They said good girl stay at home ...nope good girl go travel LOL.Jyp Nation,Kdrama and Running Man. Budget traveler and Air Asia loyal customer...Email: helomoto2@gmail.com Instagram:@goodgirlgotravel
After visiting Tama,we decide to go to Kobe.(it takes almost 1.5-2 hours) as report in hyperdia inclusive of transfer time to Kobe via train fr Wakayama).Kak Uda browse the Kansai Thru Pass guide and found out we can take high speed boat from Kansai Airport and reach Kobe in 30 minutes. Ok high speed boat it is!
From Wakayama we take the Nankai train to KIX. This count a 3rd time visit to KIX , should we try another round of Udon? lol
They are promoting the Kobe-Kansai Airport bay shuttle services by giving 50% discount for foreigner.Only if u use the services on the day of your arrival at KIX. The staff checked our passport but yeah we already arrived Japan 2 days ago. We are only entitle to discount of 100 yen for using the coupon with Kansai Thru Pass. normal price 1800 Yen
High speed boat to Kobe
The staff bow when we arrive and after we ride the coach
We then take the small coach provided to the Kobe Airport which link to Portliner (train ) to centre of Kobe.We dont need to pay extra as Portliner is covered under Kansai Thru Pass.
From portliner you can view Kobe Tower,Ikea in Kobe and i captured this because i see sogo Ad.lol
Our first destination is Kobe Mosque. We stop at Sannomiya station . We read it is 10 minutes walk. We ask around but they don't know much/ or hard to explain to us. We also try google map but it seems its take longer time maybe because its use only main road to get there. Last resort, we take the taxi.Hehehe. At least 4 of us can share the fare. The metre start with 660 Yen.However the traffic was quite bad we end up paying around 900 -1000yen ( lupa sudah)
Beautiful Kobe Mosque
Cite from Wikipedia Masjid Kobe "Kobe Mosque(神戸モスクKōbe Mosque?), also known as Kobe Muslim Mosque(神戸ムスリムモスクKōbe Muslim Mosque?), was founded in October, 1935 in Kobe and is Japan's first mosque.[1] Its construction was funded by donations collected by the Islamic Committee of Kobe from 1928 until its opening in 1935.[2] The mosque was confiscated by the Imperial Japanese Navy in 1943. However, it continues to function as mosque today. It is located in the Kitano-cho
foreign district of Kobe. Owing to its basement and structure, the
mosque survived the air raids that laid waste to most of Kobe's urban
districts in 1945 and was able to endure through the Great Hanshin earthquake in 1995. The mosque is located in one of Kobe's best-known tourist areas, which features many old western style building."
We met Aminah Nur ( a Japanese Muslim with Hijab ) at one of the Halal store in front of the mosque. (There are 2 halal grocery stores nearby the mosque area).We ask her if there is any halal restaurant around. Only one restaurant at the end of the road. However the restaurant is close and only will reopen at 5PM. Aminah then brought us inside the mosque and ask us to wait and pray there first. We want to take her photo but she decline and said she is shy, she hopes that we include her in our do'a.Semoga Aminah sentiasa diberkati Allah S.W.T Amin.
inside the mosque
Its 4 season county, Alhamdulillah ada air panas untuk ambil wudhu'
Tandoori chicken (lunch + dinner combine)
Kat Naan inn ni ada selebriti pernah datang rupanya. Siti Nurhaliza dan Aizat. Actually i thought the chicken is only 1 piece but it is actually a whole chicken?? lol sebab lapar takle fikir lurus dah, we end up take the leftover back to hotel.
After take we went to Harborland to view Kobe in night. We also went to the nearby mall and went to Uniqlo. They have stock clearance for some item but not my kind of style.
Kobe tower
The Harborland station is just nearby the mall. We go back to Osaka using Hankyu line (both cover in the pass) . Its almost 9pm not many people around so we manage to get a seat.
Once i knew that Wakayama is near Osaka , its decided we must visit Tama!! I like cats.. one week before we went to Japan, our home cat OC died....im sad... kalau teringat rasa nak menangis ...
Anyhow life must go on...
How do u go to Wakayama ?
Tama works at Kishi Station , Wakayama Electric Railway.
Since im using Kansai Thru Pass. This pass cover Nankai line which stop at Wakayama. Actually it is nearer to go to Wakayama from Kansai Airport ( only few stations) .But since we arrive Kansai at noon from Fukuoka/Tokyo, we decide to visit Tama early in the morning the next day. The advantage of owning the pass, u can use it to ride the same line as many time as u want. From Nankai Wakayamashi -we exchange to JR Wakayamashi and stop at JR Wakayama .We have to purchase additional ticket 140 Y as Kansai Pass doesn't cover JR.
Anyhow it is advisable to check the schedule in Hyperdia so you dont have to wait so long for the transfer.
We got confuse a little bit using Nankai to Wakayamashi as the announcement is in Japanese but still u just need to ask and they will help u. eg Wakayama ? The staff answer answer hait! ok ! The Train master will also bow to u when he start the journey.
JR Train to Wakayama station "so flowery"
ticket
Once u arrive at Wakayama, u can see Tama everywhere.Just follow the photos and u will get to the ticket counter. The worker doesnt speaks english but she has a card in English which explain it is cheaper to purchase return ticket for 640yen. The Wakayama Electric station has normal plain train or special train - Tama, Toy and Strawberry . You can ride it according to the schedule. Unfortunately during our visit only Toy and Tama Train available
Working schedule
We also found out actually there are 2 calico cats here- Tama and Nitama. Nitama is junior than Tama. It is Tuesday so we can meet them both! We ride the normal train to Idakiso station to meet Nitama first.
