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Day 1 – The voyage
It is time for our family vacation once again. This time we are going Osaka for Universal studio and Nagano for the skiing (hopefully there’s snow by then). Day 1 was spent mostly on traveling. We woke up at 430am and my transport picked us up at 530am to head to the airport. I arrange a limo pickup compliments of my Maybank infinite Visa credit card . You can arrange up to 8 rides to the airport a year as long as you spend more than SGD2000 the month before on your credit card. Japan holiday is now extremely popular so we could not get any Singapore Airlines tickets only buy scoot. This is probably my only second time on a budget airlines e. Of course being budget airline, it does not come with food and entertainment. For any meals, you need to top up for a meal with drinks and dessert costing about SGD18.50 . The Laksa was pretty decent but it was rather messy. I was expecting the dry laksa which I read so much about in the internet but was surprised or rather disappointed that it was the wet version. The tickets cost about SGD500 per person one way due to the demand during that period as it was the school holidays. For the lack of entertainment, I loaded my iPad up with a few shows and also brought along a book to keep me occupied for the more than 5 hours flight.
Upon arrival, we took the JR line from Kansai international airport to Sakurajima station which is the last station. By the time we checked in, it was already 7pm and we were really exhausted having been traveling the entire day for more than 12 hours door to door. Accommodation was Liber Hotel which is only one station from Universal City station. Much to our delight and surprise, the hotel was very modern, rooms were clean and spacious (unlike most Japanese hotel rooms). Perhaps one of the best accommodation for this trip. What a pleasant surprise!
With only 2 choices of restaurants (steak or buffet) in the hotel, we depart for the University city which is at the Universal Studio. Plenty of choices here and we settled for a quick Soba set dinner. Needless to say, it was delicious as we were all hungry with only the tiny messy laksa on board scoot.
With nothing else to do when we got back to the hotel, we went to the onsen. Nothing beats going to the onsen after a long and tiring day. Felt so totally relaxed after the onsen and especially help for a good night sleep . The onsen was pretty good where there is a 39 & 41 degrees indoor pool, mist room, sauna and another 41 degrees outdoor pool.
Day 2 – Universal Studio Osaka
The sleep was fantastic right after the onsen the night before. We were very well rested and that was critical for a tiring day 2. Day 2 were spent at Universal Studio Japan which was one of the main agenda in Osaka. Our hotel is just one stop from the Universal City which was where the attraction located. We head there as early as 730am and already there was long queue at the gate. Universal Studio officially opens at 830am but they started letting visitors in as early as 8am. As soon as the gate opened, people were running and mostly headed to the Super Mario ride. Well, and you thought Singaporeans are the ‘kiasu’ one.
We enjoyed the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride so much that we queued up for the second time in the evening. The first time we had to queue about 40 mins during the day and the second time was faster at only about 30 minutes as it was about 6pm. In one day, we took 8 rides and they were Mario kart, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, Flight of the Hippogriff, Spiderman, Despicable Me, Sadoka, Jaws. Unfortunately, Jurassic ride was closed for maintenance on that day.
At the end of a backbreaking day 2, we were totally hammered but we still made time for the onsen of course.
Day 3 – Tenpoza Osaka
Day 3 we are supposed to be on the move again. After we checked out of the hotel, we went to the Tenpozan area which was across harbour so we had to take a ferry across. The ferry terminal is like a small hut and about a 10 mins walk from the hotel.
After crossing the harbour, the Tenpoza market is only about another 10 minutes from the ferry terminal. This was where we had our lunch. I chose the grilled pork jowl from the food court and it was simply amazing. So simple and yet deliciously satisfying.
As we had very limited time today, there was a choice of either the Legoland Discovery Centre or the Osaka Aquarium. Since the Legoland is a rather small place so we decided to spend our day at the aquarium. It took us about 2 hours but it was definitely the right choice as the Aquarium was impressive.
After the Aquarium, we went back to the hotel to collect our luggages and continued our journey to our next hotel in Osaka city. The start this accommodation was not great as it was AirBnB. The instructions to the keys were so confusing and wrong so we wasted a lot of timing looking for hotel. The were really small but the location was excellent. Doutonbouri is really a stone throw away. When I say stone throw, it means exit the building, turn right walk less than a minute and you will reach the entrance of Shinsaibashi already.
