Travel to Osaka EP. 1: Meet the whale shark and play with Anpanman at Kobe.

Hello everyone. Today I will write about my trip to Osaka with my children. Firstly I want to inform you that it was an urgent trip without advance preparation. After we said we want to travel, we immediately booked the ticket following our schedule. We never hesitate when we can find a holiday to visit too. This trip, we flew with Air Asia as usual. We have to save when we have many family members.

Where did we go on this trip?

DAY 1: Kansai airport → Osaka Aquarium KAIYUKAN

DAY 2: Kobe Anpanman Children’s Museum & Mall → Glico Man Neon Billboard → Dotonbori, Osaka’s most popular shopping, and tourist spots.

This was Louvre first time in Japan, so he was very excited. 

I want to show you our booking. This trip had 5 members, traveling from 11 to 15 August 2018. It was on Mother’s day holiday. If you look closely, you can notice that we booked the flight and hotel near the departure date. On the day of the journey, we set out on a night flight so the children could sleep on the plane. We woke up when we arrived in Japan.

Here we come, Kansai International Airport! It is Japan’s second-largest international airport. Did you know that this is the world’s first floating airport on the man-made island?

When we left the airport, we found the train station. We bought the JR 4 Days Pass throughout the trip for economy and speed. We led the kids to the hotel for keeping the luggage in the room first. We didn’t have to hurry on this trip. We brought the children on our own and therefore have plenty of time.

 Inside the JR train was very convenient. We took about 40 minutes by train to reach the accommodation.

Children were dazzled by the train crossing the sea. Why doesn’t Thailand have this kind?

We arrived! The destination train station where our accommodation is located is “Tengachaya Station.” We got off at this station and walked for 5 minutes to reach the room. I booked a house named “Bijou Suites Ten” through BOOKING.COM. It cost approximately 7,000 baht per night. Usually, if we choose a place in the city, it’s about 5,000-6,000 baht per night. The rooms in downtown are narrow and small. This time, my family decided a room that is located slightly outside the city to get a comfortable accommodation. 

There are many restaurants in my area, both to eat the shop and to take away. Besides, there is also a convenience store near me, so it was very comfortable.

This was our room! We were pleased after seeing the place. This was the first time that I have booked an apartment house type. (It looks like Airbnb.) Our accommodation is a little far from the city center, but it is not very far because the travel is quite convenient. The owner was helpful. She had a gift and wrote a note too. The children were also happy because they had toys.

This is a picture of my family’s accommodation for this trip. The house has 2 floors. All facilities are free Wi-Fi, refrigerators, TVs, washing machines, irons, stoves, pots, rice cooker, pans, microwaves, and dishes. We could buy food to cook at the accommodation right away. This house is considered very large. I booked a room for 4 people, but I am sure this place can stay more than 4. The upper floor has a Japanese-style flooring. The reserve price is 7,000 baht per night.

There was a bathtub in the bathroom as well.

After that, we continued traveling. This photo, let’s stop by with a giraffe. We didn’t visit Legoland, but if anyone comes to this mall, there is a small Legoland too.

DAY 1: Osaka Aquarium KAIYUKAN 

The first day, we took the kids on a cool trip and walked lightly first. This trip was on Japan’s summer. Moreover, it was sweltering until we all walked with red cheeks. We found out later that this trip was the hottest summertime in Japan for 100 years. That’s why it was seriously hot. You might do not believe it, but it was warmer than Thailand! I tried to calm myself with the thought “It was good for weight loss.”

 Deedy wanted to take a photo! Let’s jump!

This picture shows the inside of Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan. The museum is quite large, with many floors. We had to walk in a circle. Our family started walking from the top floor first then walked down to the ground. There is a lot of fish here. Weird fishes that we have never seen, We can come to find them alive here.

I suggest that you should book the ticket before visit here. I booked through www.kkday.com. This website has a card to many places. Once we have booked, an email will be sent to us. We can print a ticket and show it at the door. It is very convenient because the ticket purchase queue will be extended if it is Saturday or Sunday. I would like to suggest a little more if you come on weekdays there will be a few people. But if you come on Saturday or Sunday in the morning, there are a lot of people. Since there are a lot of people, we have to squeeze like this. But when the afternoon arrived, the people started to get low, so we walk comfortably …

This strange-looking, round fish is the Ocean Sunfish. It is considered a highlight of the Osaka Aquarium “Kaiyukan.” Do not miss to see this.

Let’s dive into the deep sea. This fish is the most outstanding. This is a gigantic whale shark. This fish is hard to find alive but can be seen here.

Let’s dive into the deep sea. This fish is the most outstanding. This is a gigantic whale shark. This fish is hard to find alive but can be seen here.

This is the pond that allows us to catch fish. But before touching, we have to wash hands at the point that they have prepared first. If we don’t wash our hands and use our dirty hands to catch fish in the water, it may get dirty and contaminate the germs from our hands and cause the fish to die.

