"At Last I See the Light" - Our Nov 2024 Anniversary Trip Report

[Nakkira]

October 2019 My Hubby and I traveled with my sister and her boyfriend to the Land of the Rising Sun.
10 days split between Tokyo and Kyoto.
It wasn't enough. We have wanted to go back ever since.

In July 2020 we were involved in a pretty bad car accident that left us both with permanent spinal damage and a lot of pain.

Thankfully we are both still able to get around but we move at a slower pace these days. or as my Great Grandmother used to say "I'm still kickin! Maybe not as high, but still kicking"

So we decided to go back, just the two of us for our Anniversary. Last time Tokyo Disney did not happen but this time I REALLY wanted to go, so we decided to put it at the end of our trip and actually be in Disney Sea on our 9th Anniversary (November 7th).

Link to my Planning Blog

Who are "We"?


On the right is my DDH (age 48) also known on my prior trip reports as "S". And me (age 45)


Apology to those that followed my planning blog, it took me a couple weeks to get to this is I had a lot of "life stuff" to attend to when we got back.

Just going to jump right in to our Travel Days:

Oct 24th we drove to Newark NJ to do a "Park, Sleep, Fly" as our flight was pretty early the next morning.

Our hotel had a free airport shuttle but as it was 5 am when we headed to the airport, they were not running it at the time and ordered us an Uber "On Them"
We were flying with Air Canada from Newark to Vancouver and then from Vancouver to Osaka.
We had to go speak with a gate agent at check-in about out seats because while we had paid for an Extra seat for my husband (size reasons) it was not showing on our reservation.
Even the agent could not see it. Oh, she saw the $400+ payment we had made, but it was apparently not clear as to what we had purchased. She tried at first to say it was the taxes on out flight and the "Bistro Meal" we had booked. I had to show her the original booking that showed the taxes already paid (as well as the Bistro meal). This second charge had gone through a couple month later when we booked the extra seat.
NOPE. That $400 was not showing as being for that and our extra seat was not available.
Thankfully, after about thirty minutes of patience-testing back and forth, she moved some seating around and blocked an "extra" seat off between us for THIS leg of the flight but said we would have to speak to the gate agent in Vancouver for the next leg.

Thankfully, security was a breeze and we got some Starbuck for breakfast before our flight.

It was a pretty uneventful flight with no meal service but the Air Canada Bistro thing I had booked got us each a sandwich and a couple of snacks.
I have to say that the entertainment options were decent too.

The views as we were approaching Vancouver were spectacular.

Once we landed in Vancouver we had to wait an hour or so to speak to a gate agent about our seat issue, and we basically went through the same ordeal all over again. Thankfully this person was also able to block us off an extra seat and advised us to call Air Canada to sort things out before we flew home.
I spent the couple of hours between flights walking around the Airport because sitting for too long REALLY aggravates my back pain. But at least there was some Aquarium displays and other cool things to look at.



Our layover was only a couple of hours and then we were boarded and ready to fly to Osaka!


Not too much to say about this flight. It was long and painful, the food was meh as is all economy food. Although the chocolate cake they served with dinner was yummy and they put lots of those on the snack cart to help yourself to later. I watched the movie Practical Magic as it was close to Halloween and then binge watched season 1 of Two Broke Girls (the only season they had).

Once we landed in Osaka it was early evening on Oct 26th. After a bit of confusion locating the meeting place for our driver (I had pre-booked a car to pick us up on Klook and it was worth every penny).
After an hour or so long drive (It seemed we drove in a LONG circle around the city in Heavy traffic) we arrived at Hotel Brighton. We were so bushed. Check in was smooth and we dashed across the street to the 711 to get some dinner snacks. It was a small store with a limited variety but we grabbed a few random items and shared them back in the room.
Ah, egg sando, how I had missed thee.

By the time we got back from the store it was only just past 7pm and we struggled to stay awake long enough to eat and bath. The original goal had been to stay up until 9pm but with no sleep on the plane we had been up over 26 hours. We were in bed by 8:30pm.
Spoiler alert. We did not sleep well. Japanese beds are FIRM. With both of us already in pain it was not the restful night we could have wished for.