We had some sashimi at the Kuromon Ichiba Market which was also just a few minutes walk from our accommodation. The sashimi was offered at half price as they were closing soon so they tried to clear all the stocks. After that, we went to a Tonkatsu stall for a proper dinner. Not sure if they are really so popular or their stall was just very small. It was so small that there were only bar counter seatings like a sushi bar. We had to wait about 20 mins outside in the cold. However, the taste was great. The pork cutlet was generous and you can added an onsen egg.
Day 4 – Nara Park
Day 4 was spent at the Nara park to see deers and temples. After reaching the station, we had to take a shuttle bus into Nara park. It was a huge park with lots of free reining dears. Interestingly, the deer seemed to learn how to beg for food which was pretty amusing to watch. Some of the deers will go after you for food but just need to shrug them off.
Other than the deers, there are the temples which was magnificent. Even in this modern age, they looks so massive and impressive so I can imagine that it must be awe inspiring during the ancient times. They are all constructed with wood in year 752 and reconstructed in 1692 after a fire.
Of course a trip to Osaka would not be complete without going to the Doutonbour. It is a real tourist hotspot jammed pack with people. Strangely I just do not recall it being so crowded the last time I came just a few years ago.
Day 5 – Yudanaka – snow monkey
Day 5 was spent mostly traveling again. We woke up as early as 6am and start making our way to the stations at 630am. We had to change about 2 trains to get to Kanazawa and this journey include a 3 hours ride on the Shinkansen or the bullet train. This was a much needed 3 hours rest for me to recharge and do some writing and reading. Then we had to change train again to Yudanaka. Yudanaka is really a sleepy little town with just a few shops on the Main Street. This town is where the famous scene of the snow monkeys having the onsen. All in all it took us about 5 hours and 3 changed of trains.
Our accommodation was Hotel Housei, a Ryokan or a guest house with onsen. This is really old school but rather charming Ryokan with some character. Although the rooms were rather small but it is pretty scenic. You can choose to include the dinner or else you may be left with nothing as they will need to prepare in advance. We actually witnessed a poor western couple being turned away by the waitress with some very rudimentary English “No dinner”. Sounds humiliating but that was probably not what she meant.
Day 6 – Yudanaka – snow monkey
This was the day for the snow monkeys and the main reason we came to Yudanaka. We took a 10 minutes transport courtesy of the hotel and start hiking up the hill from public parking area. The journey took about 40 minutes uphill. The walk was really scenic and enjoyable as it goes through a forest trial. Temperature was about 4 degrees in the morning.
Right after the snow monkey park, we returned to the Ryokan and changed to another Ryokan and this one was more expensive and sits on top of a hill overlooking the entire town. The Ryokan is also more modern and claimed to have the only 100% natural hot spring water in this town. We met the lady boss of the hotel and she told us that even if a Ryokan that operates an onsen with just 1% natural hot spring water and 99% artificial , it is still can be legitimately claimed a ‘natural’ hot spring Osen. We never researched into that claim as we were just casual onsen user so doesn’t really matter as long as we have onsen. Not that we can tell the difference anyway.
The rooms were indeed more modern but smaller. We had to push the table right to the end so that we could lay the 4 tatami mattresses on the floor.
The dinner set at the next ryokan was more fanciful. With raw mushroom for us to pluck ourselves from the stump as well as some local fish (trout). However, we felt it was more style than substance. The sashimi has fish bones so was difficult and dangerous for the children. The trout too has plenty of small bones so wasn’t too child friendly too. Even I as an adult feared eating fish with too many bones we much of the fish were left untouched. The beef was nice but portion is too little.
Day 7 – Karuizawa – ski resort
Day 7 was again spent mostly on traveling. We checked out of the hotel at 10am and went to the Yudanaka station to catch the rapid train to Karuizawa. In between, we had to take a 30 min Shinkansen to the Prince resort. By the time we checked in after lunch, it was already 3pm so almost an entire day gone. I managed to find one of my favourite dish at the food court, the ginger pork at the factory outlet (yes! there is an outlet here). Just loved the way they marinated the pork, probably with lots of ginger. The pork was just nicely cooked and all lean meat which I loved. As you can see, also generous portion of the pork (probably no inflation here..).
That leaves us just some time to head to the factory outlet which closes at 7pm. The entire area is owned by the Prince group which consist of a factory outlet, malls and ski resorts. Our accommodation was a charming little cottage which was pretty near the ski slope. As most of the hotel rooms were rather small, this was indeed a refreshing change and it is no doubt the favourite of the entire trip.
