The planned itinerary:
13 to 17 Mar - Osaka
17 to 20 Mar - Kyoto
20 to 21 Mar - Takayama / Shirakawa-go
21 to 27 Mar - Tokyo / Yokohama / Gala Yuzawa
Looking at the planned itinerary, I have to say that i wished i allocated another day at Takayama, just one more dayyyy, or maybe two?
I set out with an unrealistic budget, as i always do (scrimp scrimp save save) lol. We got air tickets at a great deal from SQ! Flying in to Osaka Kansai International Airport, and flying out to Singapore via Tokyo Narita Airport. My ticket cost $710 plus some cents and i used 13,000 kris flyer miles to push it down to $573 plus some cents! Love krisflyer miles!!
Accomodation was all Airbnb since RJ n I wanted to sleep on separate beds and Airbnb provided that in a cost effective way. Being the 'kiam siap' person that i am, i spent some time searching for promo deals for Airbnb on the internet and i learnt that those 'deals' you see on websites other than the banks' are a bunch of crap. Please don't bother lol.
Expenses:
Air ticket - $573
Accomodation - $715
7 Day JR Pass - $369
Transport / Food / Misc / USJ / Ski / Souvenirs - $2000 (with $500 flexibility)
Day 1 - Singapore Changi Airport - Osaka Kansai International Airport / Shin Imamiya
I brought a giant luggage. It came up to my hip (no you may not think about my height), because i told myself, i must make full use of the 30kg check in luggage!!!
Along the way to the plane, I just could not resist..
And off we goooo!!
Love airplane food! The veggies were yummy, the soba was sad but i still love airplane food.
Reached Osaka at 9pm or so, ahead of schedule and went in search for data sim. We considered pocket wifi however decided on individual data sim so that we would still be able to contact each other while apart. Right after clearing customs, we passed a sim card vending machine which had 1GB and 3GB data options. A note on the machine directed us to a counter up front for a 2.2GB, 30Day option. It cost 4000yenl (omg)
Most sim cards only offer data, with no option to make local calls. However that is totally fine with us since we did not intend to chit chat with anyone in Japan. The lady over the counter informed us that no set up service was provided, however the set up instructions provided in English, Chinese, Korean and Thai were easy to follow! After some social media-ing and msging, we were all ready to goooo.
We took the Nankai Express Ltd train to Shin-Imamiya Station, a 35min ride.
Lugging the giant luggage under the rain to the apartment was totally unromantic. I thought my fingers dropped off along the way.
The apartment did not disappoint. Super clean and cozy, with an electric rug/mat that could warm up. I fell upon it and travelled around on it before RJ convinced me to wash up and zzz. Hahaha. Love heated mats!!!
