Summary of My 8D7N Kansai, Japan (2013) Travelogues & Travel Expenses For RM2,850 Per Pax

Here is the compilation for all the posts relating to my trip to Kansai Region, Japan where we cover Osaka, Nara, Kobe, Himeji and Kyoto for 8 days and 7 nights. Plus, by end of this post, I also share on how much I spent throughout my trip.

Day 1: 10th October 2013

Flew with Malaysia Airlines for RM797 (all-inclusive) and it's direct route from Kota Kinabalu to Kansai International Airport (KIX)

From KIX, we took Haruka Limited Express using ICOCA & Haruka card to Shin-Osaka station.

"ICOCA is an IC card convenient for JR, subway, private railway, buses and shopping in the Kansai Area and other places worth 2,000 yen (500 yen refundable deposit plus 1,500 yen worth in train and bus fares) wheres as Haruka is a discounted ticket for Kansai-Airport Express to access from KIX to Osaka, Kyoto or Kobe area (either a round-trip of a one way ticket)."

Price for ICOCA & Haruka:

Round-trip type = 4,060 yen

One-way type = 3,030 yen

Stay: Hotel Consort Osaka

Direction: Exit 2 of Subway Midosuji Line Nishinakajima-Minamigata station and the hotel on the left side.

 
How To Get Shinsaibashi and Dontobori:
From Shin-Osaka station, we took Osaka City Subway Midosuji Line to Shinsaibashi Station by using the ICOCA card we bought earlier. The fare is 240 yen.

Day 2: 11th October 2013
Kofukuji Temple & Nara Park 

How To Get To Kofukuji Temple:
Kofukuji Temple is five minutes walk from Kintetsu Nara Station (using Kintetsu Rail Pass), or 20 minutes walk from JR Nara Station. Can also be reached from JR Nara Station by clockwise running loop bus number 2 or any of the buses bound for Kasuga Taisha (7 minutes, 190 yen). Get off at Kencho-mae bus stop.

Day 3: 12th October 2013
Universal Studios Osaka

How To Get To Universal Studios Japan:

There are several direct trains per hour and many more connections require a simple transfer at Nishikujo Station before reaching Universal City Station on the JR Yumesaki Line. Upon reaching Universal City Station, five minute walk to the entrance gate of the Universal Studios Japan. 

Admission Fee: 6,980 for adult and 4,880 for children 

Opening Hours: 10 am to 8 pm on low season and 9 am to 9 pm during peak season


Stay: Remm Shin-Osaka Hotel
Direction: Central Ticket Gate of JR Shin-Osaka Shinkansen line

Day 4: 13th October 2013

Himeji Castle & Kokoen Garden

How To Get To Himeji Castle & Kokoen Garden:

From JR Himeji station, it takes 15-20 minutes walk from the Central Exit down the broad Otemae-dori street.

Admission Fee: Himeji Castle (1,000 yen)
                             Kokoen Garden (300 yen)
                             Himeji Castle & Kokoen Garden (1,040 yen)
Opening Hours: 9 am until 5 pm

Kitano-cho of Kobe

How To Get To Kobe:

Kobe is located 20 minutes away from Osaka, 50 minutes from Kyoto and 40 minutes from Himeji with JR trains. Apart from JR West Kansai Area Pass or Kansai Thru Pass, another alternative passed you can opt is Hankyu Tourist Pass (1 Day Pass for 700 yen and depart from Osaka Umeda) or Hanshin Tourist Pass (1 Day Pass for 500 yen and depart from Osaka Umeda/Namba). These passes are available in Kansai Tourist Information Center Kansai International Airport.

Day 5: 14th October 2013
Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan

How To Get To Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan:

Nearest station is Osakako Station on the Chuo subway line. From the station, it requires 5-10 minutes walk to Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan. Out from the station, look for the huge Tempozan Ferris Wheel as Kaiyun located next to it. 
Admission Fee: 2,300 yen (I would recommend to buy Osaka Kaiyu Ticket)
Opening Hours: 10 am to 8 pm

We bought the Osaka Kaiyu Ticket, a combination of Aquarium Kaiyukan admission and Osaka Subway One Day Pass which sold at 2,550 yen. In the case of purchase separately, the admission fee for Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan alone is 2,300 yen and Osaka Subway One Day Pass cost 600 yen, which indicates we save at least by 350 yen for a pax by purchasing the Osaka Kaiyu Ticket. 

Day 6: 15th October 2013

We took JR train from Shin-Osaka station heading Kyoto Station using the ICOCA card we bought on the first day. As it was too early to check-in into our hotel, we went to Arashiyama which is popular for fascinating bamboo forest as well as Fushimi Inari Shrine which well-known for its astonish and exceptional sight of more than 10,000 small and vibrant orange torii gates that arch a long walking path up to the hill.

Arashiyama Bamboo Forest

How To Get To Arashiyama:

The nearest station to Arashiyama is JR Saga-Arashiyama and one way ride from Kyoto Station takes 15 minutes only under JR Sagano line. 

