Tere!
People usually imagine one country has some common cultures in that country. However, Japan is not always like that. This is perhaps because Japan used to consist of different small “countries” which are bases of current prefectures. Therefore, every place probably has its own culture, language, and tradition.
Also, when visiting Japan, what is your purpose? Is it shopping? Is it experiencing some activities? Is it enjoying cultures or nature?
In this article, I list several shops for those who want to buy a number of goods in Japan and some places where you can enjoy yourself in Kansai.
Table of Contents
1. Nose Shop
2. Nintendo Shop
3. 100 yen shop
4. Buckwheat noodle
5. Illumination
6. Internet cafe
7. Atoa
8. Soraniwa onsen (hot spring)
9. Universal Studios Japan
★Summary
1. Nose Shop
Nose Shop is a fragrance shop in Umeda. There might be some more stores in other cities in Japan, but I’m not sure. I wanted to go to Nose Shop because they have capsule toy machines with tiny perfume bottles! When I searched, the price was 500 JPY (3.60 EUR), but then they increased the price, and when I indeed went there, it was almost doubled – 900 JPY (6.45 EUR)! I wanted to try twice, but owing to its price I did only once. What I got smelled like incense.
Actually, there is nothing special more than that, and yet if you are interested in such a small leisure, it may be worthwhile going there.
2. Nintendo Shop
This is new. Nintend shop was only in Tokyo so far. However, since November 2022, there has been a new Nintendo shop in Osaka too!
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When I went there, although it was Tuesday afternoon, there was a long queue, and my previous colleague when we worked part-time and I waited 15 minutes.
Neither of us bought anything, but we constantly (or she constantly) said “Kawaii!”. Her vocabulary was so limited temporarily. 😂
I love Pikmin games, and I felt like buying some Pikmin goods, and yet I didn’t buy anything because everything was so expensive! One eco bag cost 3000 JPY (22 EUR)! We enjoyed just looking at merchandise.
I was visually satisfied.
Given that you are a Nintendo fan, you should definitely visit their shop.
3. 100 yen shop
Wondering about what to buy for souvenirs from Japan? Then go to 100-yen shops! Almost all of the products are 100 JPY. There are multiple 100-yen shops such as Daiso, Can do as well as Seria.
In Japan, if we go to a 100-yen shop, we can get basically anything. On the other hand, in Estonia, I have to ask someone, search on Amazon DE, go to multiple different shops… It’s so inconvenient and not consumer-friendly.
But this is not the point. The point is that you may find anything for souvenirs. Of course they have chopsticks, stationeries, sweets and cosmetics. Year by year, the quality of 100-yen shops has improved.
This time I bought makeup cosmetics for travelling (because I forgot to bring them), laundry bags for underwear, in addition to a small shopping cart.
Why a shopping cart!?
It’s for my chinchilla!
When he becomes an adult chinchilla, and is used to my flat, I will give him this small shopping cart and let him hold it. It must be super cute.
4. Buckwheat noodle making class
Have you eaten buckwheat noodles? It’s called soba noodles. One of my university friends and I went to a soba noodle making class on this trip in Japan. (It was her request and suggestion though she is not a huge fan of soba noodles.)
We booked a soba noodle making class for two people at a soba noodle restaurant named Hayauchi. They have one slot in the morning and one slot in the evening in terms of the soba noodle making class. They are closed regularly so it’s better to check the opening hours on their website.
We could borrow aprons but we were told to bring a towel. However, the towel was for the case when we sweat like in summer. We didn’t use it at all in fact.
Making soba noodles wasn’t that easy. Next day I had some muscular pain in my hips and back.
Once you make soba noodles, you can get soba noodles for four to five portions. We had two portions after making soba.
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Our soba noodles were harder than what we are used to. Here “hard” means “koshi” in Japanese. You can feel this hardness when you eat good udon, for instance. Not so good noodles don’t have “koshi” and the texture is too soft.
It cost 3500 JPY for one person. Since I was not able to bring handmade soba to my accommodation, my friend had to bring all of the rest home.
If you stay in a weekly or monthly flat in Japan, then maybe there is a pot so you may be able to cook. However, the B&B that I stayed at didn’t have such things but a microwave and a kettle, so I enjoyed making soba noodles and eating them at the restaurant.
