Osaka, Japan 11.-17.11.2015 ♥

In November I did my first trip to Japan, Osaka to be exact. The main reason was that I got tickets to see EXO twice during their 3 concert weekend in Osaka. Another reason for my trip was that one of my friends was an exchange student there so I could spend time with her too after many months. I didn't spend many days there and because the concerts occupied 2 days from my trip, I didn't have so much time for sightseeing etc. I was still very satisfied with my trip because I had a lot of fun with my friend and it was nice to really talk with her after a long time. The concerts were also very awesome and I got to meet a few people so now I have new friends who are just as into Kpop as I am which is great. One of them was actually from Thailand so it's possible I will see her again here in some concert. Because of the limited time I had only time to go to Kyoto to see Torii (the red structures seen in my pictures), part of the city centre and visit Universal Studios. 

My trip started by flying from Bangkok to Osaka. Fortunately my friend was waiting for me at the airport so I didn't have to worry about how will I get to the city center. We took a bus which we later had to change to a metro for the final part of the journey. After arriving to my friend's apartment, we headed out to eat right away. I got to choose the restaurant and of course I chose sushi. I had been waiting for to eat sushi in Japan and I wasn't disappointed at all. I really liked the ordering system in the restaurant because I had never used something like that before. It was nice to catch up while eating delicious food. 








They also offered various desserts 
Felt sooo full after all of these plates...


On the next day we took a stroll around Korea town while searching for some kpop shops for me. In the end we found a really good and BIG kpop shop where I bought a bunch of things for myself and one of my friends. 









After I had used all of my money and we were both starving, we decided to go eat something. While looking at the restaurants, a random old Japanese man recommended for us a barbecue restaurant and it really was good and a bit different than the ones I have tried here in Bangkok. 







Very cool ice-creams! 

After getting our stomachs full, we had to hurry back to my friend's place to get some of my things because I had to get to a hotel where I could get my concert tickets and souvenirs. I also stayed there because my concert ticket package included 3 nights in the hotel which turned out to be very fancy. I really loved the view from the 23rd floor ♥ 





The next 2 days I spent in the concerts and went on a tour to an EXO event with a group of people who had also bought the SM Global Package. (For more details about the concerts, see my post about them.)

Dinner which I ate with a group of new friends on the 2nd concert day. Choosing from the menu turned out to be very hard because there was no English, no one knew Japanese very well and I don't know about Japanese foods :D But these two dishes were good and filled my stomach. 





After the EXO concerts when I returned to my friend's place, we headed out to Kyoto with her exchange friends and 3 guys. I really wanted to see the Torii in Fushimi Inari so we decided to make time for that trip. 


We actually ended up eating in a Thai restaurant
so really familiar food for me :D

The torii leading to the Fushimi Inari-taisha shrine:
















From Kyoto, me and my friend headed out to the city centre to see the Glico man and just walk around. We also went to have dessert and play various games and amusement park rides in Umeda Joypolis Sega. The games and rides were new things for me so it was a lot of fun and interesting. Overall the whole day was great!












The next day was my last but because my flight left at midnight, I still had almost the whole day time to hang out with my friend. Therefore we decided to go to the Universal Studios for a few hours. I had been looking forward to see the Harry Potter section and luckily it didn't disappoint. It was really cool and very well done. Unfortunately we didn't have time to try the "train" that goes inside the castle so we chose another way. There's a path you can walk inside the castle and we didn't have to wait in line for that at all so it was much better. I could still see almost everything there and even more closely so it was a really good decision. On the way out, we stopped by one of the shops to buy a chocolate wand and every flavor beans for me. From the other rides, we only tried the Terminator and Jurassic Park ones. The Terminator was really different than what I expected but one downside was that it was spoken in Japanese so I couldn't understand anything but I didn't let it distract me. I was really pleased with the Jurassic Park ride. One point was quite scary but it was a lot of fun! The entrance fee to the Universal Studios was quite high especially because we didn't have that much time but I was ready to pay it and I hope could go there again to try the other rides and see the Harry Potter area once again :) 








Minion Mart!
I could already see the castle! 
More Minions...
I felt like Minion things were everywhere in the Universal Studios :D 


That was one big Christmas tree...
The whole Studios area had a Christmas theme which was really nice. 
After seeing this, I was already super excited :D 










The castle!
When I was looking at it, I felt like I was in a movie :D 
From the Studios we headed back to my friend's apartment to gather my things and then headed to the bus stop where I took a bus to the airport. It was really sad to say goodbyes because I had so much fun with my friend and I knew it will probably be many many months until I see her again. I just had to swallow my tears and think about all the great things that are ahead and that I will also see my friend again at least when I go back to Finland. 


My first trip to Japan was a success not only due to the EXO concerts but also because I experienced and learned new Japanese things and I had an awesome time with my friend. Thank you to my friend who accommodated, entertained and helped me during the trip! Hopefully in the future I will get a chance to travel to Japan again :) 

xoxo, Elina

Kommentit

  1. Tulipa nostalginen fiilis tän lukemisesta! Kiva että tykkäsit Osakasta, harmi että aikaa vaan oli niin vähän.

    VastaaPoista

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