Osaka Marathon 2019- Post Marathon @ Nikko Kansai Airport Hotel (5th December)

I cant believe I finally did a complete trip blog finally, all thanks to COVID-19 and I'm about to embark on on my Italy trip blog- 13th May 2020

This is an additional post to do a short hotel review about Nikko Kansai Airport Hotel. I actually stayed here in March 2019 after my Japan trip to Shikoku and I enjoyed my stay so much that I decided to stay over again after Arima Onsen trip. But I realised my room is much smaller now as compared to the previous time, probably I happened to get a complimentary room upgrade then. Nevertheless, this is still a good choice after a late night flight into Osaka or before a early morning flight out of the city.

My room was just facing the airport plaza this time round

The above photo was the only one I took in December 2019, and the remaining ones after this were taken in March.

I went to Rinku Premium Outlets in March 2019

The washroom was just average

Spectacular sunset when I stayed in March

Big comfortable sitting area

Look at this! The bed was so big and different then

My room was facing the sea then

The path to the hotel from Osaka train station

Very long queue to check in at Jetstar

There was a long queue to check in at the Jetstar flight when I was heading back home but I ensured that I had sufficient time to get some snacks and food before boarding as I was rushing around in March and had a very bad experience of missing breakfast and felt really sick on the flight home then. The flight home was comfortable enough as I was sitting at the very first row and we transited at a familiar Clark airport on the way back. P gave me some pesos to get food but there was not a minute we could wander around the airport as the aircraft was already ready to board after we cleared immigration etc. After I boarded, I realised the remaining people sitting at my row were representatives of SG for the Sea Games 2019 ongoing at Manila and Clark and the guy sitting next to me looked very familiar. After I alighted from the flight, he was ushered away immediately. I googled and realised he was Minister Desmond Lee, opps! He was really kind and nice during the flight though. 

Osaka Marathon 2019- Post Marathon @ Arima Onsen (4th December)

This is the last day of the trip for touring around the area, or rather Kobe area. I'm checking out from the hotel today and I'll stay at the airport hotel for the night before my flight tomorrow. Actually, I do not have to do that as my flight is not that early, but I really booked the hotel way ahead before the registration for the marathon started. Then I booked the air ticket after I managed to get a ballot slot, and I decided to stay another night in Japan. I have a rough idea of where I wanted to go for my post marathon tours but I did not really get down to plan the details, and it all worked out well when I did it the same way the previous year at Kyoto. On the day I went to Nara and the weather was really bad, I thought of switching my plans and go to Arima Onsen instead, as a rainy day is a good day for soaking onsen, and that'll be good for recovery too. However, I did not go to Arima onsen then as I've only read up about Nara the previous night and I had not done any planning about my remaining trip.

Self service luggage deposit area at Candeo Hotel

Saw many such large posters around the area. Ladies' boys?

Anyway, Candeo Hotel has a very good self deposit luggage area and its really big enough for all the tourists who had checked out but needed the service. I left my luggage there and will come back for it after Arima Onsen. I've thought of heading to the airport hotel first to drop off my luggage as there's another way to head to Arima Onsen from the airport. However, the trip will be super duper long and it'll take at least 3 hours if I head to the airport from Osaka and then to the onsen. I've also considered the big detour when I had to come back for the luggage later on, but on hindsight, I thought I should have stayed in Kobe for at least a night since I'm spending time going back to Kobe again today. As I've said, I'm not planned the details and just let things flow naturally when its my solo trips. It all worked out well for me in the end as I was very lucky to chance upon a Tripadvisor post which mentioned a bundle ticket which includes the train ticket to Arima Onsen area from Osaka and the entrance ticket to the famous Taikou-no-yu onsen. The cost of getting the package is much cheaper although the traveling time is still quite long.

Hankyu Tourist Center at Osaka Umeda station

The very kind lady telling me about the shuttle service

After researching the relevant info online the night before, I made my way to Osaka-Umeda station and looked for Hankyu Tourist Centre to get the Arima Onsen Taikou-no-yu package tickets. There are two versions of the package using the Hankyu line and the Hanshin line, it's a little confusing for me as I only know that they go by slightly different routes and we could only take the trains provided by our chosen train service provider. Anyway, I chose the Hanshin version as it's cheaper and I proceeded to the Hanshin train station to start my journey. I love trains and traveling by trains in Japan, but sometimes there are really so many service and so many stations that I still get confused. The cost of the package is 2650Y and that's not too bad as the entrance fee to Taikou-no-yu is already 2400Y.