 

[Nakkira]

Day 1 Part 1
Osaka Castle

The night before we had decided that we were going to do Osaka Castle on the first day. Last time we had gone we took a day trip from Kyoto to Osaka, but a late start meant that we missed out on the castle.
We decided to walk since our legs were pretty fresh and we absolutely needed to work out some of the stiffness from our travel day.
We stopped at the combini on our way out and just got a custard pastry to share a coffee for me and a tea for the hubby. We figured we'd get something more for breakfast later. (We did not -lol)

I love that you can just get hot coffee in bottles out of vending machines and at the convenience stores.

It was a nice day and a mostly pleasant walk. About halfway to the castle, we were stopped by an older Japanese gentleman outside of a shop we had thought about going to for breakfast but was apparently closed because it was Sunday. He had pretty good English and mentioned that he had been to America a couple of times. He asked where we were from, what are plans in Japan were, and chatted to us for a few. It was a lovely interaction and as we were saying farewell he pointed up the street that we were already walking down and confirmed that the castle was that way.

We stopped at a little park right near by the castle to rest our legs, finish off our beverages and go to the bathroom.



The views as we were approaching the castle were quite lovely.



I offered to take pictures for a couple that we're trying to do a selfie and they offered to take one back.


Not having decided in advance which day we were going to the castle, we did not purchase our tickets in advance so we got in a very long and intimidating line. Thankfully most cues in Japan move reasonably quickly and I think we were waiting for about a half an hour. The sun was very bright that day. We'd already been standing in line for 20 minutes before I remembered that we had a UV umbrella in the backpack. Lol so I may have gotten a little sunburnt.

(To be continued as I have reached the photo limit for this post and I have to cook dinner now...)

 

[CariadMartin]

Following! I am so desperate to do Japan but it's a long flight for us and with two small kids in the mix as well, I don't think it's on the cards for a while! So I will just live vicariously through others travel posts and vlogs!

 

[Nakkira]

Day 1 Part 2
Osaka Castle




We toured the inside of the castle, but no photos were allowed of the Museum displays. If you are just here for the sights I would honestly skip it. It's a lot of walking and the inside is pretty sterile and modern. The views from the top are nice but maybe not quite worth the entrance fee.
My husband and I are both history buffs and he has a particular interest in Japanese history so for him this was worth it. I found the displays interesting as well, however I understand this in not for everyone.
We wore ourselves out walking up all the flights and walking around the inside. Perhaps not the best choice for two people with reduced physical stamina, but we don't always remember how much it going to hurt LATER when we over-do it now. LOL
Photos were allowed on the rooftop however. It was quite lovely.






We exited the the castle and found ourselves a bench to rest on for a bit.
Guess who came over to hang out with us?


Bernice!

"S" has a running joke where all pigeons are names Bernice and we encounter Bernice in every city we visit. ( Bernice Joke Explained )
I ran over to get us some drinks and ice cream from the nearby vending machines because we were very hot and I felt a little light headed having only had half a pastry for breakfast. Hubby stayed in the shade and fed Bernice crumbs from a crushed up biscoff he had in his backpack from our flight.



Of course by the time I returned Bernice had invited friends to the Biscoff party.

We decided to head out of the area and go find some actual food for lunch.

Seriously though, while going INSIDE the castle might not be for everyone, the park and grounds around it are very lovely and worth a visit.

We passed this as we were leaving.

 

[Nakkira]

Day 1 Part 3
Tenjinbash


We headed to a station and Purchased our ICOCA cards. We did not have these on our last visit and it was a mistake that made Metro/Train travel way more cumbersome than it had to be. So much easier to just load the card and swipe at the station rather than going to the machines to calculate your fare for each single ride.

We headed to Tenjinbash because "S" wanted to check out the Osaka Museum of Housing and Living. First went to Tenjinbashi shopping street to find lunch and make a few small purchases.

I was pretty light-headed so instead of enjoying the shopping street offerings we ended up going to the first viable option we saw, which was McDonald's. I try to stick to local-ish food when I travel but McDonalds in other countries has foods we don't have back home so this didn't really feel like a cop out to me.
"S" had the teriyaki burger and I had the "Ebi Burger" or Fillet-o-Shrimp. I had this last time and had been longing for it ever since.

