Japan Vlog: Osaka and Kyoto Travel Guide: expenses and itinerary | Jen Barangan

Hey, guys! It's me again, Jen! And welcome back to my channel. And for today, we're here in Japan, guys. We are currently here in Osaka. Finally, finally, finally, this is our first destination. We will stay here for four days. But before anything else, let me walk you through what happened to our day before we actually touched down in Osaka. So we booked our flight through AirAsia because it's the cheapest flight from Manila to Osaka. But we didn't get a round-trip ticket. It's because our point of exit is Narita. Because our last destination is Tokyo. In terms of the requirements, the only thing that you have to secure is, of course, your Japan visa. And for the requirements on how to secure a Japan visa, I'm going to put the link in the description box where I discussed about the Japan visa requirements. So I'm just gonna link it below. Next, you have to secure your vaccination card. Make sure that you have your first dose, second dose, and a booster shot. You also need to complete the fast track registration. So for the link of the fast track registration, I will just put it in the description box. Basically, that's all. And for the immigration, I know there's a lot of issues about immigration right now. There's a lot of bad experiences circulating around. So far, for the two of us, the Bards, we didn't have a hard time because our travel history is actually good. And since we registered being a content creator as a business, so that's why it was easy for us to pass the immigration. Our being a vlogger is a business, guys. So the moment we landed here on Osaka, the very first thing that we did is we redeemed the ticket that we booked on KLOOK, which is the Nankai Rapid Express train. It's really hassle-free. So if you wanted to book it, I will just put the details in the description box. The travel time was around 40 minutes. And then by the time we got to Namba Station, we withdrew our money here. It's in Japanese. It's a better conversion if you withdraw here. So there's an ATM at 7-Eleven here at Namba Station. So we withdrew there as well, guys. The hotel that we are staying right now is Swiss Hotel. The location is so beautiful. From Namba Station, just a few walks or a few steps and you're already at Swiss Hotel. The bed is so big. I feel like four people will fit here. This is the closet. It slides. This is the bathroom. Very spacious. I love it so much. As what you can see, we have a bathtub. It's so beautiful. It's so big. And by the way, guys, this room is the Swiss-like queen room. And this is the view from our room. We have an overlooking view of Osaka. I super duper duper love it. They also have a welcome platter, guys. This is matcha and then chocolates. The plating or the presentation is so beautiful. We will eat the chocolates. Stay prepared. I really thought it's real. It's delicious, Bards! I changed my outfit because Bards and I are going to Dotonbori because the first order of business, food trip. Bards and I, we are now heading to Dotonbori, guys. So by the way, Dotonbori is within Namba area. Our hotel is in Namba area as well. So that's why it's just a walking distance from our hotel to Dotonbori. I think it's just a 9-minute walk. So that's why the location of our hotel is so good. What we use to navigate around is Google Maps, guys. Just follow the map and you'll survive. The famous Dotonbori River, guys. I'm looking for a takoyaki place. And the signage says there's a huge octopus. And now, we saw it. This is the line. The line is long. But it's moving. Actually, Bards and I are confused. Is it this one or that one? But anyway, we know both of them are good. Finally, we got our food. Bards and I strategized, guys. Because in the other store, there's a place that sells cheese coins. The very famous cheese coin here in Dotonbori. And this is what it looks like. We got our takoyaki. I ordered two. Bestseller No. 1 and the Bestseller No. 2. It's so good. It's so hot. It's so good. Say ah, say ah, say ah. The famous glikoman here in Dotonbori, guys. Takoyaki. We'll eat again. This is the takoyaki. Day 2 here in Osaka, guys. And we are heading to Osaka Castle. And for today, we use this Osaka Amazing Pass. This is one-day pass only. And what's amazing about it is it has unlimited rides for the bus, for the metro, for trams. So if you'll get the two-days pass, It means two days unlimited rides on those transportation. JR Line is not included, by the way. With this one, we booked it through Klook. I'm going to put the link in the description box. And you may use my code, guys, for you to get 