Still, it was a good experience. Therefore, I would recommend you try it in Japan.
5. Illuminations
Let’s call a friend who I went to the soba noodle making class with “soba girl”. She and I did something like going out as a couple. 😂
We went to Harvest Hill in Osaka to see the illuminations. Harvest Hill is located in Sakai city in Osaka, and it’s more straightforward to go there by car. She registered herself for car sharing, and we drove there.
We bought tickets online beforehand, and it cost 1,500 JPY (11 EUR) for one adult.
However, this ticket is not a typical ticket to get in Harvest Hill but a special ticket to enjoy the night-time illuminations in Harvest Hill.
Perhaps because it was Thursday, there were few people. We saw only a couple of small families and one young couple who looked like high school students.
The illuminations were beautiful and enjoyable since Estonia doesn’t have such things although they weren’t so big. We walked, our vocabulary was limited, we had fun, but we finished in 20 minutes or so. That was kind of disappointing whilst I didn’t regret it as it was something I could enjoy outside of Estonia!
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Illuminations were a winter thing in Japan. There are more illumination events all over Japan between the end of November until some time in December.
6. Internet cafe
I wish we had this amazing and convenient place in Estonia, or even in Europe! An internet cafe is a place you can stay and read manga and comic books, magazines, and sometimes even regular books, watch anime or movies, and surf online!
When I had only one week left until I left Japan, I had seven hours of free time until I met another previous colleague. The soba girl suggested me to go to an internet cafe instead of regular cafes because it’s cheaper, there are lots of manga to read, and I can use the internet.
It was so easy to spend six hours in the internet cafe. I was reading “Demon Slayer”. If I had more time, I wanted to read “Blue Exorcist” and “My Hero Academia” too.
7. Atoa
Atoa is a fusion of art and aquarium in Kobe. It’s beside the harbour, and it takes around 15 minutes by walk from Kobe Sannomiya station. I went to Atoa with my friend who helped me when I went to Ireland (reference).
Atoa’s world was the quality of visionary and at some point it was literally like a regular museum with paintings, which was interesting. It’s an aquarium, however, there were giant tortoises on the floor, some reptiles, penguins, capybaras as well as otters.
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A regular ticket costs over 2,000 JPY (14 EUR) but we got it for 1,440 JPY (10 EUR) as I could get a discount with my disability card. My friend also got the same discount as an attendant of the disabled person (me).
One hour or two at maximum is enough to go through all the floors. It was a beautiful aquarium unlike the aquarium in Galway (sorry), and yet the lighting systems on the ceiling should have been hidden better. It felt like a theatre as we could see the backstage systems.
Overall it was worthwhile going there and enjoyable. But I would want to go to Kaiyukan in Osaka again, where I went as a 10-year old kid. Maybe next time I want to go to Kaiyukan.
8. Soraniwa onsen (hot spring)
Japan has a culture of baths. Each flat or house has a bathtub, and we usually take a bath in the evening before going to bed. Taking a bath is a relaxing time. Hence we have a culture of public baths.
Here and there in towns are small and casual hot springs called sento, and if it’s a bit more gorgeous and/or famous for the original hot spring water, there are places called onsen (hot springs).
Friend S from the same university in Japan and I went to an onsen called Sowaniwa onsen in Bentencho, Osaka.
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The ticket cost around over 2,000 JPY. It seemed easier to go to Soraniwa onsen by JR rather than metro as the JR station is directly connected to Soraniwa onsen whilst the guidance to Soraniwa onsen from the metro station is suddenly disconnected.
When arriving at Sorwani onsen, take off your shoes, and check in. They will tell you to wear a kimono (yukata) first. You can choose patterns of yukata on your own.
There were not so many types of bathtubs, but I felt good because in Estonia it’s impossible to take a bath in which I can soak my body fully in hot enough water. I have a bathtub at home in Estonia, but it’s too small to do it, so I soak half of my body whenever I do.
They have lotions and toners, but I would recommend bringing your own skincare products especially if you have sensitive skin. I have dry and sensitive skin, and when I tried lotions at Soraniwa onsen, it was painful like burning. I think they use cheap and strong products.
