In late November 2014, I ventured to Osaka for the first time. I feel like it went pretty well. The main goal for my travel to Kansai at that time was to go to Universal Studio’s Harry Potter World, opened earlier that year, but I’ll cover that in another post (I’ve actually gone twice now, hehehe). So my first spell in Osaka was quite brief, about two days only because I had to head back to Fukuoka for a much-awaited Dir en Grey concert. Because it was such a quick trip, I went with JetStar, a low-cost carrier (LCC) here in Japan. It’s a pretty good setup for the price, but do be prepared to squeeze into your seat! :)

Our first stop on the first day was to head to Osaka Castle (大阪城, Osakajyō). Like most of the castles in Japan, it had a beautiful exterior that clearly had a lot of time and work devoted to it over the years. The view from the top of the castle is great; you can walk around the entire top level in the open air and take pictures. Standing there you can begin to understand why that particular spot was chosen – for both its strategic position and the 360 degree views of the city stretching out from that location.

This particular castle has a pretty good shop in it and very detailed outlines of the building’s history. If you can see yourself enjoying a trip down historical lane, then I’d recommend it.

Just outside the castle grounds is a shrine, and I didn’t really get the name of it at the time because we exited the wrong way out of the grounds and instead of coming out the way we came in, we went in a rather winding path back to the station. But it was all good, because as you can tell the nature is well-maintained and nice for a good stroll. You can also grab some snacks there if I remember correctly.

Afterward, we made our way to the well-renowned Dotonbori street for grub and shopping nearby. The street features some of the most showy and instantly recognizable restaurant signboards I’ve ever seen. And we also walked by a facade that we think was a cultural arts theatre, but I’m not 100% on that.

We decided to go with a nice Italian place located in the basement of one of the buildings on the left a bit past the crab pictured above. There was quite a lot of DELICIOUS meat, as well as other sides, and I loaded up on Cidre because I hadn’t had cider in some time. I highly recommend this place and I’ll add the name in the future if I remember it! My apologies~

Lastly, an obligatory picture was taken with the ever-famous Glico Man, triumphant as ever in his neon-lit splendor.

Nice one, Osaka! More info will be coming at you in other posts concerning my adventures there. Keep an eye out for more!