Osaka in 12 hours

I went on a family trip to central Japan to experience winter in the quaint mountain city of Takayama. We then went to Kyoto before arriving at Osaka. Osaka, the last stop of our trip, was meant as a stopover for the flight back home. After a late breakfast, we took the cab for the 1 hour plus trip to Osaka.

We had arrived in Osaka in the late afternoon, so we broke up for a free and easy time exploring the area around our hotel in Umeda. The main itinerary was set aside for the next day. Before meeting up with the folks for dinner at Dotonbori, I had planned to go to Pokemon Center Osaka, have lunch, and perhaps sneak some time for a soak at one of the public baths in Osaka.

Pokémon Center Osaka

Early that morning, I made my way to the Pokemon Center Osaka. It was located in the Daimaru Umeda store right in Osaka station. I thought I was early, but holy moly! The queue snaked halfway around the building! Well, the department store had yet to open, so the queue started from the entrance. 10am sharp, the staff opened the doors and everyone stormed in like it was Black Friday sales.

Pokemon Center Osaka was on the 13th floor. Even though it would be easier to take the elevator, the queue was so long that it seemed like it would be a long wait. Alternatively, I joined many others in coasting up 13 storeys on the escalators. It seemed counter-intuitive, but really, it was faster than waiting for the lift!

The queue to the shop was already formed by the time I reached. Yup, the shop had already reached its capacity and we had to wait to enter! It took me some time to find the staff issuing the queue ticket and I got the one for 1040am. They were letting people in every 20 minutes, so I was the 3rd batch to enter. Not so bad for the effort!

The store was very much like the others in Japan. I went straight to find the limited edition Pikachu for Osaka. So, together with the Kyoto limited edition, I had 2 pairs of Pikachu stowing away in my luggage back home!

Pokémon Center Osaka ポケモンセンターオーサカ
Floor 13 . Daimaru Umeda Store
https://www.pokemon.co.jp/shop/pokecen/osaka

Marukatsu まるかつ大阪駅イチロクグルメ店

With the Osaka limited edition Pikachu in hand, I went for brunch at Marukatsu a few floors up in Daimaru. I felt very much at home because the place was very much like Saboten, from its decor to the food options.

Unsurprisingly, I ordered the Katsu with egg set, which came with unlimited top up of cabbage. The thick katsu was well cooked. From the crisp breaded crust to the juicy tender meat inside ~ wow ~ ! I also liked how the umami sauce-ish egg added more flavours to the dish. As a salty food lover, I could do away with the rice and cabbage! Lol

Marukatsu まるかつ大阪駅イチロクグルメ店
Floor 16 . Osaka Station South Gate Building
https://marukatsu912.com

Namba Okonomiyaki Ajinoya Honten 味乃家 本店

During my first visit to Osaka, we made a booboo when we went to Ajinoya. We had visited an “annex branch” a few lots from the main branch. This time around, I made sure we land at the right place.

True enough, the queue was long. It extended from the level 2 entrance to the street level, and more. It took us about 1 hour to eventually step foot into the restaurant, and we had to split tables.

When in Ajinoya, we had to try its specialty – Okonimiyaki – made right in front of us. The creamy and fluffy cake mixture was complemented by the savoury and smoky bacon. We also had Yakisoba which was stir fried on the spot and full of work hey. Lastly, we had takoyaki to top off the meal.

One thing bad about dining in Ajinoya was having the frying pan right before us. The cooking smoke really infiltrated into every strand of hair! 😅 But having this once in a while… well…

Namba Okonomiyaki Ajinoya Honten 味乃家 本店
Japan, 〒542-0076 Osaka, Chuo Ward, Namba, 1 Chome−7−16 現代こいさんビル 2F
https://ajinoya-okonomiyaki.com

Dotonbori

One of the guilty pleasures of visiting Osaka was to shop around Dotonbori. Despite knowing that this place was literally swarmed with people, we still felt compelled to check out the eateries and interesting stores in this shopping strip. This time around, we had grilled seafood by the canal. While waiting for the food to come, we also had the 100 Yen cheesy pancake. They really lived up to their names of comfort food!