Deceptively simple but delicious with a Panko breaded shrimp patty (whole chunks of shrimp inside) and a thousand island-like sauce.
I also tried the much-hyped Fanta Melon, but I found it a bit to sweet and cloying.

I regretted this choice soon after because the were so many good looking food stalls at the market and I was too full to try any of them.


There was a fun trick or treating even going on and lots of kids were in costumes. It was fun just being in the atmosphere.



Of course I has to check out the Gotcha Store. (You can see the hubby peering in at me).

We grabbed some bananas from a street vendor (figured the potassium might help prevent leg cramps) and a few items from Diaso and headed it to museum. This a small but cool museum that has a "detailed and faithful recreation of “Osaka” from 1830 to 1844"

Apparently you can also rent Kimono here and get some great photo ops in the reproduction town.
It's only ¥600 entry and was a nice little stop.


I didn't take many photos but if you are in the area I recommend it.

Jet lag and body pain caught up with us big time. We decided to take a train back to our hotel for some rest sand then find dinner nearby.

After a rest we checked out Google maps to figure out dinner and selected a Nearby gyoza restaurant. We eat got the set with Gyozan and Ramen for ¥1300 each.
This was a local place and we were the only non-Japanse people there.
It was SO delicious. The Gyoza was that perfect combination of crispy and chewy with just the right amount of filling and the ramen broth was nice and light with thin noodles. We each had a beer as well plus a fried squid appetizer and the total bill was only about ¥3600 or about $23.


We stopped at Lawson's on our way back to get some drinks and I tried my hand at a cute little crane game inside. I was trying to get the Cinnamon Roll toys for my Mom and Sister but they were laying too flat, but I did manage to grab a Kuromi for myself.



We took quick showers followed by a long bath to sooth our aching bodies and went to bed around 9:30.

Total Step Count: 16,995.

 

[Nakkira]

Day 2 Part 1

These beds. Ugh. I kind of low-key hate them.
I forgot to mention in our "Day 1" blog that I had stopped by the front desk that morning to see if I could obtain extra pillows and a sheet.
We had brought some cheap/thin pillow with us to help but the pillows on the bed were also inadequate. With back pain I tend to use pillows to support myself during the night.
I wanted the extra sheet because Hubby sleeps hot and we tend to sleep under separate covers.
I was informed that there were no extras available.
The kind man at the front desk did provide a "small blanket" (think airline blanket).
So while shopping that day, we tried and failed to find a cheap flat-sheet (we probably would have found one eventually but we were too tired to put in a ton of effort). So we improvised and got a cheap/thin duvet cover that "S" used as a sheet.
So I used the blanket in place of a pillow and that helped, but seriously, the beds are too firm.

FTR I also forgot to mention that we were staying at:

Hotel Brighton City Osaka Kitahama​

This was a nice hotel in the business district. The room was small but not tiny, actually spacious by local standards. They provided free water bottles, proved high quality bathroom amenities, and had very friendly staff and service. It was also close to the metro and within walking distance of the Castle. Apologies for not photographing the room. But there are pictures online. The bathroom had a weird window with blinds to the bedroom that could be opened from outside the bathroom. This was odd but not a big deal.

This photo does not belong to me, just borrowing it in illustration.

Anyway we both "woke up" from a poor nights sleep grumbling about sleeping on concrete slabs. I tasked my hubby to write me a Tanka on the subject (similar to Haiku) and he wrote the following :

Nearby, a crossroad
Watched over by a statue
Weathered by the rains
It's stoney muted fierceness
Is still softer than this bed

We each had a hot shower to loosen up the muscles and headed out to a nearby Cafe for breakfast. It was a cool and drizzly morning and we sat outside (it was covered) and watched people hustle to work in the rain.

We got the set breakfast with pancakes, eggs, "bacon" and salad.




Since we had gotten up so early we went back to our room to figure out what we wanted to do for the day (well we had some ideas we just needed to firm up the game-plan) and relax before heading out.

 

[Daphne0890]

Very nice start of your trip report! Love reading it and I love and hope to go there someday!

 

[mmmears]

Great start! I'm following along (and taking notes).

