Translate

Sunday, 8 February 2026

BLOG -- My Trip to Japan V.5 -- PRELUDE (plane rides + hotels + timeline of each day in Japan + other thoughts)

Let me preface this entry with: I AM SO, SO SORRY FOR MY TARDINESS! I was fully intending to post this prelude entry in 2025 but I goofed up and didn't do it. I hope you can forgive me! orz

My most recent trip to Japan (back in late September / early October 2025) was completely unexpected. After the last Japan trip in 2023, I figured it'd be another 5 years before I'd be able to visit again. Then in January of last year, Air Canada was promoting discounted flights to Japan for certain dates. I checked out the promotion, discussed it with my boyfriend, and booked flight tickets a couple hours later. ^.^'

Just like with my previous Prelude blogs, this entry will go over any preparations I did before the flight as well my experiences on the plane rides, hotels, and some other thoughts.

This was my 5th trip to Japan, but the 2nd trip for my boyfriend. The discounted flight tickets had us landing in AND returning from Osaka, so we figured we'd stay there for pretty much the whole time.

Overall, I was happy to be back in Japan, aside from some thoughts that made me super self-conscious whenever I made some kind of mistake (more on that below).

Below are links to my previous trips to Japan if you would like to check them out.

2023 trip (with my boyfriend)
-Japan Eats (all the food I ate while there)
-Extra: My down time in the hotel + at game centers

2018 trip (with my sister and her husband)
-Japan Eats (all the food I ate while there)

A peaceful view from a tiny cafe.


PRE-TRIP PREPARATIONS
Before the flight to Japan, there were some things I had to do. I mentioned a couple of these in earlier blogs:

1. Rent an eSIM. This time I decided to try renting out an eSIM instead of a pocket WiFi. Aside from the hassle of picking up the pocket WiFi, lugging it around, and mailing it back out, my main reason for renting out the eSIM was the cost. As a comparison, renting a pocket WiFi from Global Advanced Communications (the place I would usually rent a pocket WiFi) for 15 days on an unlimited data plan would cost about 77 USD (as of this writing). Renting an eSIM from Ubigi for 15 days for an unlimited plan would cost 39 USD. For me, renting an eSIM was the clear winner.

HOWEVER, this doesn't mean renting an eSIM is always the best choice. Below are a couple things to consider (lifted from the last Prelude blog):

-Is your phone compatible for eSIM? Most current phones should be eSIM compatible but some old phones might not be.

-How many people are travelling and for how long? If at least four people are travelling and there are no plans to separate during the trip then renting a pocket WiFi might be more cost-effective than having each person rent an eSIM.

Below was my process for renting and activating the eSIM from Ubigi:
-Download the Ubigi app on my phone and create an account
-Go through the process of enabling eSIM connectivity (the app should step you through it)
-Buy the plan that you want. I went with a 10 GB plan for 30 days for 17 USD
-While on the plane to Japan BUT BEFORE it takes off, turn on the eSIM, turn off the current provider (not sure if you have to turn off the current provider, but I did), and turn on flight mode
-After landing in Japan, turn off flight mode and turn on data roaming. After about 5-10 minutes, the eSIM was working

Overall, it was a smooth experience. I think there were a couple times where connectivity was spotty but it didn't last for long.

Here is the website for Ubigi: https://cellulardata.ubigi.com/

Also, here is where I rented my pocket WiFi during previous trips: 
https://www.globaladvancedcomm.com/.

2. Book my hotels. The hotel booking process was the same as the last trip -- booking and paying for the hotel would be done BEFORE the trip. 

Also, I'd advise paying for the hotel booking in yen to avoid any possible markups when the price is shown in a different currency. I will elaborate on this point later in this blog. 

3. Make reservations for certain restaurants. Since we'd be close to Cafe Eorzea in Osaka, I decided to see if the reservation process had changed from the last time I visited a Cafe Eorzea (back in 2018). The process did change and for the better! Making reservations for Cafe Eorzea was a much smoother process. I also made reservations for another themed cafe. 

It is always a good idea to check how the reservation process is for certain attractions, restaurants, or cafes, just to see if it's something you'd have to reserve long before arriving in Japan.

4. Buy Japanese yen. I don't know why I've never mentioned this in my past blogs, but I always buy yen before leaving for Japan. For me, the thought of buying yen in Japan makes me a bit anxious because I am at the mercy of the current conversion rate. Also, highly unlikely scenarios like ATMs running out of money or my bank card just not working would play over and over in my head.

One time I ordered yen from my bank and picked it up when it was ready. Other times and for this trip, I ordered yen from a currency exchange place with high Google ratings.
 