Fushimi Inari Shrine 

How To Get To Fushimi Inari Shrine:
From Kyoto Station, take train to JR Inari station along the JR Nara line


Stay: Best Western Kyoto

Direction: Take Kyoto City Bus and stop in front of Mina Shopping Mall. Walk through the small alley and the hotel located behind it.

Day 7: 16th October 2013

Except for Arashiyama and Fushimi Inari Shrine, I personally think the best ideal to travel around Kyoto is by taking Kyoto City Bus which cost 500 yen for a day pass. This pass can be bought at the main Kyoto Bus Information Center in front of Kyoto Station.

Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion) 

How To Get To Kinkaku-ji:
Take Kyoto City Bus #101 and 205 from Kyoto Bus Station to the Kinkaku-ji Michi bus stop.
Admission Fee: 400 yen
Opening Hours: 9am to 5pm

Ginkaku-ji (Silver Pavilion)

How To Get To Ginkaku-ji:

Take Kyoto City Bus #5, 7 and 100 from Kyoto Bus Station to the Ginkaku-ji Michi bus stop. It takes 10 minutes walk from the bus stop.

Admission Fee: 500 yen

Opening Hours: Open daily 8.30am to 5pm

Day 8: 17th October 2013
Goodbye Kansai Region & My Shopping Haul

From Kawaramachi-dori where we stayed, we hopped on Kyoto City Bus to Kyoto Station and from there, boarded on Haruka Limited Express directly to the airport. The train ride takes approximately of 80 minutes.

And the following are the details of travel expenses for two paxes (both mommy and I) spent throughout the 8 days and 7 nights trip in Kansai Region, Japan, excluding the amount we spent on shopping haul:

PARTICULARS	NOTE	AMOUNT
		Yen	RM
Air Fare KK-Osaka(Kansai)-KK via MAS Accommodation Hotel Consort Osaka (2 nights) Remm Shin-Osaka (3 nights) Best Western Kyoto (2 nights) Transportation ICOCA & Haruka Card Add: Top-up ICOCA JR Kansai Area 3 Days Pass Kobe City Loop Bus Osaka Kaiyukan Ticket Kyoto City Bus for 2 Days Admission Fees Universal Studios Osaka Himeji Castle & Kokoen Garden Kinkaku-ji Ginkaku-ji Foods & Beverages Foods and beverages	1 2 2 2 3	- - 33,400 - 8,000 1,000 10,000 1,000 5,100 2,000 13,200 1,120 800 1,000 22,246	1,594 377 1,050 631 251 31 314 31 160 63 415 35 25 31 699
		TOTAL:	5,707

(The exchange rate by the time I changed 100 yen = RM3.145)

NOTE:

1. It's absolutely a great steal seeing that all inclusive including 30kg luggage allowance, in-flight meals and entertainment. Unfortunately, this direct route has been ceased permanently.
2. Refer my post on Accommodation in Osaka & Kyoto 
3. Refer my post on Oishii Everywhere in Japan

Averagely, we spent roughly around RM2,800 for a pax, including airfare, hotels, transportation, food as well as admission fee to Universal Studios Osaka and Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan. For this time around, I didn't share how much I spent on my shopping haul but to be frank, we spent a lot on omiyage (souvenirs) especially on confectioneries and snack such as Kit Kat and Tokyo Banana.  

Transportation wise, there is a myriad of tickets and rail passes are available for the tourists in order to save money. To know more about these, you can refer here Rail Passes for the Kansai Region. As for the exact train timetable, route and fare from starting point to the end, refer to Hyperdia. 

Foodie Friday: Oishii Everywhere In Japan

Sushi! Bento! Donburi! Ramen! Udon! 

It's never ending list when comes to food in Japan.

It's quite pathetic that both mommy and I can't have the utterly fresh sashimi, Japanese well-known delicacy consisting of raw meat and fish sliced due to our common weak stomach, but that ain't gonna stop us from indulgence ourselves with the rest of scrumptious and delicious Japanese cuisines. 

#1: Our dinner on first night arrived: Tori Katsu Don - Obviously my favourite

#2: Mom's order - Spaghetti with meat

#3: Lunch in Nara Park. Bought from a random supermarket 

#4: Inari & Maki Sushi - Again, my favourite sushi!

#5: Ramen in Kobe

#6: Onirigi for breakfast 

#7: Udon in Arashiyama for 700 yen (approx. to RM21)

#8: Matcha ice-cream for 300 yen (approx. to RM12)

#9: Once in a while McD, a comfort food for traveller 

#10: Fresh sandwiches for breakfast at a random cafe nearby Nishiki Market 

#11: Three layers ice-cream nearby Ginkakuji Temple of Kyoto 

#12: Yakitori but I dislike cause it's actually chicken fat instead

#13: Coco Ichiban - My mom loves this so much. 