5% off. Bards also has a code, by the way. Right after we booked it through Klook, We just redeemed it at Namba Information Center. At JTB Information, at Namba Station. That's the Osaka Castle, guys. And it's already blooming. There are still no traces of cherry blossoms here in Osaka. I feel like the cherry blossoms will bloom in April. Google Maps said, it's a 16-minute walk. But that's Japanese pace, guys. If you're Filipino, it's about 25 minutes. Finally, guys, after a very long walk, we're here at Osaka Castle. I don't think we're going to go in because the line is too long. It's a holiday today, so that's why there are so many people. Let's just take a picture first. So that we can say, Oh, we went to Osaka Castle, we just didn't go in. I just learned something. Aside from the fact that Osaka Castle is very famous by its well-built stone wall, It is also famous because it is actually a display of power and grandeur by the Samurai Warlord and ruler of Japan, which is Toyotomi Hideyoshi, after accomplishing his goal of unifying Japan. It holds a very significant history in Japanese culture. A symbol of unity. To give you a closer look, from there to here to here to here, it's like this. There, right? It's so long. That's the famous stone wall of Osaka Castle. It's amazing. For context, the stone is this big. I'm really impressed with how they made it. You know what? The closer I am to Osaka Castle, the more I appreciate how the castle or the stone wall is built, guys. Because I'm amazed of how they stack it together, knowing that there were no machineries before. You can also go on a boat ride, guys. But we won't be doing that with Bards because our next trip is at 2pm. We need to wait one hour. That's why we'll pass by there first. So we are now here at Kochotien Observatory, guys. I don't know if I pronounced it correctly. But it's just here in the Umeda Sky Building. After one train ride and a very long walk, we're already here. Hello, handsome. We are now inside the Kochotien Observatory, guys. And we just used the Osaka Amazing Pass. So aside from the unlimited rides, you also have access to the tourist attractions. Actually, it's a total of 40 attractions. If we were to enter Osaka Castle earlier, we can also use this. And also, if we're going on a boat ride, we can also use this. So this observatory is circular. So it only means you'll get to have a 360 panoramic view of Osaka. This is the Umeda Sky Building. This is the view. Look at that. So if you have fear of heights, this is not for you. It's so cold. The wind is so strong. So look at this. All you can see is the Japanese ownership. And just like that, we've already visited Osaka. Just kidding. I'll just share something. Did you know that we climbed up and down here just to get a good picture on this escalator? Because it's so beautiful. The sun is right. And the art is so beautiful in the picture. Look at that. Oh, it's so beautiful. From Umeda Sky Building, we just walked to HEP5, guys. And we're here waiting in line for their famous Ferris Wheel. We still use our Osaka Amazing Pass. It's so worth it. I highly recommend you purchase it on Klook. We are finally on board. It's so slow. So you can really relax here. Our feet will be relaxed after all of the walking. And we will enjoy the scenery once again. We are back in Dotonbori, guys. And for dinner, we are here at Ichiran. Because we really missed the Ichiran Ramen. After one hour of lining up, we're already here. We already have a table. Yes. We're so angry right now, guys. The one in Tokyo, Ichiran, was full. But here, it's not. My order is finally here. Salt, guys. Salt. Go check it out. Wow. We are finally back here at the hotel. And after a very long and tiring day. Do you know, guys? Our room has been upgraded. Or we were transferred to their executive suite. Can you believe that? Amazing. The room is so beautiful. We'll give you a room tour. I don't want to keep thinking about tomorrow. I just want to stay here. It's a vacation, right? Oh, hi. Welcome to my executive suite. Come on. So let's start on this side. Because we have a walk-in closet here. It's spacious. And then, here's our living room. We have our own living room. And then, they also prepared some chocolates. Thank you so much, Swisserelle, for your hospitality. We still have the best view of Osaka. On this side, I have a workspace. I can edit here. I love it. Let's go here. The room. This is our room. And we still have a view of Osaka here. On this side, we have our CR. This is our sink. We also have a place here to put our things or our luggages. Here, we have the bathtub and the toilet. It's so big. It's