Day 8 & 9 – Skiing
Day 8 & 9 were basically spent skiing. We started the morning late and by the time we rented the ski gear and lift pass, it was already almost 10am. Only 2 of the ski slope were opened as there was no snow during this period of the month. It was all man made snow using the snow machine. As there were supposed to be 7 ski trails, now only 2 were opened so everyone would be squeezed into that 2 trails making it rather congested. Could be quite daunting for beginners or occasional skiers like us. . One is for the beginners and the other for more advanced skiers.
Dinner was a delicious grilled wagyu beef near the outlet called Aging beef. Yes, all the beef are aged (at least what they claimed). It was full on wagyu and different parts of the cow. Some parts were so tender, not exactly melt in your mouth but rather close. It was voted best meal of our trip by almost all in the family except me. Don’t get me wrong, I do love wagyu beef but not too much as I find them too fatty and gets me over the point of diminishing return level pretty quickly.
Day 10 & 11 – Tokyo
Unfortunately I had a little ski accident on the ski slope that badly busted my knee. Well, at least it towards the end of the trip, a little consolation I told myself. As a result, I have great difficulty walking and had to limp my way all the way for the remaining of the trip. Making my way out of the cottage upon checkout, to the station and then Tokyo station till the next hotel Super Hotel Premier. The first night after the accident it was terrible. My left knee swelled up so much and it hurts when I put any weight on it that I was really limping around.
When I arrived in Tokyo station, I decided to see the doctor since I bought travel insurance and that is what travel insurance is for. After googling for an English speak clinic, I made my way there gingerly. It was not easy to find as Tokyo station is so huge even with the help of google map (don’t work well in buildings or underground structures). Took us me a while to find after asking several people. Interestingly the receptionist speaks Mandarin and the Japanese doctor speaks English so communication was not an issue. There are many Chinese from China that went to Japan for study and work so if any service staffs cannot speak English, you can try Mandarin just like in Korea. Well, this was one those times I was thankful for my motherland to make it mandatory for us to be bi-lingual.
The doctor wanted to do a MRI but they do not have the machine there and I could not walk to another of their clinic so I asked for a referral letter to see my own orthopaedic back home instead. I felt safer as I do not wish to have any miscommunication with such important health matters. The difference in seeing doctor in Japan is that the clinic do not dispense the medicine but only the consultancy. For the medicine, you need the prescription to buy your own medicine at a pharmacist. To add on to my misery, I got to limp my way around Tokyo Station to 3 pharmacist before it has stock of the medicine I need (anti-inflamation tablet and patch) .
Most of my 2 days were spent at the hotel as I had great difficulty in walk and I do not wish to slow down my family. They went ahead to do sight-seeing in Tokyo while I just spent my day 11 blogging, clearing some of my work emails, watching Netflix, reading etc. Honestly, I kinda enjoyed it and it was my ‘me time’.
One of our meals at Tokyo station as the simple ramen but this is with some grilled pork. Quite a lot of fatty pork but it is absolutely delicious though a little salty.
The good thing that came out of the search for the pharmacist was that I found one of my favourite chain stores. So happy discover my favourite beef tongue stall here in Tokyo station. This is Negishi at Tokyo and they have stores all over Tokyo. The usual stall branch I visited is the one in Shinjuku. Not exactly sure about why I like beef tongue but it is probably the texture or slight firmness of the meat.
Day 12 – Heading back home
We have come to the end of our trip and we woke up early to catch the flight at 0850 at Haneda airport. On our return journey we managed to book the Singapore Airlines Premium Economy seat for family of all 4. I will review the premium economy seat on the next blog as I am trying to create a new category on premium economy experience among the different airlines. Asia airlines were rather slow to catch on the premium economy configuration while it was already common among European airlines. It was only not too long ago (ie. 2015) that Singapore Airlines have premium economy. This is fast gaining popularity among airlines as it is seen to fill the gap between passengers wanting a more premium travel experience and not willing to pay for business class tickets. Even fussy business class travellers will not pay for business class tickets for their own personal travel. In reality, people are so hard up about traveling business since the company is paying for it. However, when it comes from their own pocket, they have no problems stepping down their expectations two class down to economy.
Overall, it was a pretty good trip if not for my banged up knee. I would come back again for the skiing but perhaps during the real ski season when there are natural snow so most ski slopes will be open, avoiding the congestion again. That is why travel insurance and planning for contingency is very important when traveling. You never know when you will need it.
