For my final trip to Japan (for the year), I planned to go over Chuseok, (Korean Thanksgiving). My friends Arlene, Joseph, and Nancy joined me on this 5-day adventure. Arlene and I set off on Wednesday morning and headed to Busan to catch our flight to Osaka via Eastar Jet. There was no traffic, the airport wasn’t super busy (unlike my experience last year in Seoul), and we arrived safe and sound at Osaka Kansai.
After getting into Osaka proper, we made our way to the air BnB, which was near the Shin-Imamiya Station. Our BnB was exactly what we expected (minus a bit of smell from the tatami walls and lack of logical air flow). We got ourselves settled, headed out to grab a late lunch. As we walked around, we got a good feel for the area and were able to pick up a few supplies from the grocery store.
We found an OK ramen place and chose the ‘mixed’ flavor (not too lean/not overly fatty). It was pretty rich and tasty for the price!
A Full Day in Kobe
The next day, we got our butts moving around 9am and headed straight to Kobe. We walked around and found the Ikuta Shrine and did a bit of shopping until we were ready for our Kobe beef meal at Tor Road Steak Aoyama.
At the restaurant, we chose the 5000 yen option and it was absolutely worth it. We had a salad, soup, Kobe beef (sirloin and tenderloin), grilled veggies, and bread. We also had tea afterward. The shop owners spoke a bit of English and were super friendly. I highly recommend this place to anyone who is heading to Kobe for the beef!
After our fantastic meal, we hopped on the city tour bus (well worth it) and went up to the Kobe Nunobiki Herb Gardens & Ropeway. We took the cable car to the top and had a nice stroll down the mountainside. Although there were not many flowers in-bloom, it was still a beautiful place to spend a few hours.
We arrived back into the city around 5:30 and headed to Chinatown. They were having a Moon Festival, and we were able to taste some awesome street food (dumplings, more Kobe beef, and noodles). Here’s a video of Nancy purchasing some of the amazing steamed/fried dumplings.
We headed back to Osaka after getting our fill and we headed back to Osaka to rest-up for the next day.
Shopping and Eating in Osaka
On Friday, Nancy and Joseph went to Universal Studios and Arlene and I had the day to ourselves. We went out for some gorgeous pancakes at 幸せのパンケーキ 本町店. I ordered the regular pancakes with manuka honey butter and caramel maple syrup. The pancakes were phenomenal – not as sweet as I thought (which was a good thing) and worth every penny.
After breakfast, we headed out to the Instant Ramen Museum – stay tuned to next week’s post for full details!
We stayed at the Ramen Museum for a few hours and headed to Umeda afterward. We found some yummy sushi at one of the stalls in the food hall and had a fabulous meal for about $12USD. I was able to find a few gifts at Loft before we headed back towards the BnB to rest. We didn’t rest too long (that was dangerous) and hurried out to meet the other two for kushikatsu at a local restaurant. Kushikatsu is fried everything = yummy goodness. Everything was fried to perfection and the dipping sauce was quite good as well. It was money well spent and we walked away (ok…waddled) very happy customers.
More Shopping and Sushi in Osaka
The following day we all did our own things. While Arlene and Joe checked out a festival, I went back to shop at Umeda and Tokyo Station. We all met up around 2:30 and had sushi at Harukoma Sushi (春駒 支店), recommended by Migrationology. It was good-damned good, but I actually liked the fatty tuna at Umeda station better!
After eating, we were all kinda pooped, so Joe and I went back towards the BnB to go shopping at Don Quixote and call it a night.
Back to Reality
The next day was fly home day! Arlene and I got to Osaka Kansai with plenty of time to check in, eat a Filet o’ Fish at McDonald’s (they don’t have them in Korea) and do a mad dash through duty free shopping.
It was an excellent vacation – my first time traveling in a group that size in 5 years and it went splendidly! I highly recommend visiting (aka eating your way through) Osaka and Kobe, over a long weekend (even longer if you have the chance)!
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Osaka and Kobe
Another really great read Lindsay with the photos to match. Chuseok always provided a great opportunity for English teachers in Korea to get away and with Japan being only a relatively short hop away, I imagine a few others followed in your footsteps. And, just like everyone seems to do in Japan, you certainly seem to have spent a lot of time eating which is undeniably one of the many highlights to the country. Certainly, when you can find a great meal at Umeda station then you know you’re in a country that values its eats!