beautiful. So here, I'll be getting ready with me. Later. But I really don't want to go to the sleeping part. Why are you filming my bag? The kid bought a bag for the excursion. Look, they're running. They're running. You too, run. We're here. Since we don't have a ticket yet, we'll start the queue. Day 3 here in Osaka, Japan, guys. And for our itinerary, obviously, we're here at Universal Studios in Japan. And we are so early. Time check, it's like 6.25 in the morning. The reason why we're super early here is because we haven't secured a ticket yet. Because all the tickets online were sold out. Even at Klook, which I'm currently lining up at the ticket booth. There are so many people. As in, there are so many people. All the people here at Universal Studios in Japan. Bards and I haven't had breakfast yet. That's why earlier, he bought food at Family Mart. I don't think we'll be eating here. We purchased our ticket, guys. It's here. And then now, we are lining up to go to the entrance. Bards and I will be eating first. Our soup, onigiri. I look like a kid. Look at your classmates. We are finally in, guys! The first thing that Bards and I are going to do is the Harry Potter ride. Ron and Harry's ride! Hogsmeade! Oh my goodness! I'm so happy! April is so happy here, Bards! Happy kid, right? Hogwarts! I'm going to enroll, Bards! We're done with the Harry Potter ride. And it was so fun! I played Quidditch with Harry Potter and the Dementors went there, OMG! Just kidding! If you're a Potterhead, it's gonna be a 10 out of 10 ride, guys. It's something I will never forget. It was so fun. And I also bought my own wand. I also bought Dumbledore's wand, which is the Elder Wand. It's so beautiful. I'll show it to you later when I get to the hotel. Time check. It's 5.46 and we are now back at the hotel, guys. Because Bards and I can't take it anymore. Bards and I can't take it anymore. So here are our thoughts after our Universal Studios Japan experience. First impression, it's so big. It's bigger than Universal Studios Singapore. It makes sense why there are tickets that have a 1.5 day pass or 2 days pass. Because you can't really ride all the attractions in one day. And there were so many people earlier. We lined up for Flying Dinosaur for 2 hours and 30 minutes. We lined up for Despicable Me for 1 hour, I think, and 30 minutes. For the Hogwarts, it was so easy because we were the first people. Because we were super early, which is a good thing. We wanted to do the Nintendo. Unfortunately, there is a separate ticket for that. And they ran out of tickets. So here are my tips if you want to visit Universal Studios Japan. Book your ticket as early as now. As of the moment, while I am filming this vlog, the next available slot in KLOOK is on April 16, guys. Another thing is I highly recommend you purchase the Express Pass. You have to download the Universal Studios app. Because that's where you'll book Mario and Nintendo. So that's it. We'll have dinner here at the hotel. We reserved our dinner at 8pm. Now, Bards and I will just rest. Good morning, Osaka! By the way, guys, it's predicted to rain today. So I can already see the build-up of the sky. And last night, we ate at a restaurant here in Swissotel. The food was so great. It's a teppanyaki restaurant. If you wanted to spoil yourself for one meal here in Osaka, guys, I highly recommend that place. We couldn't make it to the hotel for breakfast. That's why this is our breakfast, guys. We woke up late. We are now here at Sakura-no-Miya Park. And there are a few cherry blossoms. Look at that! Unfortunately, it's raining. That's why Bards and I brought an umbrella. When it's full bloom, guys, I saw some pictures. It's so beautiful. Because there's a river on the side. Look at that! I can already imagine it when it's full bloom. And you're there on the pavement or on the walkway. So dramatic. So beautiful. Did you know, guys? I have an umbrella, but it's color is black. I bought a clear umbrella. Am I expensive for the picture? Yes! I'm willing to do that. Because it's beautiful to look at in the photo. Look at that! It's so beautiful. I think it's not full bloom yet. But I really appreciate it. Bards and I didn't finish the temple. Because it's raining heavily. It's hard for us to take pictures and explore because of the rain. So right now, we are taking our late lunch here in Makotoya. Ms. Angela recommended this. We had it with us last night. She also tried it, guys. She said, instead of Ichiran, you try the Makotoya as well. Because it's also delicious. This is located here in Shinsaibashi. Here's the ramen. I got the spicy one. I'll have the regular