Japan Tour: Osaka Part 1

Friday, March 20: Bullet Train, Crowded Shopping Area, Kit Kats & Blanton

Our group had tickets for the 9:46am Shinkansen (bullet train) from Mishima > Osaka, and we arrived with quite a bit of time to spare since the train station was next to our hotel and our tour director allowed for extra buffer time to get the group together and moving. Our bags were transported by truck given the somewhat limited storage space on the train, and we had to pay an extra fee for Mr. E's new Rimowa bag, which was quite annoying. Especially once we saw the actual space on the train and realized we could easily have brought it on board with us along with our other hand-carried baggage.

When we reached Osaka, we got onto another bus for a brief tour of the city and disembarked in the famous Dotonbori shopping area that straddles a canal with lots of bridges. 

Everything was more crowded than usual because of the long weekend for the Spring Equinox holiday. After a short walk with the group, we had free time to find lunch and do some browsing. We ended up at a great Korean BBQ style restaurant on an upper floor of a building overlooking the canal (no water view from our table) and enjoyed our DIY lunch, including beef for Mr. E, tako for me, and some veggies for both of us. We had a super-friendly waitress who not only spoke some English with us but even gave me a hug as we were leaving!

As we walked through the shops, we found a trio set of special Japan-themed mugs at Starbucks but decided not to make a purchase at the moment. However, we did stock up on multiple flavors of Kit Kats and almost made the mistake of purchasing them Duty Free, which would have trapped them in a sealed plastic bag until we returned to the US. Phew! Glad we figured it out and rescued them!

One item we did procure through Duty Free was a special bottle of Blanton's for Mr. E. We knew we'd have to check a bag for the trip home due to the new Rimowa, so we figured it would be OK to have some extra items that wouldn't make it through regular airport security.

We rejoined the group and made our way to the hotel, right across from Esaka station (the train theme continues!), but our bags hadn't arrived yet, which was a bit frustrating. After we checked in, we strolled around the local area a bit to look for dinner and popcorn. I struck out on both but Mr. E was satisfied with some McD's and an later stop at an Indian spot. I managed to figure out the Input button on the TV so we could hook up MSTI to watch two more episodes of "Young Sherlock" as we snacked and enjoyed some Roku gin & tonic.