After having a thought to visit the Land of Rising Sun for about 3 years ago, finally, I have the chance to land my feet on Japan. I went for a 7 Day Central Japan tour on end May, a travel that set me free, well, at least for 10 days(I extended for another 3 days after the group tour package). In fact, there was only 5 days in total if I didn’t extend my length of stay there as the 1st and very last day were spent on flight journey.


Way to Universal Studio Japan located at Osaka Bay. Not very much to say here except about the ride of the Amazing Adventure of Spider-man. Wore a 3D vision goggle and raced through the virtual city of spider-man which make me screamed along the way while the web slinger swing all over in action. Don’t ask me, I couldn’t really tell you what I have seen during the ride as it was rather fast moving but what I am sure is, it was one of the best ride in USJ that one should not miss.
A tip here, if you really want to enjoy most of the attractions and to save the time on queuing up, do consider to purchase the Universal Express Pass. It comes with 2 options: pass booklet 7 and pass booklet 4. Trust me, it is worth the money as it is always very crowded there, with Japanese who proudly support their theme park at all time, even during weekdays.





At around 3pm, we(the tour members) left for our next target to Osaka Castle. It was built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1583, who ruled Japan in the latter half of the 16th century. One of the charms of this castle is the beauty of its stone wall. Reportedly, there are 40,000 rocks in the wall. According to the legend, the powerful daimyo from all parts of Japan competed in carrying the large rocks to display their loyalty to the Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The castle’s interior is a museum that consists of eight floors devoted mainly to exhibits that documents Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s life and history of the castle.


Next, we headed for Shinsaibashi. It is the major shopping district in downtown Osaka. We had only 2 hours to spend here and therefore we just took a quick bite by one of the typical small Japanese Ramen shop but I can tell you the ramen was indeed yummy.
After dinner, we immediately “raced” on to the shopping street which has plenty of all kind of trendy shops selling ladies fashion, accessories, cosmetics, shoes, hand phones… For Sanrio fans there is a Sanrio Gallery that sell tons of cute Hello Kitty and Sanrio items. Also there are departmental stores like Daimaru and Sogo which I didn’t have a chance to step in for a look as limited time constraint. Well, going on a package tour has always such disadvantages, rushing all the time, you just have to make your time well spent, no hard planning, simply walk, snap photos, grabs the stuff that you like and buy it without 2nd thought and then move on from there, LOL.
Well, at the end I managed to buy a pair of leggings and a blouse, hmm… Osaka has definitely much more for me to explore next time(if I have the chance to come again).




We ended our night at Osaka Ramada Hotel.
Continue to day 2 tour ยป