Since we had kids with us, we wanted to try the Don Quixote ferris wheel. Yup, “wanted”, because we ended up disappointed. The place was closed due to the overwhelming demand! Wowz… How busy was Dotonbori was it? Just look at the photo below:

Somehow, Dotonbori was more crowded than I last visited, ya?

Outtake: Taihei-no-yu Namba Bathhouse 湯源郷 太平のゆ なんば店

Rounding off the day in Osaka, I popped by Taihei-no-yu Namba Bathhouse, which was one train stop from Namba / Dotonbori. Within 5 minutes’ walk from exit 1, I reached the market complex where the public bath was housed. It was a modest bathhouse with modern facilities (think self service ticket purchase with credit card). There were sections for relaxation with a manga or in a massage chair, and a restaurant for an after-soak meal. 

At JPY 1,000 (USD 7), and with its convenient location, Taihei-no-yu Namba Bathhouse was a great place to relax after a day out, or simply to while away the time.

Final Take – Leaving Osaka

I had planned to leave Osaka earlier than my family, and it happened that my flight was early in the morning. Therefore, I had to leave for Kansai Airport at 6.30am on Christmas Day morning. Amazingly, the crowd was nowhere to be seen in the usually busy Osaka Station. And as usual, it took me quite a few turns around corners in the Osaka underground to finally find the station entrance to the JR train to the airport.

But first, I needed to get my ticket. Unlike in Tokyo, we could safely buy the train tickets on the spot. The self service machine, though, was confusing as usual. After a few tapping in and out of pages, I finally bought the ticket (though I had accidentally chosen the wrong seat, thinking that I could still return to the earlier page, but was instead brought straight to the payment page). 

Nonetheless, I could still catch the 6.53am Haruka 3 train with some 10 minutes to spare. Albeit spent looking for the right platform in the massive station lol. The 45 minute express train ride would only stop at Tennoji south of Osaka, before heading to Kansai Airport.

The seats were in a 1-2 configuration, and they were pretty comfortable for a “normal class” reserved seat. As mentioned, I had accidentally selected a seat in the couple-section, but since the train was literally empty, I switched to the solo seat after seeing no one boarded at Tennoji. Yup, even though the cabin was near empty.

Other than a spacious and comfortable seat, the cabin was also bright and airy. Typical of Japanese trains, it was clean and quiet. Taking the Haruka express green car, at JPY 3,710 (USD 26) was really worth the moola!

Parting Words

Osaka, Japan is a popular tourist spot, evident from the crowd-crush level busy-ness at Dotonbori. As it was a family trip, we stuck to the conservative tourist spots in and around Dotonbori and Umeda. I managed to steal some time out to pop by Pokemon Center Osaka and Taihei-no-yu Namba Bathhouse. Considering that I spent under 36 hours in Osaka this time around, it was a fruitful trip nevertheless! 

This post is part of my winter travelogue to central Japan, where I visited Takayama, Kyoto and Osaka. Check out my travelogues to the mountain town of Takayama, as well as my re-visit of Kyoto, particularly to spots like Kiyomizu-dera and Sagano Romantic Train. I also returned to Osaka for sightseeing – old and new sights. We stayed in Hotel Wood in Takayama, Hotel Granvia Kyoto and Hotel Vischio Osaka By Granvia in those spots, so feel free to read my room reviews if you are scouting for accommodation in these cities. I had flown into Nagoya, Japan via Vietnam Airlines‘ Business Class, and headed home on Asiana via Seoul. I had visited Osaka before and documented my vacation, so check out my travelogue hunting for food around Dotonbori in summer!

Lastly, if you are mesmerised by the charms of Japanese central mountains, check out my travelogues to Ginzan Onsen – the famed fairytale like ex-mining town in the mountains – and Aomori / Hirosaki, which was part of my winter trip to northeast Japan, where I ventured to the northernmost point of Japan – Cape Soya while exploring Sapporo, Hokkaido.

Till then, stay wanderlust!

All photos and videos were taken using Google Pixel 7 Pro, and edited with Google Photos.