Osaka & Kyoto, Japan Thread 3

[travelling_daisy]

how much ang airfare sis?

Sis, we got ours at USD 1622.40 MNL-NRT then Osaka (ITM)-MNL. Travel date is Oct 29, returning Nov. 6. We are 2 adults and 2 kids.

[f878]

Do u recommend osaka airbnb? If so, any suggestions? Thanks in advance!

hi sis, we were in shinjuku 2 weeks ago and we got our apartment through airbnb. yung host namin korean sya and may mga apt. silang pinapa-rent sa shinjuku & osaka. here's the place we got: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/10114952
and in fairness, kung ano yung  nasa pictures same na same sya. at malaking help sa paglibot namin yung portable wifi that they provided. maayos naman yung english nung host kaya we did not have any issues sa communication. nagustuhan din namin yung location ng apartment kase very accessible sa trains and other amenities. eto yung mga apt nila sa nanba, osaka:
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/11130704
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/11131661
mas mura yung pangalawa since sya ata yung pinakabago nilang place so parang promo price pa.

[marose17]

Sis marose, allowed yung children to stay in the room with parents sa superior room sa Swissotel? Is it for free or with additional charge? My kids are aged 11 and 9 and I have a tough time looking for hotels that could accommodate us in 1 room. Though I have booked na Fraser Residence Nankai. Okay nga dyan sa Swissotel, mas accessible sa subway.

My children were allowed to stay with us without extra charges.  I just indicated in my booking that the room is for 2 adults - this is less complicated because based on my experience, online booking will redirect you to a bigger room (more expensive) when you indicate you are travelling with 2 children, even if they are both below 12 years old.  During check-in, I wasn't questioned by the concierge or staff naman because they could clearly see my two kids and husband with me.

Swissotel is super accessible talaga.  Highly recommended because of the location.   The staff are very helpful.  In fact, they have these print-outs of directions to popular tourist spots that I find easier to understand than Googlemaps.

[meimei]

Do u recommend osaka airbnb? If so, any suggestions? Thanks in advance!

Ilan kayo?

[travelling_daisy]

My children were allowed to stay with us without extra charges.  I just indicated in my booking that the room is for 2 adults - this is less complicated because based on my experience, online booking will redirect you to a bigger room (more expensive) when you indicate you are travelling with 2 children, even if they are both below 12 years old.  During check-in, I wasn't questioned by the concierge or staff naman because they could clearly see my two kids and husband with me.

Swissotel is super accessible talaga.  Highly recommended because of the location.   The staff are very helpful.  In fact, they have these print-outs of directions to popular tourist spots that I find easier to understand than Googlemaps.

Oh, pwede pala di muna i-declare na may kasama kids during booking. Maybe only for hotels na free ang kids below 12. In some kasi di ba counted as adults ang kids above 6. If you don't mind sis, how much were you able to get the room at Swissotel? I searched now kase almost JPY 60k pa cheapest per night.

[marose17]

^ As I recall, the rate was JPY29k per night.  I booked via the hotel's website way ahead - we're talking about booking in June 2015 for our stay last April.  Sakura season kasi kaya I booked really early.

[travelling_daisy]

^Wow, super early ka pala talaga nag-book sis. Buti sa Swissotel pwede ganun kaaga. I guess I have to settle with Fraser Residence Nankai kasi they gave me a good deal naman for a 1-bedroom executive suite. Problem ko na lang is yung sa Tokyo. So far kasi, all the hotels na nagustuhan ko, until Septemebr 30 pa lang ang available for booking. End October pa ang trip namin so I can't book yet.

Thanks for the reply!

[23mirAmir]

^^ sis thanks sa advise.. i'll check that hotel as well.. im booking thru agoda..

[marose17]

^^ Maganda naman ang Fraser and it's just across Swissotel. 

Sa Keio Plaza Hotel in Shinjuku, puwedeng mag-book early.  That's where we stayed before.  The room is big.

[megamabushii]

Ano say niyo dito:

Day 1: Arrival

Day 2: USJ

Day 3: Osaka Castle
Namba Park
Yamamoto Noh Theater

Day 4: Dotonbori
Tsutenkaku, Shinsekai
Tsuruhashi, Ikuno

Day 5: Yodobashi Umeda
Umeda Sky Building
Nipponbashi Denden

Day 6: Departure

Doable ba?

[travelling_daisy]

^^ Thanks, sis marose17.

I was able to book a hotel in Shinjuku already. We booked Century Southern Tower. There's a room that can accommodate 2 adults and 2 kids. Kids below 12 can stay for free. I inquired from Keio Plaza about 2 months ago and nakakalula ang binigay na price ng room sa akin... haha... So I settle with Century Southern, mukhang positive naman ang reviews for this hotel.