The seals are adorable. They are in the cold negative room.

This is the shark carcass that they pickled on. If I remember correctly, it was a massive shark with the most weight ever found.

Louvre, this is not the Giant crab buffet!!!

There are also penguins…

This jellyfish cupboard is a beautiful photo.

This is a view taken from the window inside the museum. Here, there is a port called “Santa Maria Port.”

Children wanted to ride the Ferris wheel after leaving the Osaka Aquarium. Of course, I had to agree with them.

The first day of this trip ended here. After arriving Osaka, we just walked around slowly. Once we took off the Ferris wheel, I brought the children to have dinner and take a train back to our room.

DAY 2: Kobe Anpanman Children’s Museum & Mall → Glico Man Neon Billboard → Dotonbori, Osaka’s most popular shopping, and tourist spots.

We brought children to see Anpanman and taste the beef.

We arrived Kobe by taking a train.

Deedy was fascinated. This is the dream water dispenser that she wanted to have at home.

After leaving the train station, there was Anpanman all the way. We could keep taking photos.

Baikinman – Bacteria Man, do you know him?

For today’s trip, our family was not in a hurry as usual. It was already noon when we left the house where we had stayed. I left the children to take a full rest. Therefore, we arrived Kobe almost afternoon.

Here is Anpanman Children’s Museum & Mall Kobe. We could walk from the train station because it is not too far.

It is the museum that was designed for the kids. Anpanman is the famous character among Japanese kids. All inside 2 floors are arranged in an Anpanman theme. The ground floor is a shop that sells toys and souvenirs. The upper level is a museum and a theme park for children to enjoy.

You might notice that there are only pictures of Deedy. My dear Louvre was sleepy all afternoon. He just woke up when we arrive at this theme park. He may look grumpy in these photos. He had to get up because they did not allow us to bring the stroller inside. We had to leave it at the entrance.

We have entered the children’s theme park.

It seemed like Kidzoona, indoor amusement park of our country.

There are many zones for children to enjoy. Loure was very happy there.

There was also a performance.

The photo of Mommy Air, Louvre, and Deedy was taken by Daddy.

Souvenir shop, a place to spend a massive amount of money!

Deedy wanted to angle the ball. She got balls full of the basket. You can check the video here.

Time to take a lot of pictures.

Ta-da!! Our first souvenir!

Anpanman Children’s Museum & Mall Kobe made the children fun and satisfied. We can spend time for a few hours.

What you cannot miss when visit Kobe is tasting beef. What is Koe beef? It is the high-class beef of the Tajima cow!

When we left the museum, we all were hungry. There are many shopping malls and restaurants near the museum. We could choose according to convenience. Our family selected 8 Eight Beef Steak＆Hamburger because I wanted to eat beef.

Let me order beef for a moment. 

This dish was the most premium grade Kobe beef which was delicious and tender. The more I ate, the more I was delighted!

After we finished our meal, we walked around the Anpanman Children’s Museum & Mall for a while. There is also a Ferris wheel here. 

We also found a monument to Elvis Presley on the way.

It was late afternoon, we decided to take a train to downtown. Today, our destinations were Glico Man Neon Billboard and Dotonbori, Osaka’s most popular shopping and tourist spots.

If traveling to Osaka, everyone must think of “Dotonbori area” If you go to Osaka, you must also go here. All you have to do here is to take a commemorative photo with the Glico sign, taste local food and shop for snacks and souvenirs. Don’t forget to buy takoyaki to eat as it’s a popular food in Osaka.

This shop named Kani Doraku. It is a restaurant that sells crabs mainly. Big crab label like this, crabs can move the legs back and forth as well. My family used to have a meal of this restaurant at the Tokyo branch. It was superb, so we want to try it again. However, we gave up after knowing that we had to wait for more than 2 hours in lines.

This is the landmark of Osaka. Glico Man Neon Billboard is what you shall not miss at all!

Deedy wanted to check in with Glico Man Neon Billboard.

There were crab legs to eat while walking. We could walk and try the great taste amount of food.

At night on this road, we will be very stunned by the lights. There are a lot of people here. If you bring children, you should take care carefully to prevent getting lost.

Grilled meat restaurant.

There is Kobe beef as well.

 Since this was the first time that I brought my children to Japan, Deedy wanted to try playing with a claw machine. She could get 2 dolls for the first two rounds. We spent a lot of money with this machine, but she got only these 2 dolls.

After enjoying at Dotonbori area, which is the landmark of Osaka, it was late evening, so I brought my tired children back to the room. We left everything on the following days.

I want to end this article at Day 2.

 Please kindly follow the next Ep. 2 to other cities via this link.

If you have any question about raising children, preparing to travel, taking the kid to Japan or another country, you can ask me via my page.

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