Moving from Kyoto to Osaka!
I've finally written so much that it's already my last day in Kyoto. No words can explain how much I love the city, the people and my guesthouse. Though there would really be many places that I'd love to drop by next time because my pace in Kyoto was a slow one that I didn't actually visit Arashiyama (because Arashiyama is actually a place that requires a lot of walking, which was one of my concerns as well). I have only passed by Toji and Kyoro's Aeon rather than entering both of the buildings, so I would put those in my to-do list when I visit Kyoto next time!
I took my time to have my final breakfast of noodles and onigiri that I bought, then tidied my bed space and headed out upon leaving my luggage on the sides of the room. I thought that I'd still have some time until afternoon before departing to Osaka since my check-in time is about 3pm, so I decided to re-visit the imperial palace of Kyoto since I missed the entrance time a couple of days ago.
As usual, I got my one-day bus ticket, hopped onto a bus to Shijo Omiya to change to another bus to stop in front of Doshisha University (where their students' choir group actually came to my university for student-exchange purposes). I walked and looked around, then walked to the imperial palace.
I thought that the night is still young and Kotobukiya is closed earlier than I anticipated, so I walked to Namba to look at the illuminations. There are many indie groups or singers performing on the streets! Some of them also make posters and placing CDs for those who are interested in buying their songs. :)
I also walked into Ebisubashi to look at the surroundings, and they have so many shops and it was very, very crowded. Probably because it was a weekend.
Along Namba, you will see many trees that are well-lit! The entire street is full with illuminations so I jokingly told Yuu-tan that it'd be great if I could date someone right away just to watch the illumination lololol and she ended up agreeing with me X'D
I went back around 11pm since the station was not very far from where I live (somewhere around Tsurumibashi), but when I got back, it was really, really dark and my GPS failed me so hard that I didn't know how to go home. I remembered how I walked from one point to another trying to search for proper signal but my GPS just refuses to work for me.
The shops around me were all CLOSED. The streets were eerily quiet and I didn't know what to do but to continue walking and hoping that someone passes by so that I can ask for directions, but my luck was horrid that every cyclist I met cycled away from me pretending that they heard nothing. I panicked even harder because it's getting really, really late, and I am still stuck outside when the winds are getting stronger and my phone's running low on battery and I forgot to bring a USB cable when I head out so there's no way for me to charge my device either.
I managed to walk through this covered tunnel full of shops and everything's closed. Then there's this lady that suddenly came out from her shop decorating things for Christmas and I just ran my way to her and going "すみません、あたし、ちょっと迷子になちゃったの…" and she immediately went "ararara..." and showed me my way home and I'm just trying to hold my tears and thanked her so many times and ran my way back to my room (T_T)
By the time I got home, it is almost midnight.
On a side note, I also got these from a convenience store and since I plan to visit Nara, I thought of bringing them with me to Nara but I ended up eating those for supper lol
And yes, my following day will be a short day trip to Nara!
Will update when I get the time to! :D
Until next time~ ☆
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| I wanted to take some time to explain that the kanji in Chinese actually means the F-word that I can't stop laughing on my way to the Imperial Palace of Kyoto |
When I recalled how I actually missed the entrance time by only a few minutes, I saw the above coffee shop that is called "Kan" but because my mood was a little bad, I read it in Chinese "gan" and started laughing at it instead. It isn't open by the day I visited the imperial palace again, which is a little sad because I was thinking of dropping by for a cup of a not-so-coffee-ish coffee. ヾ(*｀⌒´*)ﾉ yudodistome
Also, the good news about the imperial palace of Kyoto is that, you no longer need a reservation to enter the palace grounds, so I never did! However, if you would like to have a tour in English, you can head to their office and make a reservation, then show up if you want to. I was lucky enough to be able to enter the palace, and just in time, there is a Japanese tour group so I just tagged along to listen to some of the tour guide's explanations (and also busy looking around).
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| Rest Area |
Of course, before you enter the palace grounds, your bags will be checked. Since I was only bringing a very tiny slingbag, my bag was almost not noticable but I surrendered my bag for checking regardless. There was this scenario that I find a little funny between me and the officer, the conversation was in Japanese so it's a rough translation:
Officer: Did you come barehand?
Me: Actually, I do have a bag... *surrenders bag on table*
Officer: Would you mind showing us what you have in the bag?
Me: Sure, here's my sunglasses, my umbrella, my pocket wifi and its powerbank..
Officer: *nods*
Me: My powerbank... my eyedrops...
