Beautiful Osaka

Now we come to our last part of the Japan trip. After a lot of fun in Tokyo and visiting Thomas Land it was time to travel to Osaka. We took the Shinkansen in the late afternoon so we arrived in Osaka in the early evening. Here we had once again an Airbnb house rented and it was just a walking distance away from the Namba station and thus very close to the city center. As we arrived so late we only picked up some food from a convenience store and went to sleep.

At Sumiyoshi taisha

For the following day we met up with the amazing Marina who showed us Sumiyoshi Taisha which is a beautiful old Temple area, Shinsekai and of course Dotonbori. It was great that Marina had time for us as she could give useful advice what else to visit and of course where and what to eat! On that day the weather decided to go crazy as the day started with way too much sun and once we were done with our Lunch (Okonomiyaki in a nice restaurant in Dotonbori) the sky was heavy with grey clouds and it started to rain. In fact it would continue to rain for the next days till our departure!

Shinsekai by night

The rain was also the reason why we visited much fewer places than intended. Sure we manage it in that terrible weather to the Osaka Castle (where we found nearby a wonderful little Curry Restaurant, will never forget it) but that is about it. Our plans for Kobe and Kyoto we had to abandon as it would have been insane to go there in such bad weather conditions with two little kids.  So we stayed those last days in Osaka and tried to make the best out of it. We revisited Dotonbori and Shinsekai a few times, took a ride in the Don Quixote Ferris Wheel, ate a lot, visited few other temples, got lost in the Shinsaibashi shopping streets and in between went back to the house to somehow dry all our clothes.

Yep, Nathan loved them

Even though the weather ruined a lot of our plans for Osaka and visiting the neighbouring cities we still loved it there. Sure the rain wasn’t all  that great but we had a wonderful time there. Osaka felt much more “homely” compared to Tokyo and we certainly liked it. When we come back to Japan I definitely want to revisited Osaka and enjoy some more Okonomiyaki and eat few Takoyaki while looking upon the Glico Man!

Has bad weather ruined your holiday plans before?



19 thoughts on “Beautiful Osaka”

  1. LOL, I am the queen of rain. If there’s a vacation, it will rain. My wedding was 1 hour of gale force winds, rain, and hail. Then the ceremony ended and it was lovely again.

    I feel for you guys, though. To travel so far and get rained out!

    1. Somehow we end up in the rain as well on nearly all of our travels. Weekend in Prague? Non-stop rain after the first few hours. City tour in China? Rain for a week after the first day. Holidays in Finland? Rain and more rain…

  2. Oh I love Osaka. It is our family’s official hometown on the Japanese register, so I claim to be an Osakan :). Really enjoyed living there and everytime we go back to visit family, we need to take at least one pic of Babel and the Glico Man.

  3. Despite the rain it seemed you saw quite a lot of things in Osaka. Takoyaki! I absolutely love eating that and haven’t had it for a while. It seems like the perfect snack food. Every time I go back to Malaysia for holidays, it will rain. And by rain it means it will torrential rain up until the point you have to drive the car very slowly because you can’t see what’s ahead of you. In these kinds of weather in Malaysia, best to stay indoors.

    1. Ha similar downpours I know as well by now from China. Sure xi’an has a different climate and there is nothing like a rain season but when it rains it comes down like a flood. Usually the streets are all flooded and at some parts you are in the water till your knees 😮
      Only after the trip to Japan I found our that takoyaki is also very famous in China and that there are stalls everywhere

      1. Exactly. Raining in Asia is like a flood coming. There is also thunder and lightning. Raining in Australia is the equivalent of drizzling in Asia lol. Next time try the takoyaki in China and see if it’s as good as in Japan 😀

  4. I either have good luck with weather during trips or a very bad memory, as I don’t remember having plans spoiled by weather haha. Glad to read you enjoyed your time in Osaka!

  5. My stay in Tokyo last month was ruined by a Taifun. A Taifun. In June. Nobody would have ever expected that. It also ruined my trip to Disneyland. 😦

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