PLANE RIDES
The last trip to Japan cost about $2800 each person for a round-trip. This time, with the flight tickets being discounted, each flight ticket cost about $1200!! To me, that was a massive discount.  

The flights to and from Japan were smooth and uneventful. On the flight back, the passenger sitting next to us was having loading issues with the video screen so he was assigned to a different seat on the plane, which made it easier for me and my boyfriend to take washroom breaks.

On the way to and back from Japan, I watched a bunch of movies. I always like seeing what movies are new on the planes. On the flight to Japan, I watched:
-IT Chapter 2
-Emilia Perez
-Woman of the Hour
-Ballerina
-Five Nights at Freddy's

On the flight back, I watched:
-28 Years Later
-Trap
-M3GAN 2.0
-Coco (I watched this before but wanted to watch it again -- I wonder if anybody caught me crying during the sentimental scenes ^.^;)

I noticed that the passenger one row in front of me was also watching Emilia Perez!


THE HOTEL
We stayed at Sotetsu Fresa Inn Osaka-Namba, the same hotel we stayed at during our last trip to Japan. I was floored over the prices, and not in a good way. When we stayed at the hotel about two years ago, it cost about $148 each night. It was a bit high but do-able. This time, it cost about $249 per night. I went O_O When did hotel rates get so high?!  

I looked at other hotels around the area but most of the ones I checked were either all booked up during that time, the pricings were similar or higher, or ratings were low.

The overall stay was fine, but the price hike really rubs me the wrong way.

In addition to the price hike... I found out after the trip that the hotel prices for Sotetsu were marked up by about 5.3% when shown in CAD instead of in yen. For example, a couple months ago I looked up the rate for a hotel on the Sotetsu website (I specifically looked at Sotetsu Fresa Inns, but I suspect this detail would not matter). One night's stay for a standard double room was 26,010 yen which at the time converted to about 236.70 CAD. When I changed the site to show the price in CAD, though, the price of the room was 249.25. That is a $12.55 difference! I just found out that this is called dynamic currency conversion. One way to get around this is to make sure you are paying for your hotel stay in yen instead of in another currency. Whatever the credit cards charge for currency conversion and foreign transaction fees has to be less than that markup. If you have a credit card with no foreign transaction fees to lower the extra costs, all the better.

In my last Prelude blog, I briefly talked about the Sotetsu club membership. It was a membership that provided certain perks if you stayed at a Sotetsu hotel. One of those perks was a 500 yen cash back every night that you stayed. Unfortunately, that cash back perk will be discontinued on March 31st, 2026. With this discontinuation, I don't know if the membership is worth it anymore. It should still provide discounts on the room rates, but if a room after discount still ends up being over $200 per night, it just means that the hotel rates are already so high to begin with.

If pricing for Sotetsu hotels continues being priced high in the future, I'll likely consider other alternatives like staying at a cheaper hotel chain or something.

A shot of Sotetsu Fresa Inn Osaka-Namba.

A shot of the room.


VISIT JAPAN WEB
Even though I already had an account for Visit Japan Web, I had to create one again since it seems that my original account was deleted. Using the same e-mail and password to create the new account was fine.

The below is lifted from the last prelude blog:

Visit Japan Web is a site that helps speed up the immigration process when you land in Japan. It's best to be on your phone when using this site because you will be creating an account and taking pics of your passport. When it asks of information of where you'd be staying, it will be the first place you stay if you are staying in multiple places during your trip.

The idea is to have all this information filled out and saved before leaving Japan so that you end up with a QR code that can be scanned when you get to the immigration line. You can also get a QR code if you need it when buying things tax free. 

It was a bit of a pain to take a good picture of my passport but filling this out before the trip really did alleviate some of the stress and wait time while in Japan.

NEW: It could have been our landing time (around 5 PM), but immigration took almost an hour to get through, even with the Visit Japan Web QR code. I don't know where the immigration line was for those without a QR code, but the lines with the QR codes were massive.


THE WEATHER
I thought that with us travelling to Japan from late September to early October, we'd have escaped the hot Summer weather. It wasn't 37 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit), but the days were still very hot and humid, ranging from 27-29 degrees Celsius (80.6-84.2 degrees Fahrenheit). Sometimes the afternoon would get much cooler, and sometimes it would rain. I'd personally recommend visiting Japan during other months. Of the times I've visited Japan, anytime between late April to mid May were great.


