeda

Morning
- Breakfast at Frasers Residence (complimentary)
- Den Den Town
- Maid cafe @ Den Den Town

Afternoon & Night
- Dotonbori for late lunch
- Shinsaibashi for shopping

So this day was filled with basically more shopping and food. Just thought I'd warn you of this lol.

We had our complimentary breakfast at Frasers Residence - there was a small buffet counter, and you can order a meal each. The cooked meal was pretty simple but was adequate to get our day started.

Made our way to Den Den Town this morning. Den Den Town is basically streets and streets of electronic and anime/manga stores. There's also a street which sells some Japanese souvenirs and there was a maid cafe around the area which we visited during lunchtime.

Once you get there, go to the info centre first and pick up a map as it gives you a clear idea on where to go. We didn't manage to cover all of Den Den Town obviously, but we chose where we wanted to go.

Bought a memory card for my dad since he requested one as it was cheap here compared to buying it online (what with shipping fees and taxes). Afterwards we just walked around an area and I bought 2 Instax polaroid camera for me and my sister. Best purchase ever.

Also, check with certain stores - in most places, you'll get a tourist rebate/discount if you buy at a certain amount of money (I can't remember how much it was, but it was in the tourist map given out to us). So provided you have your passport with you and you bought a certain amount, you'll get some discount off your purchase. I didn't know this before I bought my instax cameras so didn't get any rebate :(

Managed to find a maid cafe while we were there - couldn't leave without trying a meal there at least, since we were kinda starving by lunchtime after all that walking and shopping. There were obviously no pictures allowed but my friends managed to sneak one anyway OTL

The place was pretty small (I think there's only space for 20 people at most), and when we entered there were quite a number of people already, all men. There were a number of men in their 20s and a couple of teenagers in there watching the anime shown at the time.

We must've looked weird entering the shop, since we were 4 girls and I was wearing a headscarf - I don't think most Japanese are aware of Muslim practices so I have no idea what they thought of me. To their credit, they went about their usual way and didn't give us much notice. The "maids" were so cute omg and was perfectly willing to attend to us, but since it was clear we didn't need anything other than just soaking up the atmosphere, she left us alone after our order got there. My friend had omurice and the rest of us had some drinks. Price was pretty expensive but that's expected. It was pretty fun.

Love the kimono display

So after all the walking we found ourself back in Dotonbori after we walked through the Hozenji-Yokocho alley. I love walking around the Nanba area because you never know where you'd end up, but our feet pretty much memorized our way to Dotonbori and Shinsaibashi.

My mouth was telling me to smile but my eyes were telling me food is coming - clearly I have my priorities right

Look at how happy we are to be back shopping in Shinsaibashi

So that was a day full of shopping (look at the bags we've managed to amassed lol) - we managed to score a super cheap yukata at one of the stores in Shinsaibashi. Mine was only around 2000yen! The more beautiful obi was much more expensive than my yukata, sob.

And that concludes our day of shopping.

Go to Day 5 (Nanba, Osaka) | Go to Day 7 (Kaiyukan, Umeda, Nanba)
Kansai 2012 Masterpost