They also sell Nitama merchandise here.
Nitama
At Idakiso we ride the Toy Train or Omoden to Kishi in order to meet Tama. The train is full of toys of course.
There is place for baby and u can try the toy machine inside the train
View outside of train
Huge banner welcoming the visitor
Cute Tama but she is sleeping
Oh yup u cant touch them...so u can only see her from the glass.At first i thought i can hold her, i dont know she will be in her room but its ok let her do the job. The job description is inclusive sleeping inside the office...hehehe.
The station also looks like a cat
U can purchase some merchandise and relax at Tama cafe.
button badge
My hot choc at Tama cafe
Ofcourse we need to ride the Tama train back to the JR Wakayama station weee.
Inside Tama Den
comics
They also has Doraemon comics inside it...well because Doraemon is a cat!! err but due to tragic incident he lost his ears...sobs. Manage to record few secs video inside Tama Den
Anyway there are other activities eg picking Strawberry (hence the Strawberry train) and other place to visit besides Tama, but we only spend half day here coz we want to go to Kobe .
Tama is just a cat but she save the railway and the town by bringing a lot of visitors. I believe the town folks treats her well, she has day off u know and besides her work is only sit there and sleep.
One funny thing, as i already check the schedule from JR to Nankai Wakayamashi, i inform my sister she has only 10 minutes to go to toilet.From schedule the next train is another hour if we miss this train..its cold i cant wait another hour.The train staff (female) already indicate the train will depart soon by honking (not sure what is the correct term) lol... but after that, only my sis appear and i ask her to wave to the staff... i also shout out "chotomate"/WAIT (lesson from J-drama years ago) The train door open...fuhh..Arigato. Anyhow i think because of us, knowing how punctual the train in Japan, we may has cause a few seconds delay to the schedule...kominasai.Sorry . Anyhow visiting Tama and the rural Wakayama is a memorable experience to us.
One of the famous photo spot in Dotonbori , Osaka is Glico Man neon board.
The neon board is Dotonbori landmark since its construction in 1935.
You must be thinking...eh i heard this Glico word. Well this is because it is one of famous food company from Japan. Have u heard Pocky ? Or in Malaysia the name is Rocky. (I think Indonesia and Thai also use Rocky)
I learnt about globalization in marketing class and Rocky is one of the example.A company need to fit its local market. Pocky is sound similar to offensive word in Bahasa which is why they change it to Rocky.The company logo is the running man as in Japan they call Glico man.
Pocky in Japan
Rocky in Malaysia
Rocky is certified Halal from Thailand Authorithy.
Oh back to Dotonbori is also known as food street. I would like to try the soft crab but i think it is expensive so bye bye crab.
Dotonbori Canal
We also found this halal restaurant but we already eat dinner by that time.
Both Namba and Nippombashi station will lead you to Dotonbori street & canal . However Namba is nearer to the Glico neon board.
We want to experience a ryokan style once so we choose this hotel : Yamatoya Honten
The location is near Dotonbori and next to the Dotonbori canal.
The nearest subway will be Nippombashi Exit 2 ( From KIX transfer at Tenggachaya to subway line)
It is perfect location as it is near subway but exit 2 doesn't have elevator so we have to drag our large bag via stair.huhu
Once we check in, they gave us this chopstick as souvenir...yeay i like free gift.
our room:
they give u free candy and hot water
They also provide Yukata and you can try it on
In the evening ( we are out to tour Osaka) the staff will prepare the tatami bed for u.
Every morning they will roll up the Tatami bed for you.We knew that base on the new towel and toothbrush and the table position once we are back. (We kind of wanna tell them you can just let the tatami bed be coz we never stay in our room) lol.
First stop after check in.
Osaka Castle !
Since we are using Kansai Pass , our nearest station will be Tanimachi 4 chome station (exit 1 and 3)
Hmmm although it is the nearest but i think is 25 minutes of walking, first u need to find the osaka park , after that u can see Osaka Castle roof....well that is a motivation....breathe in..breathe out...or maybe u just need to be fit....hahaha
I believe the Osaka Castle Park will be so beautiful during spring with Sakura flower.
Time capsule no.1 is schedule to be open in year 6970. 5000 years after 1970
Time capsule no. 2 was initiate in 2000 and will be open every 100 year until 6970.
Okcat with Osaka Castle
Taec the ceo with osaka castke
Hmm so did Taec went all the way to Osaka castle by walking? eeeey he did not take the subway. Anyway since he is a beastly idol he may just run from the park to the castle...lol
After that , we went to see night view of Osaka at the Sky Umeda Building
With our Kansai Pass , we can get 10% discount entrance to the Floating Garden.
We met Aminah Nur ( a Japanese Muslim with Hijab ) at one of the Halal store in front of the mosque. (There are 2 halal grocery stores nearby the mosque area).We ask her if there is any halal restaurant around. Only one restaurant at the end of the road. However the restaurant is close and only will reopen at 5PM. Aminah then brought us inside the mosque and ask us to wait and pray there first. We want to take her photo but she decline and said she is shy, she hopes that we include her in our do'a.Semoga Aminah sentiasa diberkati Allah S.W.T Amin.