THE ANTI-FOREIGNER SENTIMENT
Before landing in Japan, my boyfriend and I had read that there was a growing anti-foreigner sentiment in Japan. It was this thought that made me very self-conscious and anxious at times while I was there. I know myself in that I would do my best to show politeness, consideration, and to follow whatever customs / rules I was aware of. I also know that I sometimes make mistakes, like missing a shoe tray or pointing with my finger -- I thought that any mistake I made would be magnified because of the growing anti-foreigner sentiment. I thought that any mistake could get generalized into the thought "oh look, another dumb foreigner who doesn't care about Japan", which is very far from the truth.

Fortunately, we didn't experience any difference in treatment at shops or restaurants compared to our last trip, but we did witness a protest outside the hotel. Apparently, two different groups were protesting, one group holding signs like "Japan first!", and another group holding signs like "End racism". I didn't know what to think, but it wasn't a positive feeling.

A pic of the protest for one of the groups.

A short clip of the protest. I didn't record for too long so I think I only caught one of the groups. The volume may be very low.


UMAMUSUME REGION-BLOCK
One surprise when travelling to Japan was finding out that Umamusume Global was region blocked >_<! I don't understand why. All the other gacha games on my phone worked, so why was Umamusume region blocked?! For about two weeks, my boyfriend and I were deprived of playing Umamusume. Imagine going to Japan during a big event in Umamusume Global or a critical banner and you miss it all just because you are vacationing in Japan. We looked up Reddit threads to see if VPNs would work, but at the time some posts mentioned that some VPNs were also blocked.

I sent through a support ticket to Cygames asking if there was anything I could do, and the response was not helpful at all. This pretty much tells me that if one wants to continue enjoying Umamusume Global, don't leave home, lol... =_=

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So below is an itinerary of my whole trip. This section is more for me to keep track of my days, so it may not be interesting to you. It does give you a peek at all the places and things I experienced, though. I should note that even though Breakfast isn't mentioned for some of the days, I'm pretty sure I had breakfast, considering all the time I had after waking up.

SUMMARY OF EACH DAY *ALL TIMES MENTIONED ARE APPROXIMATIONS*

DAY 0-1: THURS. SEPT. 25 / FRI. SEPT. 26, 2025 (RAINY)
4:00 AM -- Woke up
8:00 AM - 10:00 AM -- Transit to Pearson Airport
10:00 AM - 10:20 AM -- Checked in + got my boarding pass + checked my bag + security
1:15 PM - 3:53 AM (4:53 PM Japan time zone -- Fri. Sept. 26) -- Flight to Osaka (KIX), Japan
4:53 PM - 7:08 PM -- Immigration line + Bag pick up + Purchased Rapi:t B ticket
7:36 PM - 8:20 PM -- Transit to Namba station
8:35 PM -- Checked into the hotel + dropped my luggage
9:00 PM -- Dinner from Family Mart
11:00 PM -- CRASHED

DAY 2: SAT. SEPT. 27, 2025 (SUNNY; 29 degrees Celsius)
2:45 AM -- Woke up
5:45 AM -- Breakfast at Matsuya
6:41 AM - 7:10 AM -- Walk to Namba Yasaka Shrine
7:10 AM - 7:24 AM -- Namba Yasaka Shrine
7:49 AM -- Caffè Veloce
8:25 AM -- Back to the hotel
8:45 AM -- Roamed around Kuromon Market
10:26 AM -- Went inside Community Food Hall Osaka Nipponbashi
11:15 AM -- Lunch at Tokyo Revengers Pop-up Cafe
12:30 PM -- Roamed around Den Den Town
2:10 PM -- Taito Station
4:10 PM -- Back to the hotel
4:43 PM -- Green Walk
5:59 PM -- Dinner at KFC
6:45 PM -- Dessert at Tea Tsuboichi
7:35 PM -- Roamed around Namba Park
8:25 PM -- Back to the hotel
11:08 PM -- CRASHED

DAY 3: SUN. SEPT. 28, 2025 (CLOUDY; 31 degrees Celsius)
4:50 AM -- Woke up
6:00 AM -- Family Mart
9:08 AM - 9:30 AM -- Walked to Round1
9:30 AM - 10:30 AM -- Explored Round1 (didn't do much there)
10:43 AM -- Early lunch at Zetteria
11:30 AM -- Roamed around Dotonbori
1:39 PM -- Lunch at CoCo Ichibanya
2:38 PM -- Back to the hotel
3:00 PM - 6:30 PM -- NAP
7:00 PM -- Dinner at Sicilia Granduca Pizzeria Trattoria
8:19 PM -- Back to the hotel
12:25 AM -- CRASHED

