Osaka Amazing Pass Day 2
Our second day of using the Osaka pass was a hectic one as well. Our journey begins with a trip to the bakery for breakfast. The bakery we went to was inside Namba station, it was so good (fresh and hot). The bread itself melts in your mouth, literally, and I'm not even a big fan of bread. ヽ( ★ω★)ノ Since we left early in the morning, a lot of the shops were not open and we needed breakfast as well.
We took the train from Namba Stn to Ebisucho stn (via Sennichimae line then transfer to Sakaisuji line ~5min - exit 3). The train we took is retro looking from the inside.
When you enter this area, you will see that it is packed with souvenir shops as well as resturants and food stalls. FOOD FOOD FOOD EVERYWHERE YOU GO. 。:.ﾟ٩(๑>ω<๑)۶:.｡+ﾟ The mascot here is the billiken statue that looks like a cheeky toddler. The defining attraction here is the "Tsutenkaku Tower", but this area also gives you a glimpse of the old Osaka.
The Tsutenkaku Tower, aka landmark of Osaka, seen here was built in 1956 to replace the original tower that was built in 1912 as a fire had destroyed it. The cost to enter the tower is ¥700 if you don't have the amazing Osaka pass. To enter the tower you would have to either take the elevator down one floor or you can walk it (we walked) and then redeem the tickets to enter the tower.
Had to walk through the shopping area before reaching the ticket counter and elevator. They were selling a lot of retro candies. ୧ʕ ⇀ ⌂ ↼ ʔ୨
The elevator ride was pretty cool as it had an animation video that feels like you are going back in time. The clock would turn back the time and you will see the years turning back as well.
Definitely a different feel than the modern observatory.
Once you reach the top, you can start collecting stamps. There are a lot so make sure to bring a book. You can also go up an additional floor to the balcony but there is a separate charge for that as it is not covered by the pass. As you look down from the observation deck you can see the park as well as the zoo. I was surprised that the zoo was so small.
TIP: Make sure to touch the Billiken statue's feet for good luck!! Apparently, if you check out the tower at night it will light up in a certain color which would let you know the weather forecast for the next day.
As we headed back down, we had get off on the 3rd floor and then walk through another shopping area and a Pocky area too (Cafe de Luna Park)!! My favorite! ٩(⚙ᴗ⚙)۶ There's so many places for photo ops. As you walk through the area, you will see a lot of pictures so you also get to know a bit of the history of the tower and how it came to be. There are old photographs and miniature representations of the buildings from old Osaka.
There is a hidden area in the tower; if you see hidden stairs, follow it as it may lead you to a secret mini garden. When we followed the hidden stairs inside the pitch black stairway we found this place with nobody around!! Other tourists saw us entering the stairs but did not follow. LOL. Might be because it is so dark. I did see their confused faces.
I got to ring this large bell!! Nobody around to listen to me though. (｡•́︿•̀｡)
Went back downstairs and found Kinnikuman!!! SEXY LIPS. ༼♥ل͜♥༽
What a HUNK!! Look at those muscles on this LEGS.
And finally some snacks before we head to the zoo. The shops have started to open by this time. I really like this area as the shops are very creative looking, pretty similar to Dontonburi. This place were packed with locals and tourists as we reach noon.
OMG. They cheap cheap takoyaki. I believe this was less than ¥500. Pipping hot. ✧⁺⸜(●′▾‵●)⸝⁺✧ SO GOOD!! I miss takoyaki so much.
The next destination was "Tennoji Zoo." The zoo have been here since 1915 and is located within the busy city of Osaka. Right next to the zoo are busy streets, but is also surrounded by trees and bushes. The walk to the zoo was around 10 minutes from the tower. The Tennoji Zoo do have an admission fee of ¥500 but is free with the amazing pass. Make sure you get a map otherwise you won't know what you've missed. We've spent less than 2 hours here as we had to get moving and look at those animals quickly. Take a picture and move on, unless they are super adorable. (｡•́︿•̀｡) The con about this zoo is that almost all of the animals are in wired cages by themselves so it was a bit heartbreaking to see and definitely difficult to take pictures as you cannot see the animals well. If the zoo was not free I would not have gone, it is definitely not the best zoo but okay for its price.
