Teaser..

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For our last day (totoong last na), we were torn on where to gala & kill time until we were due for our ride to the airport at 3 pm. Our flight is still at 9 pm but Kap wanted to leave the apartment earlier so he can have time to look over the duty free shops. Tapos sasabihin nila na ako ang magastos diba. Asan ang hustisya? ;P #justiceforjane

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Behind us is the bnb -our accommodation for the past 15 days. It grew on us & we were actually sad to leave it as we got ready to go back home.

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We decided to have sushi at Daiki Suisan Kaiten Sushi again for lunch. Our last hurrah for the freshest catch before reality strikes once we’re back home & can only dream of Osaka.

Because Dotonbori has easily become one of our favorites eating jaunts, we braved the Sunday crowd & went just before opening time to be assured of seats. All the restos in Dotonbori pack quickly, especially on weekends & holidays.

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The price at Daiki Suisan is truly unbeatable considering the quality of the sushi & the variety of spread. Cheapest plate starts at Y100 or 50 php. Diba??? And the most expensive at Y500 or 250 php.

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On our way out, we passed by a stand selling ice cream sandwich. Ate wanted to try it so in spite of the kasungitan of the tindero (hindi pa yata nakapag-almusal at pananghalian), we kept our tempers in check & waited in line until he was good & ready to serve us.

To be fair, the ice cream sandwich was indeed super yummy, but I wouldn’t patronize his stall again even if my life depended on it. Akala ko dati lahat ng Hapon mababait, hindi rin pala. They are like any other people on the face of the earth, may mababait, meron ding may mga sumpong hehe.

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Melon-pan is a type of sweet bun made from fluffy dough & covered by a thin layer of crispy cookie dough that originated from Japan. Its main store is situated in Kanazawa, Ishikawa. Guessing from the name ‘Melon Pan’, you might think that it tastes like melon. However, Melon-pan isn’t made with any melon ingredient (except for the melon-pan MELON ice cream, lol). It’s generally believed that the name comes from the surface pattern of bread which looks similar to a melon.

Different flavors of Ice cream is sandwiched inside a melon-pan bun, which is surprisingly a perfect combination. There are around 40 branches all over Japan, Korea, Hong Kong. This is actually hailed as second best Ice Cream Sandwich stall in the whole of Japan. In actuality, the only reason it coins itself “second best” is because the owner of this shop believes that his teacher, who taught him how to make melon-pan, makes the world’s best melon-pan. Thus, he named his shop “second best” as respect to his teacher (who obvs makes the “first best”). @_@

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The Melonpan Ice Dotonbori kadoza Hiroba is said to be rated SECOND BEST in the whole of Japan. You can find Melonpan here –> ＲＥ―０１１2 Chome-11-9 Nishishinsaibashi, Chūō-ku, Ōsaka-shi, Ōsaka-fu 542-0086. (CLICK HERE to get directions) Flavors are as follows: Baked Melon-Pan w/ Ice cream (Green tea, vanilla, chocolate) Y500 | Melon-Pan Bread only (no ice cream) Y200 | Seasonal Menu, the one above is Melon syrup ice cream Y700.

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While killing time, we went inside several stores with Kap’s strictest instructions that in under NO circumstance can we buy another item -even if it’s a matter of life & death, lol. Hirap na hirap siyang kiluhin at isara ang mga bagahe namin. Each one already weighed the exact amount allowable, so hindi na talaga pwede magdagdag. But you know our kids, they take after their dad – mga shopaholics. 😛 They still found clothes under the sale pile that they just couldn’t let pass. So ayan, kamot ulo uli si Kap. Isang araw makakalbo na lang sya kaka-kamot nya sa ulo pag hindi sya nag-ingat! @_@

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This clothing chain is part of the ubiquitous Uniqlo brand (but cheaper), and you’ll often see both stores paired side by side. This store, G.U., really piqued our curiosity & interest. We just HAD TO buy something so we can actually see how the system worked. You agree with me, right? 😉 The name is a pun of the word jiyū (自由 free), meaning free from high cost clothing. Its signature product is a pair of jeans, which costs 990 yen (500 php). You’d be amazed just how cheap the clothes were, considering they were made of great quality too! Kung hindi lang talaga over-kilo na kami ang sarap sana mamakyaw.

