In my Japan Trip 2012 vol. 1 post, I mentioned that we took Shinkansen (Japanese bullet train) from Yokohoama to visit Kobe and Osaka in western Japan. My best friend was getting married in Kobe so our family trip to Japan was planned so that I could attend her big day. Also, my maternal side grandparents and relatives live in Osaka, so we extended our trip 3 more days to spend time with them afterward.
We stayed in Oriental Hotel in Kobe, where my friend had her wedding at. It was a nice newly remodeled hotel and we enjoyed our stay.
Our room, Breakfast Buffet, Bar (photo credit: Oriental Hotel)
At the hotel, I had the breakfast and wedding banquet course meal for lunch. I was very pleased with the quality of food they served. I was way too busy socializing during the wedding so I failed to take the beautiful course meal. The only photo from the hotel was the breakfast. For breakfast, guests can choose the Western-style or Japanese style, and to share pictures for my blog I picked Japanese style. All the basic Japanese breakfast dishes were served on the tray. Tofu, pickles, Onsen Tamago (hot spring egg), seaweed, Nimono (simmered vegetable dishes), rice, Gindara Saikyo Yaki (Miso Cod), and Miso soup (from left top to right bottom).
No, these are not the only thing that I ate actually. You can also go to a buffet section to get the various side dishes including two different kinds of Chinese dumplings, stir-fried vegetables, sausages, eggs, and so on. At another area, there were various kinds of bread and pastries. They also serve fresh fruits, yogurt, cereal, and several fresh juices at another station.
The afternoon, after we arrived in Kobe, was free so we booked tickets to KidZania Koshien in advance. KidZania concept was created and developed by a Mexican founder. It’s a child-sized replica of a city, including buildings, shops, banks, theaters, and there are vehicles moving on streets. There was one KidZania in Florida in the US but it is now closed. The first KidZania location in Japan was in Tokyo.
When a child enters KidZania, they are free to choose from any of the 80 occupations, from an airplane pilot to photographer. For our children, we booked EAP (English Activities Program) since they are not very fluent in Japanese so there were fewer job choices. However, the benefit of the EAP program is that kids in EAP don’t have to wait in line to work at the job they want. The jobs in the program are already pre-arranged so the teachers will lead the students from the assigned job to the next.
For that day, our children were assigned to work as a jet pilot (ANA airways), a factory worker at Coca-Cola bottling plant, a pizza maker at Pizza-La, a worker at Idemitsu gas station, and a photographer at SONY Photo Studio.
Our kids worked really hard from 4:30 to 8:00pm. After each job is done they get paid a salary (play money). For kids in the local area, they can save the play money in the bank. Since we don’t know when/if we’ll return to Kidzania, we told them that they can spend all the money they earned at the department store (inside the complex as well). I was going to help my kids pick their gift, but adults weren’t actually allowed to go inside the store. They were happy with small toy they could buy with the salary they had earned on their job.
While I was attending the wedding, my husband took the kids to Suma Aqualife Park Kobe (須磨海浜水族園). It was great because children were free and they got to see a lot of creatures and a dolphin show.
After the park, they stopped by for the traditional western Japan snack – Takoyaki (たこ焼き). It’s a popular street vendor snack in the Osaka area.
Takoyaki is a ball-shaped Japanese pancake made of batter. It’s cooked in a special grill with rows of semi-circles (picture above) and filled with diced octopus (tako), tempura scraps (tenkasu), pickled ginger, and green onion. After it’s cooked, they brush takoyaki sauce and customers have the option of mayonnaise, topped with aonori and katsuorubshi (shaving of dried bonito).
The wedding banquet was over by 3pm and our trip continued to Osaka that day. Kobe, which is known for Kobe Beef, is about a 25-minute train ride from Osaka. For the next 2 and a half days, we spend most of the time with my grandparents and my relatives.
While we were in Osaka, Sakura (cherry blossoms) were blooming everywhere. It was so pretty. My family took my grandparents out for Hanami (花見; flower viewing) in the neighborhood. We walked around a little bit and took family pictures. It was a clear sunny afternoon with a beautiful blue sky, and everyone looks up to see the full bloom Sakura.
We didn’t have much free time but whenever we had some time for ourselves, my husband and I took our kids on mini sightseeing trips in Osaka. We went to ride Tempozan Ferris Wheel at Tempozan Harbor Village next to the famous Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan (one of the largest aquariums in the world). At the time it opened in 1997, the Tempozan Ferris Wheel was the tallest at 112 meters, roughly 35 stories tall.
Two of the cars were completely clear including the floor so we decided to take it for fun. Below is the famous aquarium, Kaiyukan.
And some views of Osaka Port.
The views toward Osaka downtown.
Later on that day my cousin and his wife took us for a walk to check cherry blossoms along the river near the Imperial Hotel.