DAY 4: MON. SEPT. 29, 2025 (CLOUDY-RAINY; 29 degrees Celsius)
2:38 AM -- Woke up
6:18 AM -- Breakfast at Matsuya
7:00 AM -- Family Mart
7:10 AM -- Back to the hotel
9:11 AM - 9:27 AM -- Transit to Hommachi station
9:27 AM - 9:47 AM -- Transit to Osakako station
10:12 AM - 10:23 AM -- In line to buy tickets for Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan
10:28 AM - 11:00 AM -- Roamed around Tempozan Marketplace
11:00 AM - 12:35 PM -- Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan
12:35 PM - 3:47 PM -- Lunch at Tempozan Marketplace + Wandering
3:30 PM - 3:51 PM -- Transit to Hommachi station
3:51 PM - 4:06 PM -- Transit to Yotsubashi station
4:06 PM -- Roamed around America-Mura (American Village)
5:00 PM -- PC & Retro Bar
6:15 PM -- Dinner at OKO - Fun Okonomiyaki Bar
8:15 PM -- Back to the hotel
9:45 PM -- CRASHED

DAY 5: TUES. SEPT. 30, 2025 (CLOUDY-SUNNY; 29 degrees Celsius)
4:44 AM -- Woke up
7:41 AM -- Breakfast from McDonald's
8:25 AM -- Family Mart
8:30 AM -- Back to the hotel
9:00 AM - 10:02 AM -- Transit to Kinetsu-Nara station
10:10 AM -- Nara Park
11:00 AM -- Todaiji Temple (outside)
11:37 AM -- Snack at Orange Cafe Suimon
12:01 PM - 2:13 PM -- Wandered around
2:13 PM - 3:10 PM -- Transit to Nishikujo station
3:10 PM - 3:27 PM -- Transit to Universal-City station
3:27 PM -- Roamed around Universal Citywalk Osaka
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM -- Yoshiya (candy store)
5:17 PM -- Dinner at Gyukatsu Kyoto Katsugyu
6:00 PM -- Wandered around
6:32 PM - 6:47 PM -- Transit to Nishikujo station
6:47 PM - 7:04 PM -- Transit to Osaka-Namba station
7:17 PM -- Back to the hotel
12:03 AM -- CRASHED

DAY 6: WED. OCT. 1, 2025 (CLOUD-SUNNY; 29 degrees Celsius)
6:04 AM -- Woke up
7:04 AM -- Laundry (wash + dry)
7:33 AM -- Breakfast at Bakery Cafe C
9:34 AM - 9:56 AM -- Transit to Umeda station
9:56 AM - 10:38 AM -- Transit to Ikeda station
10:58 AM -- Cup Noodles Museum Osaka (Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum)
11:10 AM -- Daiei supermarket
11:34 AM - 11:55 AM -- Transit to Umeda station
12:15 PM -- Daimaru Umeda Store
12:20 PM -- Lunch at Capcom Cafe
12:55 PM -- Wandered around Daimaru Umeda Store
2:53 PM - 3:15 PM -- Transit to Namba station
3:27 PM -- Back to the hotel
5:00 PM -- Dinner at Hunters' Bar (Monster Hunter Bar)
7:00 PM -- Back to the hotel
11:00 PM -- CRASHED

DAY 7: THURS. OCT. 2, 2025 (CLOUDY-SUNNY; 19-29 degree Celsius)
5:03 AM -- Woke up
7:44 AM -- Breakfast at Komeda Coffee
8:57 AM - 9:19 AM -- Transit to Nodahanshin station
9:19 AM - 9:32 AM -- Transit to Yodogawa station
9:40 AM -- Osaka City Sewerage Science Museum
2:00 PM - 2:26 PM -- Transit to Umeda station
2:52 PM -- "Lunch" at Yoshinoya
4:15 PM -- Snacks at Hattendo
4:39 PM - 4:50 PM -- Transit to Namba station
5:00 PM -- Back to the hotel
6:04 PM -- Dinner at Matsuya
6:44 PM -- Back to the hotel
10:09 PM -- CRASHED

DAY 8: FRI. OCT. 3, 2025 (CLOUDY-RAINY; 20-27 degrees Celsius)
5:55 AM -- Woke up
8:00 AM -- Breakfast at Tully's Coffee
8:55 AM -- Back to the hotel
9:30 AM - 9:54 AM -- Transit to Umeda station
9:54 AM - 10:31 AM -- Transit to Sonoda station
10:31 AM - 10:50 AM -- Walk to Costco
10:50 AM -- Lunch at Costco food court
11:30 AM -- Explored Costco
2:00 PM -- Wandered around Yamada Life + Aeon Style
3:05 PM - 3:21 PM -- Transit to Umeda station
3:21 PM - 3:45 PM -- Transit to Namba station
4:00 PM -- Back to the hotel
6:00 PM -- Dinner at Kura Sushi
6:56 PM -- Roamed around Namba (Taito Games Station, GiGO)
8:00 PM -- Back to the hotel
10:00 PM -- CRASHED