one. It's delicious, Bards. It's delicious. Since we're here in Shinsaibashi, which is a very famous shopping center. That's why Bards and I are going to do some shopping. Just kidding. You can look around. You can do some shopping. Look. You're dead there. It's already started. We saw a store that sells mochi with strawberry. Bards and I bought it. It's delicious. So right after we went to Shinsaibashi, we went to a hotel. Bards and I just rested because we were really tired. Anyway, we are here at Rikemaru, guys. It's a yakiniku place. It's kind of pricey. But since we want to spoil ourselves in eating and not in shopping. So that's why we had dinner here. This is going to be our last dinner here in Osaka. Because tomorrow, we will head to Kyoto. This location is right in front of our hotel. So we just walked. It's hard to walk in. So you need to make reservations. And we asked for help from the hotel in terms of the reservation. They also have ice cream, guys. Check this out. Another day here in Japan, guys. But our last day here in Osaka. We are heading now to Kyoto. We will be staying there for two nights. We bid goodbye to this beautiful room. We will surely miss this. And we will miss this view as well. Goodbye, Osaka! We are now finally here in Kyoto, guys. So the first thing we did is to rent a kimono. We left our stuff at the hotel. Since the check-in time is still 2 PM. And we also booked this through Klook. So just check the link in the description box. I'm having a hard time breathing. This is so tight, guys! Hi! So the rental comes with hairstyling also, guys. It's beautiful, right? This bag is included as well. This is my OOTD for today. Okay, let's go to the bar. How about you, Bards? Where are the sleepers? We are now here in the OOTD of Starbucks. This place is a 15-minute walk from where we rented a kimono. And now, Bards and I will go around this village. There are so many stores here. So we have a souvenir shop. Another souvenir shop here. We have food and beverage. Right after we rented a kimono and explored the old village of Kyoto, Bards and I walked. We walked for a long time. But in fairness, we weren't tired because we wore rubber shoes for today. And then, because Bards was craving tonkatsu, we searched online for the nearest tonkatsu place. This place is called Katsukura Tonkatsu. The place is so hard to find. The escalator is so small and you have to go inside. And when we got there, the line was long. And here in Japan, if the line is long, it's a good sign. It only means that the food there is delicious. Cheers! We just finished our dinner. What can you say, Bards? It's just perfect, right? Yes, it's even better than Yabu. Actually, for us personally, it's even better than Yabu. Do you know what we did after dinner? We went shopping in Pasalubong. We came from there, Don Quijote. And Bards and I already bought this is just a walking distance from the restaurant where we ate. Finally, guys, we've checked in in our hotel here in Kyoto. We are staying here in Mercure Kyoto Station. From the name itself, it's very near the Kyoto Station. It's only an 8-minute walk. And this is what the room looks like. We have a sofa set over here. I love this corner. It's a cabinet, guys. It's so cute. It has a vintage style. And then the fridge is at the bottom. So we have all of the glasses and the tea and coffee. And you know what? They also gave complimentary skincare. I love their bedside table. Look at that. So the switches for the lights are already here. And we have a USB port as well. It's so pretty. And look at the closet. They are very consistent with this type of design. It's really vintage. And we have the mirror. Right across the mirror is the CR. So this is the sink. It's so pretty. And we have the toilet here. And of course, you can't not have a bathtub. The room is so spacious. The amenity wise, it's so pretty. It's very clean as well. And the best part is the location. As what I mentioned earlier, it's just a walking distance going to Kyoto Station. Which is very important. Guys, I want you to see this. This is the view of our hotel here in Kyoto. This one, that's the Kyoto Tower. Day 6 here in Japan, guys. And we are currently here at Fushimi Inari Shrine. By the way, we bought the JR West Kansai Pass. This is what it looks like. And we just redeemed the voucher into ticket. At the ticket office. Because the green machine had an error. We only got it for one day. But there are options for 2 days, 3 days, and 4 days. Because we only got it for today. Bards is so generous. It's not just here in Kyoto. It's also included in Osaka, Nara, and many more. I'll just link