Osaka | A Family Trip to Japan
We have been dreaming about going back to Japan for the longest time, ever since Covid stopped all our travel plans. 2024 is the year we finally make it back; it's Joseph's first time in Japan, Isaac's second time and the third time for me and G. Japan is somewhere you can go back to again and again, yet the same excitement and anticipation remains.
We decided on Osaka this time, easily swayed by the newly built and incredible life-size Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan, and the fact this city had all of Isaac's current favourite things: Dragon Ball Z, Pokemon, Kirby and Nintendo. G and I first visited Osaka in 2013 and had always vowed to come back. 2 days back then barely skimmed the surface of this super fun city. Our family trip to Osaka was centred around the kids, what they would love, and in turn we got to have fun through their eyes.
For the first half of Osaka, we stayed in Art Hotel Osaka, situated near Osaka Bay area and is also nearby to Universal Studios Japan, Osaka Aquarium and the giant ferris wheel. We loved our stay in this hotel, it was so spacious for a family of 4 and even had a little kitchen area too.
For the last half of Osaka, we moved to Vessel Inn Namba hotel, this hotel is literally on the doorstep of Dotonburi, where all the food and action is. We had to get 2 rooms in this hotel as they don't offer family rooms, and whilst the configuration wasn't the best for a young family of 4, the location was just unbeatable.
From our previous trips to Japan, we loved the ease of getting a pocket WiFi delivered straight to our hotel so we did just that again on this trip. We used Ninja WiFi* and they have kindly given all my readers a discount, use the code LUCY10 to get 10% off. G bought an e-sim so we would have internet access as soon as we landed in Japan, but once we collected the the Ninja pocket WiFi from our hotel reception, it connected my phone and the kids iPads which was a great option when you have a few portable devices. At the end of the holiday, simply put the pocket WiFi in the sealed bag, hand it to hotel reception and they will post back for you. So easy!
On arrival to Japan, we went with the easy option of getting a taxi at the taxi stand outside the airport, it cost us an eye-watering £110 for a 40 minute journey. But, we didn't fully regret it as it was pouring with rain and already 9pm local time, so we were glad we could get to the hotel with ease.
When the time came to leave Japan, we tried out the Airport Express Trains. They were extremely comfortable and convenient to use, tickets bought on departure was smooth and hassle-free at a manned counter. Prior to our departure, we'd already sent our 2 large suitcases to the airport via a domestic transfers company that our hotel used, for around £13 a case. This incredible and inexpensive luggage transfer service is available all over Japan and all hotels and even convenience stores offer it. But do be mindful that if you are to use this service, you need to send your suitcase at least 24hrs before hand, though 36hrs in advance is a safer option. Not a problem if you plan this carefully into your itinerary, i.e. when to pack the cases and send it.
A friend told us about using Revolut** which was literally 'revolutionary'. I opened the account on the app and ordered a card, and it made day to day spending in Japan a breeze. You get the best exchange rates compared to a bureaux de change, and you can store multiple currencies on your account. The majority of our purchases in Japan went straight on the card, and we were able to withdraw some cash from the ATM for a small £1.50 fee for places that were cash only.
I also learnt a new trick this time by using 'Starred places' on Google maps to map out all the restaurants and cafes I wanted to eat at, why did I not know this before?! Enter in the restaurant name in Google maps, click on the little icon 'Save' and select 'Starred places' or 'Favourites'. If you want to be able to share your eat list, save under '+ New list' instead.
Our itinerary was packed with things to do for the kids, but even with 6 full days in Osaka we still didn't manage to do everything we wanted to. I think Osaka will be another revisit in the future!
Day 1 Osaka Aquarium + Tempozan Ferris wheel
Day 3 Osaka Castle + Zauo fishing restaurant
Day 4 Pokemon Cafe + Dotonburi walkaround
I'll be sharing our Osaka must eats very soon.
Don't miss out on the rest of our Japan travels!
*Collaboration, sent to me to test out, contains affiliate link
**Referral link to me
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