Given to me as a finisher's item and it's really yummy

Crossing over the take the local train

Cute local train to Arima Onsen

I left the hotel by 930am as I have a long day ahead, and I only reached Arima onsen three hours later. I did not have time to get breakfast but I bought some snacks and ate them on the very long train journey. After reaching Arima onsen station, I took the shuttle service provided by Taikou-no-yu onsen and it took me directly to the onsen building.

The package with train ticket and onsen admission ticket

The reception area where we checked in

A shop selling souvenirs and food stuff

A big bag with our yukata and towels issued to us

We just need to scan the barcode that come with the key

The rows of lockers for me to keep my belongings

After leaving my shoes the rows of shoes lockers at the entrance, I went to the counter to check in and showed them my admission ticket. I was issued a big mesh bag with towels and robes and a key with barcode to register my purchases for the day. I knew I was at the right place for authentic onsen as there were many Japanese elderly at the place. The only other comparable onsen place I've went was Odaiba Oedo Onsen and that was during my very first trip to Japan, Taikou-no-yu had a very different feel and is more traditional.

Left my belongings and clothes in the locker

After changing into the robes, I left my phone in my bag at the locker area as the remaining areas were full of people and there was no way I could take any photos. The whole place was really big and like a maze and I even helped a Chinese speaking tourist who appeared to be lost. I went to the big indoor onsen area and tried the famous kinsen and ginsen which are specialty water of arima onsen area, there were also some mini steam rooms for me to sit inside and open my pores for cleansing Anyway, there were a lot of people at the Grand Bath Area and I headed to the outdoor area after trying each type of water. At the outdoor area, there were also 5 or 6 different kind of stone bath and small tubs for me to soak in, it's really cool and I tried each of them too. After I washed up, I explored further and found the complimentary stone sauna area. The lady serving guests could speak quite good English so I figured out that I have to change into another set of robes in order to get into the area. I realised I should have done it before the onsen as I'll need to wash up again after the stone sauna. I tried it out anyway since it's a totally new and refreshing experience. And it's complimentary! In the stone sauna room, many people are lying down on very hot stone floor and there was a headrest for us to put our heads on. There was a ticket issued to us indicating the time as each person could only stay inside for 40 minutes, I also noticed a clock in each of the rooms. It was so warm and I was sweating all over so I got out earlier than the time indicated.

Enjoying the special ice cream

The outdoor waiting area of Taikou-no-yu

Bought this onsen manju opposite the station

After more than two hours spent at the onsen, it was almost 3pm and time for me to head back to Osaka. I bought an ice cream to enjoy while waiting for the next shuttle bus. But silly me, I underestimated the time needed to check out and wear my shoes and I missed the 3pm shuttle bus by a minute! I tried to walk to the arima train station but Taikou-no-yu onsen was stationed on really steep slopes and it was quite tedious to walk all the way, so I just waited for the next shuttle service to arrive. Luckily the intervals were only 15mins as 3pm is a popular time to tourists to leave. As I was leaving the place, a big group of tourists from Taiwan arrived and I was glad that I was clearing out from the locker room just in time. Honestly, I did not get to visit the arima onsen town centre during this trip but I felt that this package for tourist is really good value for money and it was a good day trip experience for me.

On the way back, for some reasons, I could not find the Hanshin rail train which I was supposed to take and I kind of got lost at the transfer station. So I just took Hankyu rail all the way back to Umeda station. Knowing the strict and sometimes rigid Japanese people, I was worried that I might be asked to top up for the fare difference or something, but the guy at the station just waved me through when he saw that I was holding the tourist train ticket. Phew! Think he did not want to bother himself with explaining in English. :)

Craving for spicy ramen so I had this

The shopfront, but I dont really recommend this

Redeemed my complimentary drink

After reaching Dontoburi area, I decided to just get my last dinner at Osaka before going to Candeo to get my luggage. I was wandering around the place and craving for some ramen and I went into this ramen shop with a very big signage out front. I was seated on the upper level and it was pretty cramped there as it was filled with people during dinner hours. My verdict was that ramen of Ichiran tasted so much better, I thought that I'll just try something else since I had already ate Ichiran before the race but honestly this spicy ramen is just a few notches below expectations if compared with Ichiran. 

I collected my luggage and headed to the airport hotel to check in. My initial plan was to visit the Rinku Premium outlets as I bought quite a few pieces of Adidas apparel there in March, but the trip to Arima onsen took too many hours on the train and there was simply no time for a visit to the outlets this trip.