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We divided whatever time we had left doing what we do best.. shopping & eating! ;P Takoyaki on our last day -why not.

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Takoyaki is a ball-shaped Japanese snack made of a wheat flour-based batter and cooked in a special molded pan. It is typically filled with minced or diced octopus, tempura scraps, pickled ginger, and green onion. No place to get it best than in Japan, where as you can see, it is most popular! \m/

The first time we tried the liege waffles at Maison de Gigi at Shinsaibashi, we were quite happy. So we made another stop, a parting treat if you will, before we bade Osaka sayonara. CLICK HERE to visit the website.

Parting is really such sweet sorrow! </3 One thing I won’t miss in Osaka though, is the public transportation haha. This is the part that I really hate when travelling.

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Finally headed back to our apartment to meet our driver who was scheduled to pick us up at 3 pm sharp. A week prior, the kids were stressed looking for a van to take us to the airport. Ko’s Serena can’t take all of us in with 3 additional big luggages. And most that they found online cost an arm & a leg. Tapos wala pa palang Uber in Osaka, ang mahal naman ng taxi & we will have to take more than 2 cabs dahil nga sa mga lintek na maleta.

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As you can see, it’s Cinderella at work while Anastasia (Ate/left) made herself comfy on the bed & Drizella (moi/right) ate a strawberry-stuffed mochi ball while supervising. Hahahahaha! 😛 #baboylyf Poor Neni! And what is up with Kap & that packaging tape, as if it will hold the bag & all their purchases?!

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Good thing a day prior, Babyson found a van willing to take us all in at the tune of ¥20k plus toll (¥670). Hong mohol, but what can we do? No choice, so pikit-mata nalang talaga. We arrived at the airport before 4 pm, however, we can only check in past 6 pm pa pala. And the Priority Pass Lounge required a boarding pass before we can enjoy the ammenities, so nasayang lang ang pagmamadali ni Kap makapag-Duty Free! You owe me one ha Kap. Pag may palpak akong ginawa bawal mo akong pagalitan! 😛

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All my bags are packed, I’m ready to go. The taxi’s waitin’ he’s blowin’ his horn. So kiss me and smile for me, tell me that you’ll wait for me. Hold me like you’ll never let me go… Napakanta din ba kayo? 🙂

Again, thankful for our Priority Passes. Although Japan terminals are nice naman & you don’t actually need to use a specialty lounge -unlike back home. @_@ Still, we enjoyed our membership benefits -for a minimal fee.

Before riding our transit to the departure gate, we stopped by Royce to buy some chocolates. It’s funny how we didn’t find any Royce store in Osaka. I was told we can only find it it the airport. Kaya yan, hoarding galore since it’s way cheaper in Japan! ;)) Neni loves the nama chocolates while I’m obsessed with the potato chip chocolates.

Kamot ulo na naman si Kap & major re-arranging of our hand-carry items hahahahaha! I’m sure that at this point, he was relieved that we were finally going home! 😉

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As soon as we set foot on Manila soil, it really felt like home. Pano ba naman, lagatak agad ang pawis namin paglabas palang ng eroplano, waaaa! On the other hand, we were glad to see our dear Lelly. <3 Kawawa naman, orphaned for more than 2 weeks huhu.

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Oh how Lelly missed her humans so! Don’t worry Lelly, next December na uli ang layas ng pamilya mo.

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And this, my friends, concludes our 16-day Osaka Itinerary. I hope you enjoyed our adventures & misadventures as much as we did! :-*

Sayonara Japan, ’til we meet again! <3

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Thank you for the memories, we will be back -you can count on it. <3