First time in Osaka, Nara, Kobe & Himeji | Japan Travel Vlog | 4 day itinerary
Travelling and eating our way through Osaka Nara Himeji Kobe Let's begin We arrived in Osaka! Let's check in to our hotel first, which is conveniently located around Shinsekai The hotel lobby is practically empty as its a self check-in system There's lockers to strore luggages but they're quite small We were given the codes to access our keys from this padlock There's a small kitchen with a fridge and microwave The room is really spacious, especially for Japan standards I love that most hotels here will provide you with pyjamas The bathroom even has a washer/dryer which is handy as we are travelling for weeks So far I really like it! Going to grab an early dinner here Starting our food journey with okonomiyaki, this store gets really busy but at 4pm there was no wait I got mine with cheese All done and it looks so good Our first okonomiyaki in Osaka, it was delicious One of my favourite things to do while travelling is sending postcards I've embellished them with stickers Hope the receivers enjoy them too! Off to explore Dontonburi - Osaka's tourist hotspot Our initial plan was to eat our way through the street food But we were too full from the okonomiyaki We will have to come back for the food another day I love the gigantic signs, I wonder who started the trend I found the cow quite funny Came across this really talented guitarist His name is Yuji Masagaki, he has a Youtube channel too! Perfect music to watch the world go by Spot the famous Glico man I love watching the sky change colour during golden hour Its a different atmosphere when the lights comes on Our dessert Good morning, its day 2 and we are heading to Nara tody First stop will be breakfast This cafe is famous for their pug-shaped dessert It's too cute to eat I got the egg sandwich and hot milk tea instead Nara is only 1 hour away by train from Osaka We've arrived! My first deer sighting, I like how its using the crossings too It seems that most of them are gathered by the food stalls The vendors sell crackers (senbei) specially made for deers They are waiting for the next person that buys the senbei We've learnt that its best not to feed alot of them at the same time There's a risk of getting headbutted Found one on its own He bowed! He gets more crackers for bowing Another deer has spotted us This one really knows how to bow to get food The small one has learnt to bow too, so cute! These ones don't care for crackers There's a herd Let's go before we get mobbed I think the key is to find one on its own and wait for it to bow Saw a fawn on its own and poor thing was stressed We are not supposed to touch the fawns but I saw some people trying to There are more deers further in the park so save your crackers! They can get a bit competitive when there is 2 of them This one really wants a cracker Overall great day feeding deers I was worried they might bite my fingers but they are so gentle when grabbing the crackers But this one bit my shirt Feed and run is the technique okay i dont want to feed this one anymore last cracker he saw us from ages away deers are not the only attractive in Nara, there's also the famous Todaiji temple The entrance fee is 800 yen to see the Great Buddha Hall, let's head in Founded 1300 years ado, its one of the most impressive temples I've seen You can really feel the scale of the place the closer you get There are deers in the temple ground as well There's alot of people near the main hall, let's go somewhere quie Walking the small back streets of the main hall, you will come across Todaiji Nigatsudo, the February Hall There is a small (but steep) climb up Its a little hidden gem where you can see a lovely view of Nara city Unfortunately its abit cloudy that day I think we need a food break Unfortunately there wasnt alot of restaurants open around 3pm We settled for cake and coffee instead He got the coffee cake I had the lemon cake which was very light and refreshing, I love the tatami mat seatings of this cafe Back in Osaka We are having Japanese 'fast food' for dinner It's a little bit different from Western fast food You order using a tablet Let's check out the menu The prices are cheap my grilled chicken rice bowl came within 2 minutes I've been loving the Japanese sesame salad dressing Day 10 We are going to Himeji, but first we are getting pancakes for brunch We passed by this street called Amerikamura Literally translate to American Street, there's lots of shops selling vintage and trendy clothing Our pancake place! Everything looks so good, having a hard time choosing Good a sweet pancake and a savoury Looks like we are going along the coast It's the largest castle in Japan, I can see it from the station It's so beautiful even at a distance Let's head in Got the combined ticket, might as well check out the garden too Covered in fire-resistant plaster, its also known as the White Heron Castle Going to follow the route the map suggested Let's go up the castle There's 6 floors to climb Shelves to store weapons like guns, imagine this being fully stocked A camouflage cover was placed over this castle to protect it from air raids during WWII It was mostly undamaged The view from the top You can see Himeji station from here Let's go to the gardens (ps the floor is slightly slippery) There is a room full of Azalea bonsai plants So pretty A beautifully manicured garde, you can easily spend an hour here Himeji can be easily done in half a day, heading back to Osaka. We are going to eat at the stalls with the gigantic signs! Starting off with some takoyaki (fried octopus balls) Osaka's takoyaki is supposed to be a bit runny on the inside This crab sign really caught my eye They sell crab buns for 500 yen each Got one to try its not bad there's so many people getting some kushikatsu (deep fried skewers) got a mix of everything i heard good things about their melon pan that's a good chunk of ice cream the bread is warm caught a gorgeous sunset today we were still a bit hungry so had conveyor belt sushi you can order through your smartphone too someone else's order cheap and cheerful dessert tonight will be fruits Day 4 We are taking a day trip to Kobe today caught the morning rush hour first let's get breakfast in Osaka station my choice of the day another day another train first stop: Japan's largest herb garden it's located up on a mountain, so you can either hike up or take a cable car its the cable car for me going further up and up it takes 10 minutes to reach the top am I in Japan or Europe? look at the summer flower mix smells lovely here there's a shop selling different types of herb I want my future spice rack to be like this there is a little outdoor cafe let's check out the fragrance museum scents made from herbs in the garden time for a coffee break got a nice view from our seat you can see Kobe airport from here spot the plane landing got myself a raspberry millefeuille tastes as good as it looks there's still alot of ground to cover there's a glasshouse with tropical plants The lavender fields are still young it's a beautiful day its a street lined with Western-style buildings a Baker street replica foreign merchants used to liver here, you can enter the buildings for a small fee heading for lunch it's not within our budget for a proper (fancy) Kobe beef restaurant, but we found a good compromise this platter of Kobe beef and local beef mix was 5400 yen different seasoning for the beef got a Kobe beef stake burger as well finishing our trip with a visit to Chinatown and the harbour a bustling street, full of shops selling food and souvenirs its one of Japan's largest Chinatown can't resist getting a soft serve i got the milk flavour we listened to music and enjoyed the breeze back in Osaka and grabbing dinner i find the best meal is always in these unassuming places the interior has a nostalgic atmosphere owned by a friendly elderly couple this was really really good im getting hungry while editing this video
2024-07-11 21:34
