This trip reunited some of the friends I had first traveled with in Tokyo 2018 through the Backpacker Indonesia forum, along with a few new people joining the group as well. Unlike the Tokyo trip, this time we shared accommodation to keep the overall cost lower and more efficient, even though our flights were still booked separately. I arrived earlier than some of the others, had a bit more time in the trip overall, and even did a solo transit in Malaysia before the group fully came together in Osaka.
Osaka Kyoto Trip
Dates: 1 to 6 September 2019
Bonus stops: Kuala Lumpur and Nara
Return flight: 4.0 M IDR (AirAsia Jakarta to Osaka via KL)
Accommodation in KL: 166K IDR (Sandpiper Hotel)
Accommodation in Osaka and Kyoto: 625K IDR (sharing cost)
Day 0: Transit in Kuala Lumpur
31 August
- KLIA2
- KL Sentral
- Sandpiper Hotel
Day 1: Kuala Lumpur to Osaka
1 September
- Sandpiper Hotel
- KLCC
- Petronas Twin Towers
- KL Sentral
- KLIA2
- Kansai International Airport Terminal 1
- Grandouce Nishi-Tengachaya (Airbnb)
Day 2: Nara, South Osaka, and Meeting the Group
2 September
- Grandouce Nishi-Tengachaya (Airbnb)
- Shin-Imamiya Station to Nara Station
- Nara Park
- Nara Station to Shin-Imamiya Station
- Spa World (Onsen)
- Shinsekai
- Dotonbori
- Shinsaibashi
- Back to Dotonbori (meeting the others who arrived in Osaka that afternoon)
- Grandouce Nishi-Tengachaya (Airbnb)
Day 3: Osaka City Day
3 September
- Grandouce Nishi-Tengachaya (Airbnb)
- Osaka Castle
- Grand Front Osaka
- Namba
- Shinsaibashi
- Amerikamura
- Dotonbori
- Nipponbashi
- Grandouce Nishi-Tengachaya (Airbnb)
Day 4: Transfer to Kyoto
4 September
- Grandouce Nishi-Tengachaya (Airbnb)
- Tengachaya Station to Karasuma Station (Kyoto)
- Smile Hotel Kyoto Shijo
- Ginkakuji
- Kawaramachi Station
- Nishiki Market
- Kyoto Station
- Kyoto Tower
- Yodobashi Camera Multimedia Kyoto
- Smile Hotel Kyoto Shijo
Day 5: Kyoto Highlights
5 September
- Smile Hotel Kyoto Shijo
- Fushimi Inari-taisha
- Arashiyama Bamboo Forest
- Kimono Forest
- Nijo Castle
- Kiyomizu-dera
- Ninen-zaka
- Sannen-zaka
- Gion
- Smile Hotel Kyoto Shijo
Day 6: Back to Osaka and Departure
6 September
- Smile Hotel Kyoto Shijo
- Omiya Station to Osaka-Umeda Station to Namba Station
- Shinsaibashi
- Dotonbori
- Namba
- Nipponbashi
- Kuromon Market
- Kintetsu Uehommachi
- Namba
- Kansai International Airport Terminal 1
Notes
- The cheapest transport from Kansai Airport to Osaka city, especially Namba, is the Nankai Airport Line at 920 yen.
- If you buy an IC card in Osaka, it is called ICOCA. It works the same way as SUICA. SUICA also still works in Osaka and Kyoto, and ICOCA can also be used in Tokyo. I originally used the SUICA card I had bought during my previous trip to Tokyo, but I lost it, so I bought an ICOCA instead. In Japan, if you lose something, it is actually worth checking with the police or a lost and found center because people are generally very honest there. I still regret not having enough time to check the police station or lost and found.
- In Osaka and Kyoto, the escalator etiquette is the opposite of Tokyo: stand on the right, walk on the left.
- In Kyoto, we mostly used buses. We bought the Bus-Only One-Day Pass offline at Kyoto Station for 600 yen.
- In Osaka, I tried an Ichiran No Pork Ramen outlet, a special outlet that served broth and meat without pork. At the time, I assumed it was a safer option, but after returning from Japan I learned that it was still not necessarily halal. The official website even states that they do not use halal-certified chicken or beef, so it is worth being more careful with that assumption.
- Dotonbori felt like an anomaly in Japan in terms of cleanliness. Most public spaces were very clean even with very few trash bins, except Dotonbori.
- For the first time in Japan, I experienced a train delay when I was at Kawaramachi Station in Kyoto on the way to Arashiyama. I had already boarded the train, but because of the delay I got off and decided to postpone the Arashiyama visit. The delay happened because of heavy rain.
- The bamboo forest in Arashiyama felt a bit overrated to me, but the Arashiyama area as a whole was still excellent and definitely worth visiting.