Lots of people have been asking me for the Itinerary but I'm really sorry I can't mail it to you because we didn't really have a plan per se. It was meant to be quite a free and easy trip so we just woke up each day and decided what we wanted to do! I hope these write ups of our days there will help though!
On 24 October, we took a 1pm flight to Osaka from Changi Airport!
Yay! Singapore Airlines allows you to choose your meal pre-flight so this sticker tells the stewardess that my meal is special! :D Singapore Airlines is a great airline no doubt but what is really amazing about it is its extensive menu customization. Upon booking, you can choose from a drop down list of lots of choices! There's even raw vegan, low salt, suitable for diabetics, gluten free, kosher, etc etc etc!
For people who would like a normal inflight meal, they were serving soba and chicken. Yum!
Here is my friend looking very apprehensively at his 'low salt' option . HAHAHHA. My friends have been trying very hard to eat a little healthier and I'm so proud of them! My greatest achievement of 2014 has got to be the fact that I managed to persuade both of them to invest in their own blenders to make green smoothies for breakfasts! Yay to health!
The 'low salt' option turned out to be a really, really healthy meal! (HAHAHA so healthy that K was a little :( HAAHAH It's okay! We are going to the land of crazy good food!)
As for myself...
I ordered the Fruit Platter. It's standard knowledge that airline food is heavy on the salt and flavor to account for the desensitization of our tastebuds due to the change in altitude. The air is already so dry, I didn't want to risk being totally dehydrated out so I opted for the most water rich wholefoods I could find on the menu. I was a little worried they would soak the fruits in sugar syrup to preserve it or to enhance its taste but I was pleasantly surprised to find out that they were alright. Phew! It's always a good idea to get one of each kind of meal when you fly with friends so you can share and have half the salty, flavourful food and half water rich, nutrient dense food!
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7 hours later, we finally reached Osaka airport where we bought standard train tickets to Namba from the airport. From there, we walked (more like circled and circled and practiced my horrendously limited Japanese) to our Airbnb apartment (Ame#6 4min. to Nanba &Dotonbori) hosted by Genesis LTD!
We booked our accommodation late and it was right smack during the time of the Osaka Marathon 2014 so our hopes were not high but the apartment actually looked exactly like it was pictured. The apartment building was also incredibly new and the place was cosy. While the page states that it can accommodate 6, 4 of us were already an incredibly tight squeeze. The two girls shared a double while the guys each got their own pull out beds. I don't know where else another 2 would sleep man.
All I ask for really, is a clean liveable place and I was really happy to get exactly that (and more). The host was also extremely helpful and friendly :D
We arrived at the apartment close to 11pm and after everything, there was not much to do but to say oyasuminasai and crash into deep slumber.
zzzz.