We ate ice cream after taking baths, which was refreshing. Beer could be a good option at that time, and yet I chose ice cream since we would go to a Korean restaurant and drink after that.
I really enjoyed myself, however, I don’t think I will come to Soraniwa onsen again. It’s an entertainment, but as an onsen, it was not satisfactory. If I want to take a public bath, then I would choose sento as it’s much cheaper. It was an interesting place and since you can wear a kimono (yukata), it could be a good leisure activity for foreign tourists.
9. Universal Studios Japan
If you come to Osaka or Kansai, you should definitely go to Universal Studios Japan (USJ)! This is because there is the Nintendo world, Harry Potter’s world and a comic books themed area such as “Jujutsukaisen” (when I went there).
I went to USJ with my friend from the same choir in high school. We have been there multiple times, but since we both are fans of Harry Potter, we can enjoy USJ forever.
You can go there by car or train. The train stop is named “Universal-city”.
The ticket prices vary depending on when you go to USJ. It’s usually 8,000 something JPY (57 EUR). However, this time, due to the encouragement of travelling against COVID, there was a campaign to gain more tourists, so we could purchase tickets cheaper than usual. It cost 6,000 something JPY (43 EUR).
The first thing we did in USJ was to get an entry ticket to access the Nintendo world which was the newest area in USJ! There are a few rides in the Nintendo world though we tried only one of them: Mario Kart.
The queue was very long, but we wanted to try it at least once. On the ride, we had to wear a “hat” (headband) and goggles. The goggles were fine, but the headband was so heavy. The ride itself was fun but in my opinion the headband ruined.
Then we went to the Harry Potter area. There are also a couple of rides. We rode only “Forbidden Journey” because we were not interested in Hippogrif’s roller coaster which is for kids.
The last one we experienced was “Hollywood Dream the Ride”. This roller coaster is innovative. There are five songs, and you can choose one of them before the ride. In addition, there is a roller coaster called “Back drop”. Usually roller coasters go forward, but this one runs from the back. In other words, the end of the roller coaster is the front one. It’s fun but it’s not that scary in my opinion. I prefer the normal one.
There are some other interesting rides like “Flying Dinosaur” which is also innovative because you sit on the seat, and the seat goes up 90 degrees, so there is no floor on the seat! “Flying Dinosaur” is one of the most popular attractions. Other than those, I personally like Spider-Man’s ride and the rotating roller coaster.
When it comes to food and drinks, I would recommend bringing a bottle of water or tea as they are expensive in USJ. This time we had lunch at “Three Broomsticks” in the Harry Potter area. Since we went to USJ in December, they had a Christmas menu. I had a Christmas plate which consisted of a chicken leg, two sausages, peas, carrots, potatoes and brussels sprouts in addition to a soup/stew. What we always get in the Harry Potter area is butterbeer. Due to the fact that all the butterbeer shops had long queues, we ordered at “Three Broomsticks”.
As for snacks, we had pancakes and churros. Pancakes are Mario and Luigi’s hat shapes and in their colours. Mario’s hat is a strawberry cake, and Luigi’s hat is a no-bake cheesecake with grapes. Both were fun to eat and tasted good! The final thing that I wanted to eat was a Christmas churros. It wasn’t a must-try for me, but when we were walking before leaving, we found a stand that was selling hotdogs and Christmas churros. Therefore we had them. The Christmas churros looked cute and I felt like it had been a while to taste a chocolate product. I also felt as if it had been the last sweet until I would start being on a diet again.
This day USJ closed at 7 pm, which was quite early. This is perhaps because of COVID. Anyway, we had so much fun. As I come to Japan again, I would definitely go to USJ again. Going to USJ is like my tradition when visiting Japan.
★Summary
To be honest, there are more shops and theme parks in Kansai. I picked up only a few places this time as I had only two weeks to stay in Osaka.
I know foreign tourists tend to go to Tokyo, but Japan really has lots of different cultures in the small land. If you go outside of Tokyo, you can enjoy a lot more stuff including shrines, temples, pandas in a zoo, theme parks, hiking and nature.
If your purpose is shopping, then go to the metropolis. You can basically get anything you want. However, if you want to do something more active, do some more research.
As mentioned, Japan is full of a variety of cultures!
Aitäh! 🙂
zooks.ee 