If you have the amazing pass, you can just enter through the gates, no need to exchange it for a ticket.
Entrance to the Zoo.
One lazy hippo bathing in the sun.
The giraffe attraction was one of the most popular but the giraffes was so far away and there was no way for them to get closer. A bit sad if I compare it to the Guangzhou Safari Park as we were able to feed the giraffes and touch them when they lean their head forward.
And then we saw this little guy tackle the food bucket and eventually he did break it and all grub slowly fell. It was quite a spectacle.
Lonely tiger.
And here we meet the penguins. It was a delight watching these penguins as one of them was so scared to jump into the water it took him a long time of testing and walking back and forth, when at last he jumped and the crowd cheers. So cute. ʕ灬￫ᴥ￩灬ʔ
There's a petting area only for sheep though. It was a disappointment that the sheep won't even come to me. One of the sheep really really like this one Japanese grandpa as that sheep kept asking for a head rub.
Inside the zoo there is a mini park to relax or to eat. From the park, we can see the Tsukenkaku tower.
And lastly, we entered the last attraction, the bird cage. The bird cage was huge! It was very pretty inside.
In conclusion, the Tennoji zoo is not a must if you visit Osaka. It was difficult to see the animals as they were locked in individual cages or is very far away from view. Also, there are a lot of kids and families at the zoo so it was a bit hard to maneuver around as strollers were everywhere as well.
Found this adorable statue.
The "Keitakuen Garden" is located inside Tennoji Park. Tennoji Park covers a lot of ground as it also houses the Tennoji Zoo and the Osaka Museum of Fine Arts. Unfortunately, we were unable to go check out the museum as it was closed. The admission fee to enter the garden is only ¥150. My sister and I split up at the garden and it took me a while to find her again as one of us do not have a portable WiFi. The garden is very scenic and we somewhat had the place to ourselves. ･:*+.\(( °ω° ))/.:+
We can see the Osaka Museum of Fine Arts in the background.
Pretty short red bridge. Across the bridge and up a little slope, you will encounter the Chausuyama Mound, an ancient landmark. There's not much to see but a small post in Japanese about the mound (which I can't read), apparently there is some great samurai history here.
On our way to the "Shitennoji temple" we accidentally took a huge detour as we did not know where the entrance was so we ended up following the temple wall in hopes of stumbling upon the entrance. But all was for nothing as we had to walk back to where we started as the entrance was across the street. ( ˃̣̣̥ω˂̣̣̥ )
The never ending wall...
Shitennoji Temple
The Shitennoji temple is the oldest official temple in Japan dating back to 593 AD and was constructed by Prince Shōtoku. You can see some newer buildings buildings because the temple have been rebuilt several times due to fire.
Entrance to the temple
Gokurakumon Gate
As we walk closer to the five story pagoda, which you can see in the distance, and approach the Chushin Garan, you will notice a ticket station. The fee is ¥300 to go in but is covered by the Osaka pass.
Five story pagoda - You can actually go inside and walk up to the top, but no pictures allowed inside. I didn't know you can go in so I didn't and I didn't see anybody go in as well. But at the same time, there were only a few of us there. (๑◕︵◕๑)
Five Story Pagoda
The main hall is not that big and can be explored fairly quickly.
Prayers and wishes.
Afterwards, we went and grabbed a late lunch as we did not eat at the zoo as the food was too expensive inside. I got the typical omurice with pork cutlet and ketchup. YUM! (●♡∀♡))ヾ☆*。The bad thing about this food chain was that even though we opted for the non smoking area, the cigarette smell was still so evident. I needed to eat fast and leave. My sister ordered a set lunch with comes with a drink as well as a slice of cake. I forgot the name of the restaurant but the prices are very affordable and quite popular with locals as well as tourists. They have a English menu as well so nothing to fear.
