After a 11.5 hour-night-flight from London, we eventually landed around 10am in Osaka Kansai airport. It was a little bit overwhelming to understand what ticket and where to buy a ticket to go to Osaka downtown. We eventually found the right desk to buy the 3-day Kansai Thru Pass (they were taking cash only!) and got the ticket that would allow us to travel to downtown. This pass also allowed us to use all Osaka subways for free.
We stayed at the Hotel Cordia Osaka which was very satisfactory - efficient, modern and clean. The hotel was located in a relatively quiet area - Higobashi station (business area) but it was easy to connect from there.
After a quick break at the hotel, we took the subway to Tennoji station and started with a visit of the beautiful Keitakuen Garden which is a traditional stroll garden with a large pond, viewing pavilion, stepping-stones and bridges. Admission fee was 150 yen but it was worth it.
Then, we headed North taking the bridge to the Horikoshi shrine an after walking for 10 minutes or so, we reached the Shitennoji temple and its pagoda.
After that we came back to Tennoji station and took the subway to Shinsaibashi station. We walked through the famous long commercial arcade called shotengai (market street) and arrived at the very popular Ebisu-bashi bridge.
This is probably the most famous area of Osaka, Dotombori. We arrived there around end of afternoon, which allowed us to see it day-time and also a couple of hours later by night, you can easily allocate 2 hours in the area.
We ran a tour across the very animated streets inc. the main Dotomburi strip, we saw the Glico running man, Kani Doraku Honten (the famous restaurant with the giant animated crab), the drumming mechanical clown Kuidare Taro, all the plastic food windows. We made a stop to try the famous tako-yaki (octopus dumpling) and we also made a stop for dinner in a tiny tiki restaurant and enjoyed our first Asahi beers, edadame, gyoza and sushi. It was delicious!
There are plenty of cheap options for dinner in those streets. I highly recommend! After dinner, we could appreciate a very different atmosphere in the main strip, as all the lights are on!
We came back to Shinsaibashi going through Amerika-Mura area/Triangle Park, which is a fun hip, youth-focused area.
It was the end of a fun very nice first day and the time to us to go to bed!
Tip #1: when arriving at the airport, try to find an ATM asap (preferably an international bank ATM that will accept your card) to get a bit of cash with you.
Tip #2: determine in advance which pass you are planning to use each day. Remember that the JR Pass is the best way to travel for long distance but may be quite irrelevant for local travels. JR Pass need to be bought in advance in your country and you will need to exchange the voucher in one of the JR Pass exchange station in Japan. Probably good to avoid the JR Exchange Station at the airport which is always quite busy!
Tip#3: In Osaka, you need to try tako-yaki!
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