Officer: *nodding*
Me: My mirror, my USB... And another powerbank
Officer: So many powerbanks www
Me: Ya I would panic if my phone run low on battery w
Officer: Okay you can pass and enjoy your visit!
Me: lololol ok thanks ﾌﾞｩｰﾝε=ε=(o*・ω・)o
Once you have passed the security check, you will be given a visitor's tag and find a rest area towards your right. You can rest there after circling the palace grounds. So I tagged along the tour guide and walked through the palace while he explains about the usage of the buildings, the meaning of the drawings and how the guest rooms are used depending on the type of guest. I don't really remember most of them so... Have some photos :D
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| I wonder what I was trying to do while taking this photo |
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| Click to view the photo in full :D |
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| I'm not sure why, but I like this photo |
The entire tour took me about 1 hour and 10 minutes. And after taking photos and walking around the gardens, I left the imperial palace after returning the visitor's tag and headed back to my guesthouse at 1:30pm and checked out.
I dragged my bag to Shijo Omiya to board the Hankyu line to Umeda station. Another friend of mine, Yuu-tan lives a station away from Umeda station and she explains that most locals would call the Osaka station area as Umeda, but for the Osaka station, it's run by JR and Umeda station is for the Hankyu line. The station buildings were really huge that I got so lost inside.
I arrived Umeda at 2:40pm and my host actually agreed to pick me up from there after hearing that I sprained my ankle, but a stranger pointed me to the complete opposite direction when I asked for directions (I was supposed to meet my host in Umeda station's Kinokuniya) that I walked all the way to the JR station and went ??????? but then I also saw the tourist's information center so I kind of went "heck it, I'm gonna get my 2-day Osaka Amazing pass and ask for proper directions again" so I finally managed to find my host :'D
My host, Haruko is a really sweet person! She and her husband run a personal business, and they fetched me all the way from the station and sightseeing around Namba before dropping me off in my room. I had my own room that is really, really large and it was so comfy (though I really missed my guest house in Kyoto because mochi has my love). I was also briefed about the area, the stations, the stores around and given a sheet of paper in case I got lost.
I took my time resting in the room and charging my devices, then headed out to Namba station and walk to Den-Den town - It's like the Osaka's Akihabara. Sadly, the shops here close as early as 8 or 9pm so I didn't get to see very much, but I managed to grab some okonomiyaki from Yukari!
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| When you exit Namba station |
I thought that the night is still young and Kotobukiya is closed earlier than I anticipated, so I walked to Namba to look at the illuminations. There are many indie groups or singers performing on the streets! Some of them also make posters and placing CDs for those who are interested in buying their songs. :)
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| Den Den Den Den Town _(:3J |
I also walked into Ebisubashi to look at the surroundings, and they have so many shops and it was very, very crowded. Probably because it was a weekend.
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| Ebisubashi |
Along Namba, you will see many trees that are well-lit! The entire street is full with illuminations so I jokingly told Yuu-tan that it'd be great if I could date someone right away just to watch the illumination lololol and she ended up agreeing with me X'D
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| Illuminations in Namba \o/ |
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| More illuminations |
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| I forgot where I was but look at this majestic golden dragon |
I went back around 11pm since the station was not very far from where I live (somewhere around Tsurumibashi), but when I got back, it was really, really dark and my GPS failed me so hard that I didn't know how to go home. I remembered how I walked from one point to another trying to search for proper signal but my GPS just refuses to work for me.
The shops around me were all CLOSED. The streets were eerily quiet and I didn't know what to do but to continue walking and hoping that someone passes by so that I can ask for directions, but my luck was horrid that every cyclist I met cycled away from me pretending that they heard nothing. I panicked even harder because it's getting really, really late, and I am still stuck outside when the winds are getting stronger and my phone's running low on battery and I forgot to bring a USB cable when I head out so there's no way for me to charge my device either.
I managed to walk through this covered tunnel full of shops and everything's closed. Then there's this lady that suddenly came out from her shop decorating things for Christmas and I just ran my way to her and going "すみません、あたし、ちょっと迷子になちゃったの…" and she immediately went "ararara..." and showed me my way home and I'm just trying to hold my tears and thanked her so many times and ran my way back to my room (T_T)
By the time I got home, it is almost midnight.
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| Dango |
On a side note, I also got these from a convenience store and since I plan to visit Nara, I thought of bringing them with me to Nara but I ended up eating those for supper lol
Will update when I get the time to! :D
Until next time~ ☆