Next stop, Osaka Museum of Housing and Living. The regular admission is ¥600 but free with the pass. When we entered we had to take the elevator up several floors and then line up to redeem our tickets as well as put our belongings in a locker. The locker itself is free as you do get your coin back when you retrieve your things. Initially, we were going to rent kimonos but the price increased and you can only rent at certain times when it is not at full capacity. The neat thing about this museum is that there is an area that is reconstructed to resemble Osaka in the late Edo period. It is very interactive as you can touch the environment and pose for pictures. There is also a day and night stimulation.
This is a kitchen of one of the houses during Edo period, you can open the drawers as well as play around with the fake kitchen utensils.
We were at the museum for perhaps around an hour as we sat there for a bit to rest before heading to Umeda. We took the train from Temjinbashisuji 6-chome Station (via Tanimachi Line -Platform 1 → Higashi-Umeda Station. Once we got off, we got a bit lost as there were many exits and entrances. The different entrances bring you to different malls so we got very lost. But we did manage to find the Hep 5 Ferris Wheel. When we entered the mall, we were at the bottom floor so we decided to take the elevator to the top but it was a ridiculous long wait even though there was virtually nobody waiting (been well over 10 minutes), we ended up taking the elevator one by one on each floor to the top. The line for the Ferris Wheel was not too bad, but I was very nervous. I did see one girl who looked fairly sick after the ride and was hitting the guy as well. The Ferris wheel is located on top of the mall so it is pretty high up there and takes around 15 minutes for one rotation (cost ¥600 but free with the Osaka pass). It is also not for those with an extreme fear of heights. The good thing about this Ferris wheel is that it does not rock and plays a smoothing melody inside. Fear conquered. YAY. ･:*+.\(( °ω° ))/.:+
There's a map showing what you can see from the outside.
After the Ferris Wheel, we walked around each floor and did some shopping. I did not buy anything though as it is geared towards young people. I see a lot of young people in this area similar to Shibuya/Shinjuku due to the abundance of malls conjugated together. A YOUNG PEOPLE PARADISE.
Next we went over to Joypolis to ride the "Wild River" ride (regular ¥600, free with pass). The line was very long and it took us around an hour before we were able to get on the ride. It was quite fun but I did get a bit motion sick on the ride. Basically you sit on a big raft and you have a huge screen in front of you and it feels as though you are on a turbulent river ride with a monster chasing after you. The ride itself is very rocky as it tip in every direction. It was INTENSE. ゞ(ↂ ω ↂ)ゞ
Lineup for the Wild River Ride. Looks short but it takes a long time for the line to move.
Once the ride was over, we walked around the area and played some UFO catchers. There is also a coupon for us to use to get one extra try for the UFO catcher but you need to flag down one of the attendants first so that they can add an extra turn for you. We got the coupon as we headed towards the Wild River ride. Anyways, I've lost too much money here and bought nothing home. After becoming hobos from the UFO catchers, we were walking around and entered the sticker picture aka. purikura area and it was intense there. There is an area for girls to put on makeup as well as curl their hair. It was crazy. The area contains a changing area, a long vanity area, etc etc. They all looked very kawaii though. ★★★
Final destination for the day, Kuchu Teien/Floating Garden Observatory (Umeda Sky building). The price for the observatory is ¥1500 or free with the Osaka pass. When we went inside the building to go up, there were two lines, one for the museum and the other for the observatory; make sure you are in the right one otherwise you will have to face the embarrassment and take the walk of shame to the end of the other line. The line for the observatory was quite long as they can only take so many people at once on the elevator.
You can see the escalator in the middle of these two buildings, it is so cool to ride it up. At night, it changes colors and you can see outside as well.
Once you arrive at the top, you can take a 360 walk around the inside of the observatory before heading upstairs to outside viewing platform. When we got there a lot of people had seats by the windows to see the sunset. No luck. So we went up and tried and take a glimpse at the view. It was nice and breezy.
Hint: Wear white. They have those florescent white lights up there. I was glowing.
To end this amazing night, we had a belly protruding meal at the mall. Can never get sick of this.
SO pretty, saw this at the station. Not sure if this is for an event or not. ✿♥‿♥✿
Total Cost of Attractions: ¥4950 = SAVED.
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