DAY 9: SAT. OCT. 4, 2025 (RAINY; 20-27 degrees Celsius)
4:45 AM -- Woke up
7:29 AM - 7:40 AM -- Transit to Dobutsuen-Mae station
7:44 AM - 8:10 AM -- Walk to Isshin-ji Temple
8:10 AM -- Isshin-ji Temple
8:30 AM -- Shitennoji Temple (outside)
9:17 AM -- Breakfast at Saint Marc Cafe
9:46 AM -- Roamed around Dotonbori
10:08 AM -- Animate
11:00 AM -- Hikaru no Go exhibit
1:10 PM -- Lunch at the Community Food Hall Osaka Nipponbashi (Awajishima Burger)
3:07 PM -- Back to the hotel
3:07 PM -- Chilled at the hotel
5:51 PM -- Dinner from Family Mart
9:36 PM -- CRASHED

DAY 10: SUN. OCT. 5, 2025 (CLOUDY-RAINY; 27 degrees Celsius)
5:00 AM -- Woke up
8:20 AM -- Breakfast at Komeda Coffee
9:47 AM - 12:47 PM -- Karaoke-kan for 3 hours
12:51 PM -- Lunch at random restaurant (Nihonichi no kushikatsu yokozuna)
1:55 PM -- Daiso + Book-off
3:30 PM -- Donuts from Krispy Kreme
4:06 PM -- Back to the hotel
6:45 PM -- Dinner at Ringer Hut
7:22 PM -- Lawson 100 + Family Mart
7:56 PM -- Back to the hotel
10:00 PM -- CRASHED

DAY 11: MON. OCT. 6, 2025 (CLOUDY-SUNNY; 29 degrees Celsius)
6:00 AM -- Woke up
8:12 AM -- Breakfast at McDonald's
8:54 AM - 9:05 PM -- Line at Uncle Rikuro's Cheesecake
9:09 AM -- Ate the cheesecake outside
9:49 AM -- Back to the hotel
10:45 AM -- Don Quixote + Wandering
12:05 PM -- Lunch at Eorzea Cafe
1:45 PM -- GiGo
2:50 PM -- Tsukigesho
3:00 PM -- Back to the hotel
3:05 PM -- Laundry (wash + dry)
5:55 PM -- Dinner at Sushiro
8:31 PM -- Back to the hotel
10:07 PM -- CRASHED

DAY 12: TUES. OCT. 7, 2025 (CLOUDY-SUNNY; 29 degrees Celsius)
5:47 AM -- Woke up
8:56 AM -- Don Quixote
9:58 AM -- Breakfast at Kingemon (ramen place)
10:57 AM -- GiGO
1:47 PM -- Back to the hotel
3:03 PM -- Lunch at Matsuya
3:55 PM -- Roamed around Dotonbori (Animate, Lashinbang, Taito Game Station, etc)
6:18 PM -- Dinner at Matsunoya
7:35 PM -- Back to the hotel
10:32 PM -- CRASHED

DAY 13: WED. OCT. 8, 2025 (CLOUDY-SUNNY; 29 degrees Celsius)
5:00 AM -- Woke up
8:20 AM -- Breakfast at Matsuya
9:00 AM -- Family Mart
9:10 AM -- Back to the hotel
10:15 AM -- Checked out of the hotel
11:05 AM - 11:47 AM -- Transit to KIX Airport
3:05 PM -- Checked luggage + security + bag check
2:15 PM -- Went through security
4:21 PM -- "Lunch" at Pronto
5:58 PM -- Boarded the plane
6:15 PM - 6:25 AM (5:25 PM same day Toronto time zone) -- Flight to Toronto
5:30 PM - 5:45 PM -- Customs + Baggage pick-up
6:27 PM - 6:57 PM -- UP Express to Union station
7:00 PM - 8:08 PM -- Transit back home... wahhhhhhhhh T________T


If you've read this far, you are awesome! :)

Thanks for reading!! Fingers crossed that I'll be less tardy with my next Japan blogs. ^^;

Stay safe and until next time! :)
Posted by at
Labels:

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)