We left home at around 4 am without much sleep as we were doing last-minute packing. We procrastinated and only started the serious packing two nights before our scheduled flight. 😂 But of course, we’ve forgotten quite a few things such as toothpaste. It’s ok, we could purchase most of them at the convenience stores around Japan.
The flight wasn’t exactly smooth due to the turbulence we met. The captain had to announce quite a few times to remind us to buckle up and remain seated. I remember waking up once as the plane was very shaky due to the turbulence. But thankfully, the landing was smooth as we were waiting for the descent of altitude, we didn’t know we were already reducing in height till the wheels of the plane touched the ground.
We didn’t take any meals on the flight as Dear had planned to bring me out for our first meal once we landed. Immigration was smooth sailing, although we don’t need to show proof of our vaccination now, but it’s good to register the immigration arrival details on Japan Web. It helps immigration clearance a bit smoother and faster. Might write another post about the online application on another post to help with first timers because I got confused too when navigating the website on my mobile.
We had lunch at the airport as Dear read online that there’s a nice ramen. She ordered Kamukura‘s Oiishi ramen set and a gyoza. I ordered a bento from Takomasa. To be honest, my bento wasn’t exactly delicious. The rice was cold, which I’m guessing it’s normal for a bento. The takoyaki wasn’t that bad, but not very delicious either. The only wow factor for the entire bento was the chicken kaarage which was hot and crispy and tasted good. The chicken was juicy and flavourful.
Dear’s ramen was much better. The broth was refreshing and the noodles were tangy. Although the gyoza doesn’t come with any sauce or mayonnaise to go with, it was juicy and hot. It was pan-fried to perfection in my opinion. It was so much better than my bento!
We headed off to find a luggage delivery service at the airport. Dear planned to send our medium-sized luggage off to our second hotel, which I kind of glad she did. Japan is famous for the never-ending stairs around the country, especially at its train stations. It’s rare to see escalators and elevators. So sending one luggage off helps us move around easily. For our medium-sized luggage, according to Japan’s measurement, it’s less than 160cm. After adding the weight, it cost us around SGD21.
Address: Â 3-28 Rinkuoraiminami, Izumisano, Osaka 598-8508
Nearest Train Station: Rinku Town
We rolled around in our small luggage and headed off to Rinku Premium Outlet. The first stop was Thermos because Dear eyes brightened up when she saw the brand. Got her mum a new small bottle before we headed off to find the Nike store. Along the way, we stopped at Gap as Dear said there might be some clothing I would be interested in. Sadly, the colors weren’t what I liked. Before we left, I bought two bears and gachapon hoodies for them at the Gap store. It’s a tradition I had with my friends where we will get each other bears when we travel overseas. We have a collection of travel bears that we’ve collected since not sure when.
Dear was telling me before we even got to the Nike store, that if I managed to find an Air Jordan within her budget, she’d get me a pair. At that moment, I was literally happy to hear that but also worried that the designs weren’t what I liked. Most Air Jordan was high cut, which was like a pair of basketball shoes. I didn’t like those, I prefer lower cut like a pair of sneakers. As we entered the Nike store, we headed over to the shoes section and we started to browse. A red and black coloured Air Jordan at the kids’ section called out to me and I went over to have a look. Thankfully, they had it in my size and I gave it a try. At that moment, I knew I’m in love with this pair. It was within budget and yes, I got my very first pair of Air Jordan! Dear got a matching pair too.
Address: 3 Chome-4-18 Uemachi, Izumisano, Osaka 598-0007
Nearest train station: Izumisano station
After shopping, we headed towards our first accommodation, First Hotel Izumisano. We’ll be staying here for a night before we travel towards the more city part of Osaka. Staff greeted us warmly when we entered. During check-in, they asked if we needed shuttle to Kansai Airport. Which we did say no as our trip has only just begun. As our room was in their new wing of the building, they showed us a diagram and gave us instructions on how to get to our room.
We entered the room and was surprised it wasn’t as small as we thought. There’s more chairs in the room and a small coffee table. The bed size was decent, and it comes with pyjamas! Bedroom slippers were provided as well. Oh, they do have some daily necessities at the lobby where you can take for free. We took what we needed such as hair tie and some tea packets where we did make a cup to go with our dinner that we bought from 7-eleven.
Bathroom was clean especially the bathtub which we were quite particular about. All we did was rinse which was good. Because we’ve been to hotels with not very clean bathtub which we had to scrub and wash before use. Wifi was provided and the connection was good. We were able to connect once arrived and managed to send photos and videos updates to family. Overall, would recommend this hotel if you want somewhere near the airport.
We were so tired from traveling that we decided to head out to the nearest convenience store to get cup noodles as our dinner for the night. Comfort food does help especially in Japan. They have a wide range of food that you can get to fill up your tummy.
It’s time to rest and prepare for more adventure the next day!