The market wasn’t crowded so we still managed to walk down the market freely and easily while in search of food. Out of the entire market, Kuromon Sanpei ( 黑門三平 ) was the most packed by tourists. Probably it was because of the variety of items they have available and the fact that most tour guides brought their tour groups there for a meal. It was a madhouse and yet the staff managed to replenish, clarify and assist their customers swiftly and promptly. Kudos to them man.
Once again, we split and conquer. Boyfriend queue to pay for our food, while I find us a seat inside the shop.
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| The best Unagi we've ever had, thus far. |
I am not one who likes eating raw food for breakfast, and in this case brunch, but boyfriend is okay with it and the sashimi all goods so fresh. So we ended up did getting sashimi for brunch after all and I was glad that we did because IT WAS SO GOOD. Worth every penny of ours.
When we were coming to the end of our food journey in Kuromon Market, we found ourselves walking into one of the alleyways, away from all the buzz from the main street, where we discovered a quaint little traditional tea house at the end of the peaceful alley. We were greeted and attended to by a friendly obāsan dressed in kimono. Though it was a tea house, we ordered coffee instead as we have not had our morning coffee. Thinking back now, I regretted it. Should have ordered tea. What was I thinking?!
Though, the coffee was great too. But doesn't that mean that the tea will be better than great? Oh, man...
Aside from being a tea house, there were handmade pottery available for sale and a tearoom upstairs for people to look around, which the obāsan guided us up for a tour after we were done with our coffee. We have never been to an authentic Japanese tearoom, so this was really eye-opening for us.
Since it was Osaka-Day, we activated our 1-Day Osaka Amazing Pass and enjoyed it’s perks as much as we can. Up was up next was supposed to be Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan, but when we reached there, the queue at the ticketing counter was insanely long and the entire place was insanely crowded. So after much consideration, we decided to head over to Osaka Castle (大阪城) first and come back again later in the evening.
Luckily for us, we get to ride all trains and buses unlimitedly for the entire day with the Osaka Amazing Pass. Hence, we did not need to take transportation costs into our considerations. Plus, with the pass, we get free admission to the Osaka Castle Museum and Nishinomaru Garden (大阪城 西の丸庭園). HOW AWESOME!
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| View of Osaka Castle from Nishinomaru Garden. |
Not that I am an ambassador for the Osaka Amazing Pass or anything, but getting the pass was one of the best choices we ever made. With the pass, we get to skip the long queue at the entrance of Osaka Castle Museum and head right in / up. But of course, we chose to take the stairs up. Otherwise, there was another queue for taking the lift and that queue was horribly long and slow as well.
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| Historical and modernisation in a frame. |
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| Paranomic view at Observation Deck (top floor). |
We spent almost the entire afternoon at Osaka Castle and only left at about 4:30pm for the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan. Because our feet were all tired from all the walking and stairs climbing, we decided to pay for the tram service which took us out to the entrance of the park, where we walked about 10 minutes to get back to the train station.
By the time we got there, many people were leaving the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyūkan (海遊館), and we were the only last few visitors heading in. Also, we got our tickets for the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan at ¥100 off each ticket with our Osaka Amazing Pass. SCORE!
Visiting the aquarium before they close for the day has its perks and shortcomings. It was great for us because aside from us visiting, only 3 couples were there, and that means we were able to explore and take our time to view the marine animals. Plus, we have all the time in the world to take as many photos as we want without being photo-bombed or a hindrance to anyone.
However, the downside is that some of the marine animals (such as the seals) were already sleeping / resting, and all the feeding and interaction times have concluded for the day, except for the general touch pool at the end of the exhibition. Don’t get me wrong, only some were resting. The dolphins were still playing around, some penguins were still diving here and there while some were resting onshore.
We were literally the last few visitors at the aquarium. When we were done exploring it, even the gift shop was about the close for the day. And when we back outside of the aquarium, there was no one at all. Nada. That was the call for photos to be taken without any photobombers in the background, so out whipped my tripod stand.
To end off our day, we sat the Tempozan Giant Ferris Wheel (天保山大観覧車), which is located next to the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan. It usually costs ¥800 but since we had the Osaka Amazing Pass, our rides were free and since we were the last few to get onto the ride, we didn’t have to queue since there wasn’t one.
As the Ferris Wheel is about 112.5 meters tall, the view we got when we were at the very top was amazing. Though, the night breeze was blowing strong, which made the cabin sway quite a bit, and I was quite terrified by that. But, all the night lights of the streets, buildings and cars really made the view superb. The best part was that the night sky was clear of clouds and we get to see a bright moon shining down on us.
We did not utilise our Osaka Amazing Pass as much as I planned to, but it was still worthwhile getting it. We managed to enjoy our time to the fullest and without having to worry about all the transportation costs (it can actually really add up to quite a bit). Osaka Amazing Pass is truly amazing, for us at the very least.
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