Osaka, Kyoto & Nara Trip - Part 1

Hey guys! As promised, I'll be sharing as much information as I can about Japan since I've visited several gems of a place in this lovely country infused with intriguing culture and humble, courteous people. Let's start with the most current trip to Osaka, Kyoto and Nara that I went with A.

All in all, I only spent around SGD$1300 inclusive of return flight tickets, accommodation for 5 nights, transportation, good food and of course, splurge shopping! 

We took Scoot Airlines to Kansai (KIX) Airport on a chilly Friday morning 3 weeks back, the tickets was on a little sale so we managed to snag up them up at $460 per pax with 20kg luggage both ways. The flight duration is 6 hours from Singapore to Osaka although due to time difference, the timing in your flight itinerary will show 7 hours. 

Fast forward 6 hours, we are queuing at the customs checkpoint with hundreds of people from different nations. It took us around 30 minutes to clear customs, which is considered quite fast as it was a very systematic process with lots of guidance from the helpful officers.

Just as we were debating whether to grab a quick dinner there after picking up our suitcases, I spotted 551 Horai, a retail chain store famous for their pork dumplings and pork buns. You'll come across this name if you google Osaka souvenirs, it comes up in almost every post.

We decided to try out their siew mai, pork buns and gyozas and it was the best decision ever, if you are a garlic lover like me and A!

The buns which were the most famed item online, was the least of our favorite because we find the fluffy bun a little too thick, or maybe we just prefer more meat haha. Who doesn't? The bun filling is the same as the siew mai, so if you are a meat eater, go for the huge siew mai, it's the biggest and yummiest siew mai I've ever seen/eaten to date. Blogging about it now only makes me want to sink my teeth into the luscious mound of meat blended together with the aromatic garlic again. The gyozas were fine and dandy but I've eaten better ones :)

All these for 1010yen only, how great a deal is that?

The temperature has dropped from 4°C during landing at 5pm to 2°C at 6.45pm. Stepping out of the warm airport building, you'll really need to bundle yourself up against the chilly wind. Crossed over the bridge to the JR station which is just a few minutes away on foot after we don on our winter coats. 

Travelling to Nara from KIX Airport on JR will set you back 2 hours and is priced at 1710yen/pax.

1. Take JR Kansaikuko line bound for Kyobashi, alight @ Tennoji Station

2. Take JR Yamatoji line bound for Kamo, alight @ Nara Station 

Unfortunately for us, there was a train incident halfway thru, so the JR Kansaikuko train we were on had to backtrack all the way to Rinku town where we changed trains before we changed again at Tennoji Station. It was most tiresome and we only got to slump ourselves onto the comfy bed at Onyado Nono Nara Natural Hot Spring at 9.30pm.

Onyado Nono Nara Natural Hot Spring

This ryokan looks very much like a hostel from the exterior, but you'll be surprised how quaint it is when you stepped into it's lobby. Everything shouts culture and tradition. Onyado Nono Nara is the perfect accomodation and here I'll list down why:

1. Super strategic location, located just opposite JR Nara Train Station & Bus Terminal with many eateries around

2. Unique experience of immersing oneself in a cultural heritage settings

3. Courteous, helpful and cheerful staff 

4. Agreeable price @ $90/night (when we booked 6 weeks before our trip)

5. Free Yonaki Soba from 9pm - 11pm, daily

6. Natural hot spring bath, need i say more?

We had a quick wash up and went down for steaming bowls of Yonaki-Soba Ramen, courtesy of the ryokan. The simple bowl of springy noodles swimming in light soy sauce broth, served with a garnishing of negi also known as leek or Welsh onion hit the spot just right.

Yonaki-Soba Ramen

Upon finishing our bowls of soba, we went out for a walk and also for a second round of food. Just to the left corner of our stay, there's a street filled with restaurants and izakayas, which are japanese informal pubs. We decided to have our supper at Watamin-Chi, an izakaya bar that spoils us with skewers of savoury delicacies.

Watamin-Chi Izakaya Bar

We had deep fried nanban-style chicken, delectable spring onion wrapped with beef,  freshly fried oyster, savoury meat stuffed mushroom and more! Everything was lip-smacking good except the nanban chicken which was nothing out of the ordinary. The delicious skewers starts from 99yen each so it's really a fair price I would say.

We walked out of the izakaya 4415yen lighter, 2kgs heavier and tons happier, haha.

Got back to our room for a little rest before heading to the hot springs. Check out the cosy little room!

They even provide iPhone and Android phone cables, aren't they just considerate and attentive?

We headed for the onsen with the woven baskets equipped with towel, face towel and little bags for inner wear I suppose, from our room. The gender segregated onsen operates from 3pm to 10am daily. Men can gain access to men's bath with the room key card while women's bath is strictly via password only that will be provided during check in.

As publicly known, cameras and phones are not allowed once you get into the changing room / bath section so there's no photos from me but you can check out the pictures on their website. 

There's a hot pool, a cold pool and a sauna located indoors while there's a hot pool outdoors in the women's bath. The water temperatures were quite extreme for me, so do be careful if you are unused to soaking in 40 plus or 10 plus degree celcius pools.

And this marks the end of Day 1. More in the next post! 

Note: 

-Exchange rate of SGD to Japanese Yen in Dec 2017 - $1 : 84yen
-Osaka, Japan is 1 hour ahead of Singapore time