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Cherry blossoms!
Osaka Science Museum
harbour view
Entrance of Shin-Imamiya Train Station
Hello!
Can anyone help me find a nice hotel near Universal Studios in Osaka, that is not too pricey? I am aiming a budget of US$100 for 3 nights stay...
Thanks in advance for everyone's input! :-)
try the simple heart hotel. it's a business hotel and it's near osaka usj.
http://www.simpleheart.co.jp/
single room costs 5000yen per day. hope this helps :)
tokyovisitor
http://www.tokyovisitor.info
http://www.nikkojapan.info
Shiitennoji Temple was one of the first large temples I visited in Japan. It was very crowded when I went in March. I am not sure if this was for a special reason or just because everything in Osaka is crowded!
This picture is of the main pagoda at the center of the temple grounds.
Entrance fee into Shiitennoji is 200 Yen for adults. For more information on this place click the link: http://www.www.shiitennoji.or.jp/
A 30-minutes ride (by limited express, about 1000 Yen) on the shinkansen (Kintetsu Nara line) will get you to NARA (To check out my NARA travelogue, Click Here): Japan's first real capital. Places of interest in Nara includes TODAI-JI TEMPLE & Daibutsu-den Hall. Please check my Nara page for more details & photos.
The major stop for the city of Osaka on the Shinkansen line is Shin-Osaka Station. There are Shinkansen trains running from Tokyo in the north right down to Fukuoka in Kyushu. The cost from Tokyo on the Sanyo Shinkansen line is 13,750 Yen.
The Shinkansen is by far the most convenient way to travel around Japan. Unfortunately it isn't very cheap! Luckily there is a Japan JR Rail Pass available to foreign travellers. See the JR East website for details:
It must be bought abroad and stamped in Japan before you can use it. There are several options including one week (unlimited JR travel except for the super fast Nozomi service), two week, JR East and JR West passes. Check with your local travel agent for the best option or click on the link to see for yourself!
Here is a link to a very cool page that lets you see the routing between cities/stations/ports within Japan. It will tell you the route and includes the cost and time. http://www.jorudan.co.jp/english/norikae/.
Ami-Mura is a collection of narrow streets and alleys filled with second hand stores, clothes shops, music exchanges, bars, cafes and restaurants and provides one of the key hangout points for the youth of the city.
Worth wandering around simply to witness the sometimes absurd clothing choices of the locals, the laidback atmosphere and the potential of a bargain. Vinyl collectors should certainly check out the many basement stores for the sometimes embarrassingly cheap prices.
At night, Ami Mura is the Minami club hubris, much as Shinsaibashi on the other side of Midosuji dominates the bar scene. Joule, Underlounge and Grand Cafe offer plenty of musical alternatives on different nights of the week, although the cover charges are a little steep.
"Nampa" is the Japanese art of flirting, or picking up. The stretch of Shinsaibashi-suji near the Dotonbori bridge is the epicentre of nampa in Osaka. That's what all the young guys in nice suits and elaborate haircuts are hanging around for. I have heard rumours that some are in fact low-level pimps/recruiters, although I must remind you that's an unconfirmed rumour. The practice is to match step with your "target" and strike up some kind of conversation (outside my limited Japanese, I'll admit). Some women talk back, some ignore the guy, some speed up and look horrified. One night, on my way somewhere, I accidentally cut between an guy and his intended target just as he started delivering his opening line. And lo, a new sport was born! It takes a while to learn to read the crowd, and a while longer to learn how to maneuver, but I had some fun with it.
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Address: 1-5-24 Nishi-Shinsaibashi, Chuo-ku, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, 542-0086, Japan
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