Osaka Marathon 2019- Post Marathon @ Kobe & Himeji Castle (3rd December)

For the second day of post marathon touring, I'm heading further away to Kobe region to the famous Himeji castle. I woke up a bit later today and I was glad the weather was much better when I was finally out after onsen around 11am. I finally found the Komeda's coffee which was actually really just next to our hotel. I tried it in Nagoya and had good impression of getting a really nice breakfast at this chain. Anyway, it was already after their breakfast time so I had to go for the lunch menu. I took the combo below as I loved their bread with red bean (azuki) paste. Komeda originated from Nagoya and I think the bread in Nagoya tasted better as it was toasted, anyway three of those breads with bean paste was really too filling for me and I could only finish two.

Found my Komeda's

The brunch

Saw this with Himeji Castle as the backdrop

Nice and magnificient castle

It was already past 3pm when I finally got to the castle. It took me around 2 h or so to get there by train as I got a bit lost and the journey took longer than usual. There was another 20 min or so of walking from the station, but I could already see the castle once I stepped out of the station so it was easy to find my way there. The castle closes at 5pm during winter and the last entrance was an hour before that so I really got there just in time. However, the trip was worth it and it was nice to tour when there was no crowd and the sun was setting so I could see it in different lightings.

The main entrance to the castle

Another shot with the autumn bare trees

Bought my tickets to go in 

A closer look with paid entrance

Quite well maintained

I've been to the vicinity of Osaka and Nagoya castles during my races but I've not went into those as a visiting tourist. Himeji is worth a visit for me as it is the most spectacular castle in the country. I've visited Shuri castle in Naha a few years ago but the whole design and layout is really different, Shuri castle design is very much influenced by Chinese close to the region so it looked very different from the typical Japanese castles. Anyways, I love to visit these sites alone and not with a group, I did not really take my time to read all the info at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial museum as it was quite crowded and I had to more or less follow the pace of my friends. But this time, I could explore the place slowly on my own. There was a big group of high school students and quite a few tourists when I entered the castle grounds, but it was not that crowded.

I'm inspired by how neatly they presented the shoe covers

Photos from the top level as the sun is setting

Another view from the top

I slowly climbed up to the topmost level while reading all the signage boards about the history of the castle on every level. Some of the steps were very steep but I was impressed by the elderly who managed to go up with me. It was quite an enjoyable thing to do and slowly take in the knowledge when I'm alone. The sun was setting when I reached the highest level so I could see the skyline of the city area in a different glow, so it was really nice.

Another neat presentation of toilet rolls by the Japanese

One last look at the magnificient castle in the setting sun

After I got down from the top levels, I visited the washroom and bade farewell to the castle. I must say it's quite well maintained inside and from the info provided, the maintenance works are ongoing to keep the 400 years old building looking so good. As I was walking back to the station, the sky was already getting dark as nightfall is at 4.30pm during winter times. As I would pass Kobe on my way back to Osaka, I plan to visit the city area around the Motomachi station and get my dinner there.

Looks good but the taste was disappointing, too sweet!

 Nankinmachi

Another entrance

The central area of nankinmachi street

I have seen from some Youtube channels there are some interesting food at Nankinmachi and I was rather disappointed to see that all the stores were closing when I finally reached the area as it was almost 7pm. There were hardly any patrons around the place. Another Otaru experience! I kept forgetting that in Japan most places are clearing up by 7pm except for the main cities and I always got to these places too late. I checked out several eateries on Tripadvisor as I wanted to try the famous Kobe beef but quite a few of these places were also closing by the time I navigated my way there. Whatttt...

Had beef for dinner but not kobe beef

Honestly, I feel disappointed due to the anticipation for good beef dinner and I was tired from all the walking around the place. I did not want to pay $100 SGD just to try the top notch Kobe beef but I thought I'll get a taste of it from one of the shops here. Anyway, it was close to 9pm when I finally got dinner, I ended up in a shop closer to the station after looking at the shopfront and some random reviews. At least the place was selling beef steak, though it wasnt kobe beef. I guess there might be a chance I'll be back in Kobe again since there is this 遗憾 this time round. No biggie though.

Decided to get one of those since it's apparently famous

Piping hot and it was real good!

As I was looking for dinner, I saw groups of people gathered around this store. After dinner, I realised the store is just next to my dinner place so I walked closer to get a look. Apparently, this shop is famous for selling Taiyaki, Japanese fish shaped pancake with azuki bean paste inside. I decided to stop and get one although there was a queue (Singaporeans are trained to follow the crowd in such situation). Once I got the snack in my hand, I had to walk and eat at the same time as it was getting late and I did not want to miss the next train. I know Japanese would frown at that but I must say the taste of the Taiyaki against the cold chilly wind was really really good, it was worth all the effort waiting for it. The azuki bean paste was so sweet and tasty and it was bursting out from the pancake dough, melting in my mouth...