 

[Apiary]

I am already dreading the beds for our April trip. I don't know if my back will make it.

 

[kristenabelle]

Just got home and I'm so with you. We stayed at a few more western-style hotels, and my neck was so thankful for those beds/pillows. The first nights in Tokyo & Kyoto were beautiful but rough lol

 

[jimmymc]

Very nice so far! I think you were in Osaka/Kyoto while I was in Tokyo and vice versa. Osaka was a lot of fun. People seemed more social at restaurants and bars, and just more relaxed in general.

 

[mlaw]

I am enjoying your trip report. What hotel did you stay in by the Newark Airport? We are flying out of there in March and I am having a tough time deciding as none of them really stand out.

 

[Nakkira]

I am already dreading the beds for our April trip. I don't know if my back will make it.

I have to be honest that it was almost a deal breaker. If you already have back issues and can wear you down after a bit. Maybe if you can check two backs bring one with an old comforter that you can lie on top of and maybe abandon when you leave so you have that as extra luggage space.
If I ever go again I will figure out SOMETHING to make the beds more bearable.

 

[Nakkira]

I am enjoying your trip report. What hotel did you stay in by the Newark Airport? We are flying out of there in March and I am having a tough time deciding as none of them really stand out.

It was "near" the Newark airport (but had free airport transportation). We stayed at The Kenilworth Hotel

 

[Nakkira]

Day 2 Part 2
Osaka Aquarium

We decided on Osaka Aquarium for the day's main activity. We had been in that area last time to ride the Ferris wheel but got there too late in the day to do much else.
It was also an overcast and drizzly day so indoor activities seemed to fit the bill
We made a brief stop at a drug store on the way because I was having reflux issues and needed an antacid.
Google translate came in clutch here. It can be quite difficult to find what you want otherwise ad the packaging and brands are NOT the same as you are used to.
It was an overcast and drizzly day do indoor activities seemed to fit the bill.


The line to buy tickets was about 30 minutes with an entry time for 45 minutes later. (by the time we finished the entry times were up to two hours after ticket purchase).
We put our backpack in the coin locker so we didn't have to deal with it the whole time we were there. I really like that for the most part in Japan, coin lockers at museums and such were pretty cheap or outright free (returning your coin when you cam back). In this case we paid ¥300

I really loved this aquarium. It's going to be difficult to choose just a few to post here from the 100 or so I took.

It was VERY crowded that day with lots of school groups. However it is a vast aquarium and you find good spots and good views id patient.

I also had alot of fun collecting the stamps. I had brought a blank book for train stamps this time and while I think I only ended up with 1 train stamp (usually to busy trying to get to my train to hunt down the stamp) I got several at the Various Tourist places we visited.



Yup. Going to need a couple more posts........

 

[Nakkira]

Day 2 Part 3
Osaka Aquarium cont

More aquarium Photos incomming!
We found a lovely place to sit in the middle of the aquarium and just watch the big tank for a while. We problably stayed there for at least a half an hour. There was so much to see in that tank.




We had been there awhile when we saw there cafe and we were a little peckish, so we got the long-shapped "spotted garden eel" hot dog to share and enjoyed watching the harbor view while we ate an rested. FTR the hotdog was not the best. Edible but not good either. But it was fun anyway.

 

[Nakkira]

Day 2 Part 4
Osaka Aquarium fin
After our snack we finished up at the Aquarium. It was honestly one of the best I have been too.


I can only aspire to this level of chill....



Did you know that penguins projectile poop? I found that out a few second after snapping these pics. it was impressive....
lol

We headed back our side and stopped at family mart for the famous Famichicki.

I had not tried one on our last trip.
This one has a lot of hype. We thought it was good but it was very greasy because it was dark meat and still had the skin. It would have been better as a sandwich (they apparently do sell buns inside with sauce already on them). It was about 1:30 pm and we decided to head to Dotonburi. It was about 1:30 pm

 

[Nakkira]

Day 2 Part 5
Dontonburi

We made our way to Dontonburi (via metro). Nothing can prepare you for it.
It's just.. alot. So many People, so much to see.
Also awesome.
Reminded me of being in Times Square a bit.