The total damages we spent on food throughout our 8D7N in Japan is roughly around RM700 for two. Most of the times, both mommy and I ordered and shared a set of meal instead of ordering two. Of course, you can do so provided you intend for takeaway but in the case of dining in a restaurant or eatery, it's best to order at least a meal for each person. Another thing that I noticed from my recent trip to Tokyo, it's kind rude to have your food while walking about. It's is advisable to finish your food at one point before making a move. 

Japan (2013) Day 2: Kofukuji Temple & Nara Park

Date Visited: 11th October 2013

Deer is what I can imagine when comes to Nara. These notable symbol of Nara is believed to be messengers of god.

On the second day in Kansai region, we decided to plan ahead by travel further out from Osaka city. In case you read my previous post regarding Travel Between Kansai International Airport (KIX) and Central Osaka, you will know there is a myriad tickets and rail passes to select from. 

#1: JR-West Rail Pass - Kansai Area Pass

There are two JR regional pass for West Japan (Kansai region)

1) Kansai Area Pass - Valid for unlimited travel in non-reserved seats from KIX to Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Nara and Himeji. Available ride on Limited Express Haruka.

2) Kansai Wide Area Pass - Unlimited access rides in the wider Kansai region including covers Okayama, Kurashiki, Konosaki Onsen, Wakayama and Shirahama 

As our plan to cover Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Nara and Himeji, hence we opted for 3 Days JR Kansai Area Pass for unlimited travel on local JR trains. This will only worth if visit one of the more outlying destinations covered such as Himeji, Hikone, Iga Ueno or Koka. But if you don't include these outlying destinations in your travel plan, alternate for Kansai Thru Pass (Surutto Kansai) for unlimited usage of trains, subways and buses for more denser network but this pass doesn't cover JR trains.

	JR Kansai Area Pass	JR Kansai Wide Area Pass	Kansai Thru Pass
1 Day	2,300 yen	-	-
2 Days	4,500 yen	-	4,000 yen
3 Days	5,300 yen	-	5,200 yen
4 Days	6,500 yen	-	-
5 Days	-	9,000 yen	-

Note:

1. The multiple day passes for JR Kansai Area Pass are valid on consecutive days.
2. Kansai Thru Pass ticket can be used on any two or three days within the period of validity. 
3. One advantage of JR West Rail Pass - Kansai Area is that JR trains to Himeji are considerably faster than non-JR trains. Otherwise, Kansai Thru Pass ticket should be consider better value, because it covers a denser and larger network than the JR Kansai Area Pass, especially within the cities.

Or perhaps, I should create another blogpost regarding Rail Passes for the Kansai Region.

Now, let's get back to our travel adventures to Nara:

How To Get To Nara From Osaka Using JR-West Kansai Area Pass

#2: From Shin-Osaka, we transited in Osaka station 

#3: From Hyperdia, this is the route we took

#4: Taking this Tennoji route on JR Yamatoji Line Rapid will be more faster 

#5: One thing about train in Japan is you can't simply jump into the train when approached. 

Look for the exact time of the train to your desired destination on display board.

#6: The ride took less than an hour

#7: Adorable Nara's mascot, Sento-kun in JR Nara Station. It's half deer and half Buddha

#8: What I love about Japan - Signboard and map everywhere

We only went two notable tourist spots; Kofukuji Temple and Nara Park. From JR Nara Station, it took at least 20 minutes walk to these popular attractions but there are plenty of shops along the walk. Eventually, my mom was the one attracted to all these shops but can't blame her cause this is her first time to Japan. 

Kofukuji Temple complex is a World Heritage Listed Buddhist temple in Nara and one of the finest and great example of temples in Japan. It is a Buddhist temple that was once part of the influential Seven Great Temples. 

#9: The Southern Octagonal Hall of Kofukuji

#10: Tokondo (Eastern Golden Hall) on the left and Five Story Pagoda on the right 

#11: Five Story Pagoda, the second highest pagoda in Japan

Somewhere nearby the temple's ground, we saw quite number of people gathered around and oh deer, I mean oh dear, I saw abundant of deer freely roaming and playing carefree around. Although they are technically consider to be wild, deer in Nara are relatively calm, tame and friendly. In case you want to get more close encounter with the deer, there are few stores selling deer snack (rice bran crackers) for 150 yen (approx. to RM5) and trust me, definitely the deer will approach you immediately before you do. 

#12: Close encounter with deer is one of my travel wishlish. #missionaccomplished

#13: Although these deer are wild but they are calm, tame and friendly 

#14: Even Japanese manhole covers are individual masterpiece of the street art. 

We missed out Todai-ji Temple, houses the world's largest bronze statue of the Buddha because my mom wanna go for window shopping. It's alright anyway as long as we enjoyed ourselves petting the deer. 

How To Get To Kofukuji Temple

Kofukuji Temple is five minutes walk from Kintetsu Nara Station (using Kintetsu Rail Pass), or 20 minutes walk from JR Nara Station. Can also be reached from JR Nara Station by clockwise running loop bus number 2 or any of the buses bound for Kasuga Taisha (7 minutes, 190 yen). Get off at Kencho-mae bus stop.

Next Post >>> Day 3: Osaka Universal Studios