Thanks so much for reading! Japan is so very easy to get to, it makes it a super-easy choice for a long weekend 🙂 And yep, I’m all about eating my way through a country haha!
Great tips for a 5 day trip through the area. On our last visit there, we missed out on Osaka completely, but will def check out some of your recommendations when we make it there again. (including McDs hahaha…oh how I miss the filet o’fish!) 😉
Thanks for reading 🙂 Osaka definitely makes a great home-base! I never knew how much I’d miss that darned sandwich ’til I couldn’t get it anymore 🙂
Wow!! What a beautiful place and that food looks amazing!
Thank you! I miss the food so much 🙂
If it me instead of you, the food would certainly be the highlight too. I love Japanese food. Those pancakes, though…wow!
Amazing post. Yum ! Japan looks so beautiful. I love how you captured Osaka and Kobe. Can’t wait to visit one day.
Thank you for reading ^^ You’ll have an amazing time!
I remember traveling over Korean thanksgiving when I lived in Seoul. I also went to Japan but didn’t make it to Kobe or Osaka. I am
A vegetarian so I would skip the Kobe beef but those pancakes looked so good. Thanks for the share. If I am ever in Japan i’ll have to visit.
Thanks so much for reading and commenting! Where did you go in Japan? Those pancakes were amazing! I thought they’d be super-sweet (like something we’d find in Korea), but they were perfectly balanced 🙂
Wow you got to eat world famous Kobe beef in Kobe Japan. That by itself makes the trip worthwhile, but you did and saw and ate so many cool things. You had a super weekend getaway.
This sounds like such a fun weekend. I love all the different foods you were able to try and how you got to go to the Instant Ramen Museum! That would be so fun! Your post made me hungry!
Thanks so much for reading! The Ramen Museum was a super cool experience, definitely worth going to if you find yourself in Osaka or Tokyo!
It seems that you and your friends had a blast in your destinations. Both Korea and Osaka are countries I have never visited yet. Those pictures you have there makes me jealous that I wish I could go there soon. And even the pictures of the foods look tempting.
Thanks so much for reading and commenting! I definitely recommend visiting Korea and Japan if you ever get the chance! The food alone is worth the trip ^^
We couldn’t squeeze Kobe in our itinerary when we were in Japan last year but I wish we did! I’m drooling over the sound of Kobe beef… there’s always next time:) The souffle pancakes have been such a hit in recent years, I love making them at home! I can’t wait to go back to the Kansai region to pig out. I enjoyed this area a lot more than Tokyo- good call on your choices.
Ohhh, I haven’t tried making the souffle pancakes myself! Do you have a good recipe?? That Kobe beef really was something special.. I could go back to that area year after year 🙂
Beautiful destinations indeed. Just like you, we would visit the markets and try out those yummy streetfoods; these are the best way of seeing the true culture of the city. You had us at McDonald’s though—-you just can’t resist it, can’t you? LOL! 😀
Haha – I really couldn’t resist! When I can’t get a Filet o’Fish, I can’t seem to stop daydreaming about it!! Haha, really hit the spot 🙂
Looks like you had an awesome time, but I gotta say the food looks incredible! Especially those pancakes – absolutely perfect! I’ve never tried Kobe beef but heard good things, so its something I’d love to get my teeth into, haha!
Haha! I really wasn’t sure how much different the Kobe beef would be to some of the other meats I’ve tried… BUT – I noticed a major difference and really wanted to order more and more! Those pancakes were fab as well. Osaka definitely kicks ass with its foodie options!
For me, shopping and try out the local cuisines are two great ways to get the feel of the culture and tradition of the land. Thanks to your article, I feel better prepared to experience the same in Japan. I will bookmark it. Did you get enough vegan or vegetarian delights as well?
Hi Neha! I didn’t look for vegan dishes, but there definitely seemed to be plenty of veggie options around. Thanks for reading ^^
That ramen looks so delicious!! Wow! I loved Osaka and Kobe and I’m glad it looks like you had a great time too!
Would love to make it to Kobe if not just for the food! The pictures are great! It is nice to know that Kobe is a day trip away from Osaka. It will help with our trip to the area!
The food was amazing!! Hope you can make it out there – super happy we made a point of spending the day there 🙂