During Hanami (flower viewing), a lot of people picnic under the trees and enjoy the scenery. Friends and family bring some food and drinks to get together to relax for the day. You have to get to the best spots very early in the day to claim them because there are literally thousands of people along the river.
Another afternoon, we went to see Osaka Castle. We often stop by Osaka Castle because our kids love seeing it. Here, the entrance to the Castle.
We started to see the castle.
Behind them, it’s the single biggest rock that makes up the castle’s wall. Look at how tiny our children are.
There were lots of tourists because of the cherry blossom season. Some people enjoy the gardens but our focus was checking the castle so we continued to walk. Osaka Castle is one of Japan’s most popular castle to visit. If you are curious about this castle, you can continue reading about it here.
Now here we are!
It makes a huge difference when there are cherry blossom trees in front of it. We went up to the observatory in the central tower. Just one picture from the top.
On the way down to the main entrance to the central tower, we also quickly went through Osaka Castle Museum (as our kids were too young and impatient to understand the history).
The miniature figures show the scenes from the folding screen depicting the Summer War of Osaka.
After seeing the samurai worriers, my son wanted to take a picture with the cannon.
Lastly, I’ll just show the lunch boxes we had on Shinkansen on the way back to Yokohama from Osaka. Anago (sea eel) Sushi on the right is very famous in Osaka.
Next Thursday, my husband will be a doing restaurant review at Japanese Teppanyaki dinner. We had high-quality Wagyu (Japanese beef), lobster, and more! This was an unforgettable meal, so make sure you don’t miss it!
Continue reading Vol. 3 of Japan Trip 2012.
Stunning photos! This sounds like a wonderful trip. I especially love the photo of your kids next to the cannon. I have one like that from one of the forts here. I’m glad you and your family had such a lovely vacation!
I gotta take my kids to KidZania when I visit Japan! 🙂 I know they’ll have fun and love it. The cherry blossom is really gorgeous. I better plan my next visit to Japan in Spring. BTW, you’ve got me craving for some Takoyaki!
YAY! The next part of your trip 🙂 I love all the photos and everything you did with your kids hehe it seems like a great activity for the kids to make friends and learn some important skills such as managing money 😀 I wish my parents had sent me to those kinda activities maybe I wouldn’t be so much of a shopoholic then hahaha I really miss Japan looking at all your photos just make me remember all the great times I had with my sister when i went hehe 😀 Can your children speak Japanese?
It must be so wonderful for you to go home 😉 Great post Nami!
I am so glad I didn’t miss this segment of your trip. What a wonderful time you all had. I must be so nice to catch your friends wedding and show your kids the country where you grew up! And spend time with family! I enjoyed all the beautiful photos….very interesting. I love the bento lunches, and woul like to eat breakfast like in the morning.
Hi Nami! I enjoyed looking at all of your pictures. It was a trip down memory lane for me too as I’ve been to many of those same places. Glad you had a great trip with your family.
– Michael
My friend lives in Kobe. I really enjoyed learning more about that area. Thanks! Looks like you had a wonderful time there.
Nami, thank you for sharing your wonderful trip with us! Last night’s Amazing Race went to Osaka, so when I came to your site and saw the temple photo, I recognized it right away! What a beautiful country, we can not wait to visit when Trinity is a little older, want to make sure she remembers all the sights!
I’m thoroughly enjoying the pictures and trip report. Some fascinating sights, and I need to visit Japan! Wonderful post – thanks.
Another great post, Nami. Japan has always been a destination I’ve been wanting to visit. It really looks like you had a fantastic time.
I know I said it before but your kids are too cute! What an amazing trip you had! I love the photos of the cherry blossoms. They are so beautiful. I hope to go there one spring to see them in person. I love the idea of that kidzania. How amazing is that?! After reading through your post and seeing all your amazing photos I really want to take a trip there!!!
Wow that was fun for the kids, I’ll be stoked if I were that child. I love field trips.
BTW that takoyaki looks good, thats my top 1 favourite Japanese food.
Hi,
I really enjoy looking at the pictures in your blog and of course your recipes too. Do you have a recipe for onsen tamago like the one you had for breakfast at the hotel? It looks like there is some kind of sauce in the onsen tamago. Is it some kind of dashi with light soya sauce?
I’m really enjoying your stories from Japan, Nami, thanks for sharing them with us. I’ve already had Japan very high on my “to visit” list, but seeing all the beautiful photos and reading stories, I want to even more 🙂
Looks like an awesome trip. I need to go back soon!
Your Japan pics really make me want to visit Japan…!! Look at those bento goodies, I think I would not be able to stop buying bento boxes there ;). As I have told you earlier in FB, my parents also visited Japan recently (which made me totally envious…!!) and they loved it! Unfortunately my mum couldn’t find any shops which sell bento boxes (my parents went with a tour group) and in the end she only bought things like mochi and seasonings for noodles ;).