My friend from Hawai'i came to visit me in Japan. Luckily due to my schedule of only going to school on Tuesday's and Friday's I was able to take a short trip to Osaka with her.
Day 1:
We first took the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka station and it was a very nice and smooth ride. I got a bento to eat while on the train. We then headed to the Osaka Aquarium. It was so huge! My friend's favorite animal is a whale shark, and Osaka Aquarium is known for having 2. They were so majestic and beautiful.
After the aquarium we headed to Dontonbori for dinner. They are known for their restaurants having giant animatronics. We got so much food, such as takoyaki, tanghulu, and wagyu beef! Everything was so delicious. We also got to see the famous Glico running man.
Day 2:
My friend and I are obsessed with Sylvanian families. We both grew up playing with calico critters, so when we found out that Japan has a life size park of them, we knew we had to go. The park was about 2 hours away from our hotel in Osaka, but we were determined to go! The park was so cute, it felt like I was a little girl again and was transported into one of my games!
Day 3:
On our final day we headed to Universal Studios bright and early in the morning! My goal for today was to get into the "new" Super Mario World. Tickets online were sold out (and very expensive), so the only way to get in was to go early and get a timed entry ticket. Luckily we got there 30 minutes before the park opened, and were able to get into Super Mario World very early while the rides for the lines were short. I am also a huge fan of Mario, and it was like stepping into the game. We also got to go the Harry Potter World and Snoopy Land.
After spending half the day at Universal we headed to Osaka Castle. It was very beautiful, and the inside was changed into being a museum. We got to dress up as samurai's and the top view was gorgeous.