the booking in the description box again. So you can write your wishes here. And then you can bring it home. Or you may hang it there. Here are the sample wishes with Japanese translation. If you can write in Japanese, why not? And then you put your donations here. Let's go! We are walking. It's a long walk, guys. It's really long. So it's like a procession. Bards and I thought we were already far. But we still have 40 minutes to reach the Tok Tok. So we decided to go back. We can't do it anymore. We still have to go somewhere. Before we left, Bards bought a sushi platter at a convenience store. Near the Fushimi Inari Shrine. We are now finally here in Nara Park, guys. This is one hour away from Fushimi Inari Shrine. We also bought treats for the deer. So they can come closer to us. And sometimes, they're very aggressive if you have food. Bards' best friend. He's biting. What did you say? You don't have food. He's going to bite you. You're crazy. You know what? When I first saw the park, it reminds me of Burnham Park. Now tell me you didn't eat the baguio. They said no. Hello. Yellow. Let's go here, madam. Okay. And as what you noticed, Bards and I changed outfits. I didn't bring a bag, right? I had an extra bag earlier. Then we put it in Bards' locker. So that's why our hands are super free. What we paid for the locker is 400 Japanese Yen. Bards, try to smell the deer later. It will also smell. Like that? Okay. There they are. There are a lot of them. They are resting, I think. Me and Bards. Hey, sweet, sweet yarn. What's that? Hey, you guys are so naughty. They're feeding. I think they're full. Bow. Okay. There. Bow. Okay. There. I'll make it bigger. Okay, you're good. No more. The deer here are so aggressive. They're biting butts. They're eating clothes. They're eating blazers. This is the news. It's not a gossip. I enjoy it. I ran out of cookies. So there are no more deer approaching me. You're so naughty. We left our stuff here, guys. It's just in the train station. There you go. Pick your thing. And this is my bag. Where I put one of my outfits. That's what lockers look like here in the train station. Good morning, guys. Time check. It's almost 6. We're so early because later we're going back to Osaka. Our trip to Tokyo will not push through. I'll check later why. It's so early and I'm so excited because it's raining again today. We are heading to Arishiyama Bamboo Forest. We'll have breakfast here at the Family Mart. That's Arishiyama Bamboo Forest, guys. It's still dark because we're still so early. Look at this. It's so beautiful. The place is so big. But I think this is the most beautiful spot. It's so hard to vlog and take pictures while it's raining. The struggle is real. The place I showed you earlier is the last part of the Bamboo Forest. So we walked all the way here. Look at what we saw. A path full of cherry blossoms. It's so beautiful. Usually, for the past days, we haven't seen this kind of sakura or cherry blossoms where you're in the middle of the path. This is so beautiful. It's so ugly when it's raining. We walked a little further and then we reached the top of the hill. This is the view. It's so beautiful in person, guys. You're still prettier in person. Don't lie! We are back at the hotel, guys. We slept for a while. Now, we are currently packing because we are heading to Osaka. We will stay there for overnight because we're going back to the Philippines tomorrow. Unfortunately, we need to cut short this trip. We will not push through with our Tokyo trip because my grandfather passed away. But we still have another thing to do by the time we arrive in Osaka today. I'll see you in Osaka. We are now back here in Osaka, guys. But before we go to our hotel near the airport, since our flight to the Philippines is tomorrow, Spartz and I have decided to go go-karting here in Osaka because we wasted our international driver's license or permit because we won't go go-karting. Supposedly, our original plan was to go go-karting in Tokyo but since we won't be able to push that, so that's why we are here in Osaka to go go-karting! Pika! Pika! Cheers! This is Pika! Pika! This is Pika! Pika! This is Pika! Pika! This is Pika! Our buddies move to the groove and then light the flicker We get lost in a crowd, it's getting thicker We get away, get away from the drinks and chatter Haven't said a word, but it doesn't matter I'm standing in a blurry dream, no one else can see us. Live your life within the moment, moment. And don't go waiting till the morning, morning. You'll never know when it is over, over. All that I know is they'll get older, older. So let us dance this summer. All right.