Asked the hubby to do the Glico man pose but he wasn't having it. Bless his heart, he indulges me but doesn't really like posing for photos. LOL

Good enough.







I was going to ride the Don Quijote Ferris Wheel but changed my mind after we went through the store. It was too cramped and crowded and I got overstimulated FAST. We picked up a couple of things (One flavor of kit Kats we hadn't tried before, and some face wash that everyone was talking about on social media) and then continued to wander. We had time to kill before the restaurant that I wanted to eat at opened for dinner at 4pm. We had only snacked for lunch so that we could do dinner early and avoid a long wait (also it was going to be ALOT of food.)
Honestly we got tired of wandering. It can sometimes be a little tough in these areas to find a place to rest without having to buy something and sit in an eating establishment.
We actually sat on a sidewalk in a back alley near some host/hostess clubs for awhile just to rest our feet and give me a break from the crowd. LOL

But at last.. it was getting to be time for Dinner!

 

[Nakkira]

Day 2 Part 5
Dontonburi - Wagyu Dinner

For dinner we had decided on all you can eat Wagyu Yakiniku (I had this place picked out from some YouTube videos I had watched before leaving )
Yakiniku Rikimaru Nanba Dotonbori
It was kind of hard to find but after about 10 minutes we figured it out.
All you can eat Wagyu for ¥5,808 (this was for 120 minutes, there are other plans) per person.
We all so got the all you can drink (alcohol inclusive) for and additional ¥1,400 pp

We usually go to an AYCE Brazilian steak house for our Anniversary dinner (because the resort we went to for our honeymoon had a Brazilian steakhouse restaurant and it was our favorite meal of the whole trip) so we decided that this would be our big Anniversary meal in Japan.

You order on a tablet and they bring the meats (and other thigs) out to you to grill on your table.


This man was a meat cutting master.


We ordered pretty much every Wagyu option available.


I personally like cooking my own meat like this because I get to control the doneness level.
I tried the Wagyu at every level from rare to well done and it was tender and flavorful everytime. (med-rare was my preference though)



Oh my God my life has changed forever. I just don't have the words for it. Melt in your mouth, rich, decadent... all just insufficient words to attempt to describe meat heaven.
It was so rich. Trust me you will want rice, lettuce wraps, and things like kimchi to break it up a bit.
Sake also helps.
I tried one of their Highballs but they made them a bit too strong for my liking.
If you order the Wagyu nigiri they even torch it right at your tableside for you.


"S" also ordered the horse tartar. I tried it. It honestly didn't taste much different from beef to me.



I kind of lost count of how many rounds of meat we ordered but we totally got our money's worth. Also pretty sure I drank at least 6 glasses of Sake too. (I might have had more but didn't want to be too drunk to take public transportation home).

When there was about 10 minutes left of our ordering window we got some dessert.


I was so full that I just got a simple matcha ice cream as a refresher.
Hubby got some fancy parfait or rather.

I was really glad we showed up at open because we walked right in and only a few tables were seated. By the time we left, every table was full and there was a LONG line to get in.

One of the best meals of my life.
It's a good thing I can't afford Wagyu back home or I would be enormous.


This was a meal we put on my card with no foreign transaction fees. $97.04 for two people, AYCE WAGYU and all you can drink!

What a deal!

 

[Nakkira]

Day 2 Part 6
Dontonburi - Cheesecake

Orginally we had planned to walk around at night but we had reached our physical limitations. We though we might some back the next night but we never did.

So we headed back through Dontonburi to get on the Metro home.




At the train station we saw one of the Jiggly cheesecake shops.
We had missed out on getting one last time so it was on the Japan bucket-list. We decided to buy it and eat it over the next couple of days as our room had a fridge.



We stopped at the front desk of our hotel to see if they had a couple disposable fork and they provided us with small plates and disposable cutlery.
We had finished dinner at 5:30-ish so we were able to try a small piece each before bed. We were still mostly full but wanted to be able to "judge it" by how it tasted "fresh".

It was good but not amazing. It tasted more eggy than cheesy. I liked it better another day with some coffee as a breakfast item.

Once again hot baths and bed. I think we were in bed by 9pm.

Total step count : 18,361