This is already my third Osaka Marathon and its the first time they are having it in December, after pushing it one week back from the past two editions. I think Osaka Marathon had become my yearly to-do marathon due to the fact that it is during the November/December holidays. This year, it is during the second weekend of my holidays so I actually had the chance to travel early and not to rush to the REPC like the previous years. However, P's birthday is on the Friday before race day and I could not ditch him on such a special day so I ended up flying even later than usual, literally on Saturday morning at 1am. The price of air tickets was really expensive after the ballot results was released in July, the fact that it is the school holidays and Singaporeans love traveling to Japan pushed the price really high, even Garuda and Vietnam airlines cost more than 1k. My colleagues mentioned they traveled to Japan on budget airlines so I decided to explore that option, Jetstar timing was just right for me, so I bought StarterPlus combo so that I will have ample legroom and priority in boarding, there is transit both ways and I'll get to order a meal with each leg of the journey. The price of the air tix came up to around $850, its not super cheap but its half the price of SQ and is the cheapest option available.
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| The mandatory departure photo when P sent me off |
P was feeling under the weather and several unfortunate things happened to him on his special day but we managed to go for a good meal with his friends. I was glad that it helped to cheer him up a little, I was a little worried about him and even thought of giving up on my race and solo trip. We finished dinner before 10pm and it was still early for my 1.20am flight so we took the MRT from Somerset to the airport. I could see that P was really tired and he really knocked out before my flight. I still had time on my hand so I traveled back to Terminal 3 with him so that he could take the MRT home (he ended up missing the last train though) and I could do some shopping at Terminal 3 before leaving.
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| First time sitting at the first row |
Finally it was time for me to board, and it felt really good to be the first to be called for boarding. It was also my first time sitting at Row 1 so I could really observe what the cabin crew were doing the whole time (out of boredom). The only negative thing about sitting at Row 1 was that I had to stow away all my bags for takeoff and landing, so it was quite troublesome. I had a busy day but somehow I did not feel tired after boarding, so I was glad I downloaded some Netflix series to watch during the flight. There was ample legroom and I could stretch my legs all I wanted, but the gentleman sitting next to me was quite fidgety and he looked like his legs and body were giving him aches the whole time. Sometimes he jabbed me accidentally with his elbow when he was fidgeting around trying to sleep, so it was quite unfortunate for me. However, I managed to sleep after watching the shows on my handphone for a couple of hours and we landed at Taipei around 6am.
As it was budget flight, we had to take a tram/bus to reach the airport terminal when alighting and boarding the flight. Anyway, I remembered I had to do that on Garuda as well so this is not too bad and I would rate the experience better than Garuda since the flight time was also few hours shorter than my last year's trip. If Vietnam air ticket is not as cheap as previously, I'll also stick with this option if I want to save my money on flights. A lady sat next to me after the transit, so I had a more comfortable trip to KIX after that, finally landing at 1020am. I felt more energetic and less tired this time round taking Jetstar, as compared to Garuda last year. It was also easier for me to get to the hotel this time round as its at a centralised location, and I even passed the bridge at Dontoburi on my way from the nearest subway station.
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| Taking the Nankai Railway to the hotel |
When I reached the hotel, it was already noon and I was able to check-in immediately as I actually booked the hotel really early in April, and I thought I would reach Osaka by Friday. When I tried to change the dates of booking later on, I realised the hotel room rate was already much more higher, therefore I might as well keep to the same dates. Therefore the room booking actually started the Friday before I arrived.
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| The comfortable bed |
From the time stamp on my phone, I guess I rested a little (45min to an hour) before heading out to the race expo. The flight arrived later and I also set off later to the race expo this year, but its my third time running this race so no biggie for me to 'chiong' over there so late.
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| Almost 3pm when I reached |
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| Long long queue |
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| Unlike last year, this part was straight-forward |
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| This year I'll definitely not remove it till the race is over |
Accordingly to the timestamp on my phone, I queued for 20min before entering the actual expo hall. The queue outside felt much longer this year and it seemed like many people arrived late to pick up the package as well, just barely 18 hours before the start of the race. Anyway, this year I'm in the same Aqua team again as I feel the strongest about the theme.
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| I did this the past two years, so I'm gonna write on it again |
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| My ema board wishes and I picked 大吉 for my fortune again |
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| The finisher towel and medal for this year |
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| This looked like the lady serving me tea or water |
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| The legendary maido-aid station which I never get to try the food |
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| The dressed up ladies taking photos with me |
I'm only updating this blog after a long six months later, but as far as I can remember, picking up the stuff at the race expo was quite alright for me in 2019, and I did not feel as tired unlike the previous two years. I guess taking a red eye flight on budget was quite okay and comfortable for me. I could recall taking my own sweet time to walk around the expo and I took some photographs, judging from my expression, I did not feel the fatigue.
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| Stopping by the aqua booth again to look for my name |
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| Found my name on the wall |
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| Another mandatory photo when leaving or arriving at the expo |
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| Back to the hotel and this is the door from the main street |
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| Tbis is another look from the street view |
After I got back to the hotel, I decided to go for a nice soak at the onsen and it was a good time to visit since it was still early and not going to be as crowded. I feel quite happy with the hotel thus far and I'm sure I'll be back to stay if I'm gonna be in Osaka again.
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| The onsen on the highest floor |
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| The skyline view during the walk from the lift |
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| The entrance to the ladies onsen |
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| The sky was getting dark after I'm done |
After the very nice soak at the onsen, I felt so good and comfy. Instead of going out for dinner immediately, I decided to take a short nap. It was already 8pm when I emerged from the hotel again. As per my usual practice for carbo loading before the race, I headed to Ichiran Ramen in Dontomburi area. I loved how the hotel is just a short walk away from the canal and the main shopping area of Dontomburi. Although it could be a 10-15min walk away from the nearest station, the location is still good enough for me.
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| This is the one in the shopping mall but I decided to walk on |
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| The other outlet along the river is always more popular |
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| The 10min short queue was quite okay for me |
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| Yummy! |
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