BTW, ask ko lang since on our flight back to MNL, we'll be taking ANA from Itami Airport (to transfer at NRT to MNL). From Namba (Fraser Residence), we plan to take the Airport Bus. Direction from the web says it's near Exit 7 of the Namba Station, Midosuji Line. How far would that be kaya via walking? Di ba mahirap to drag luggages on the street from Fraser to the Bus Stop/Station? Medyo nakakalito ang Namba Station --- may Namba - Nankai, Namba Subway, Osaka-Namba at JR Namba. It gets me dizzy... haha

[marose17]

^ From Fraser, there are stairs going to the underground.  From there you can walk to the Namba station.  Para hindi ka naman sa street level tatawid.  Magkatapat na magkatapat lang kasi ang Fraser and Swissotel.

Fraser, like Swissotel, is nearest to the part of Namba where Nankai Railways is situated.  Namba is one big station!  I think the bus stop is outside Swissotel (parang nakita ko ito before).  We took the airport direct train kasi (Nankai Railways) going to and from KIX.

JR-Namba is malayo and out of the way.

Namba subway is where you have to go to take the subway going to most destinations like Osaka Castle, Osaka Aquarium and Universal Studios.  Nasa ibaba lang siya ng train station.   May signs everywhere.  You just have to be familiar with the subway or train line that service your destination.  Iba-iba kasi ang lines: may Chuo (green ata ito), Midosuji (red), etc.

Download mo the Googlemaps app to your smartphone.  You can calculate even the minutes it will take to reach your destination on foot.  It's pretty simple.  Even my kids have figured out how to use it. 

[travelling_daisy]

^Thanks so much, sis! Very detailed info.
I already have the Google Map app as well as the other train maps/guide suggested for traveling in Japan installed on my phone. Will just figure out how to make use of them. Nakaka-overwhelm lang sa dami kasi. Mas complicated than Seoul subway pala. Hehe...

So, no need naman pala to drag our luggages on the street. Akala ko kasi ganun. I hope there will be escalators and elevators para di rin hassle.

Thanks so much again.

[23mirAmir]

Hi mga sisses, ask ko lang kung may naka pag stay na sa Sheraton Miyako Hotel Osaka? any feed back naman so I could decide kung mag bobook na ko.. Swissotel kasi  is quite pricey for my companions.. TIA

[marose17]

^ Nasa may train station din ang Sheraton Miyako.   

[janesjane]

mga sis, pahingi naman sample itinerary for 8days manila-tokyo-osaka-manila kami. Salamat.

[^gabrielle^]

Hi sis f878, thanks so much for the feedback. Will check on it.

[ldiannel]

Hi mga sis!

It's my first time posting here. Sorry if mahaba. This coming June 17-21 we'll be in JPY Below is our itinerary, hopefully doable siya. Need ko mga opinion and suggestions nyo sis.

June 16- Midnight flight from MNL to Osaka
June 17- 5AM arrive at KIX Airport
June 17- Osaka city tour, baka magikot ikot nalang kami
June 18- Universal Studios Day
June 19- Kyoto- balikan via bus
June 20- 7 AM flight going to Tokyo. Will arrive there at 9AM.
June 20- Tokyo- Shibuya and Tokyo Disneysea
June 20- 8:20PM flight going back to Osaka
June 21- AM- Pasalubong shopping day
June 21- 9 PM- flight going back to Manila

We were able to get cheap airfare last Feb. Imagine, 4k per person for our MNL-Osaka-MNL and 2k for Osaka-Tokyo-Osaka. We will also rent a private van on Tokyo (around 35k nga lang sya ) Para masulit namin yung Tokyo. Gusto ko sana ipost pa yung Tokyo iti namin kaso super haba na. Hahaha! Ay oo nga pala, Airbnb lang pala kami sa Osaka Irecommend ko sainyo kung okay sya pagdating namin dun

[meimei]

^to be honest, i think you shouldn't have booked Osaka-Tokyo-Osaka given that you only had 4 nights tucked in your Manila-Osaka-Manila flight itinerary. I spent 6 nights for Kyoto-Osaka and nabitin pa ko.

Sana you maximized na lang yung 5D/4N sa Kansai area (Osaka-Kyoto). If you'll backread, you'll see feedback that Kyoto is such a beautiful place and definitely one days is not enough.

But since naka-book na yan, this advice is more for the other readers, hehe.

I mean, i know 2K Osaka-Tokyo-Osaka is such a steal, but then again, you weren't able to maximize Kansai so yung value-for-money nung Manila-Osaka-Manila (though also cheap) still didn't cut it, in my opinion. Ang ganda at ang saya mag-gala sa Kyoto.

[MedChic]

Ako i had 6 days to move around Kansai area (Kyoto and Osaka) and yes.. Super bitin.

Tokyo, had 4 days. Kung me choice pa ako, tokyo 6 days - kyoto and osaka 8 days. Total of 14 days. Yey.