Day 2 in Japan, Osaka-Kyoto

Woke up at 6 AM although sleep past midnight, I readied myself to start the journey that day. Bought two onigiris and inari sushi in Lawson 100(almost all items are 100 yen, but with tax, it becomes 108 yen) in front of our rented house. The wind was blowy outside of the house. My friend along with his family risen up late(apparently, after I slept, they still couldn't sleep because of their child still awake and their bedroom was not warm enough) so our schedule was pushed back. Before we went out, the host of our rented house came and explained to us about many things from how to use the cloth dryer to how to recycle the trash.

After everyone was ready(I believe it was almost 10 AM), instead of going to Chibune station, we went to JR Mitejima station, which is another station that is said to be close. The reason we picked JR Mitejima station is that we wanted to try new station. Moreover, we wanted to try to save money as much as we could since we don't need to use Suica card in JR Mitejima station. However, it took us more time to reach JR Mitejima station so I decided to not to use that station for next schedule. After about 40-50 minutes, we arrived at Kyoto station and it was already midday,  we decided to have lunch at Kyoto station.

Kyoto station is a huge train station with shops and dining. During lunch, I separated myself from my friends since the place is basically a mall, therefore, it wouldn't be so difficult for my friends to order a meal in a restaurant because they can speak English. I then went to a South Korean restaurant called Minari because they have a vegetarian set menu. The staff can speak English, there were many foreigners ate at that place too. While waiting for my food, I looked around and realised there are many couples or at least people with their friends eating and talking. Eating alone in that restaurant was very awkward for me, that's why I ate quickly after the food arrived. The food tasted okay, nothing special, I think it's because I already had this kind of food in Indonesia.

After we all had lunch, we proceed to JR Inari station. Inari station is a small train station, so there was no elevator for us to use. Fortunately, there were no long stairs too, only several steps. Right after we exit the train station, crossed the street and we already reached the very front gate of Fushimi Inari Shrine. We first encountered a temple where many people offer their prayers and throw some coins to the donation box. As it was Saturday, the place is filled with many people, foreigners and Japanese(many girls wear kimono here). To the left of the temple, is the road to the inner temple. Not far from there, we already arrived at the infamous thousands gate. We took some photos as many visitors did. Taking a good photos was quite difficult as many people were passing by(or it could be that we are not professional enough to take good photos).

At first, I allocated about 3 hours at this place, but considering we started late, we didn't go to the top and return to the bottom part of Fushimi Inari after passing the middle point of the pilgrimage. Before we went back to Inari station, we passed by food stall and try some local snack. I bought a grilled green tea dango. The texture didn't match what I expected, it was not very chewy. It tasted sweet yet bitter.

The sun almost set when we return to Osaka station. We were supposed to go to Osaka Castle based on the schedule but people on the internet said the view is not good at evening. Morover, we were also supposed to go to Namba Park but this spot was also cancelled for this day. Instead of those two spots, we went to Umeda Sky Building. I estimated 15 minutes of walk from Osaka station to Umeda Sky Building based on the information I gathered from the Internet, but we took quite long to reach there.

At Umeda Sky Building, we were surprised by the queue people making at the entrance on the 3rd floor. Normally, people should take the elevator on the 3rd floor of the building to go up to the 39th floor. But we didn't take that route because the staff was kind enough to accompany us to another route using East Tower Elevator. This happen because the staff saw us walking with the baby stroller. I am not 100% sure if this route can be used by normal people without the need of accessibility. We arrived at 39th floor quickly and went to the ticket booth.

Umeda Sky Building is unexpectedly a good place. At first, I didn't expect too much of this place as it looked boring to me. But there are many places you can take photos and the night view is quite romantic. It's a shame that I have none to share that romantic atmosphere. There is also a place in the very top of the observation deck where you can sit with your couple and take a photo with a beautiful floor light. Indeed, I didn't do it because I don't have anyone to take a photo with.

From Umeda Sky Building, we went to JR Namba station for our next spot, Dotonbori street. As we were trying to save money as much as we can, I always planned the route with JR station in mind. From the information that I had gathered before coming to Japan, we could walk for about 15 minutes to our destination from JR Namba station. Apparently, I was wrong and I blamed it to the information from the Internet. Google map is used to help us navigate but after walking for several minutes, the destination could not be seen. Fortunately, we asked the local and he was kind enough to accompany us as he was also going near our destination.

At Dotonbori, my friend's wife who wanted to taste the Pablo cheesecake from its origin country went on the line for it. We waited nearby and while waiting I saw many young Indonesian tourists near Pablo. I thought to myself that they are so lucky that they could go to Japan at such a young age. Afterwards, we search for a place to had a late dinner. We wanted to try Ichiran Ramen, but that place had a very long queue, so we decided not to participate in the line. We had difficulties trying to eat together in one place. My friend doesn't like Okonomiyaki and Takoyaki even though his wife wanted to try. We then found a place where it looked like a cafe from outside but it sells various type of food. I could not recall what was the cafe name. I ordered Omelette Mushroom White Cheese Rice. After we had our dinner, we didn't forget to take photos with Glico Man Sign. Actually, Dotonbori and its neighbourhood have many places to explore, but it was almost midnight, we had to return to our rented house.

We didn't use JR Namba station this time and preferably use Subway Namba station where we had to use Suica to enter. Late night train that we boarded was not empty or deserted, it filled with many people some who were drunk. After a while, we had to switch train in another station. But this station was completely deserted. There was no sight of people so we were a little worried. We switched platform and during the switching, we encountered a friendly man(was not a train station staff, his style of clothing looked a bit dirty) who told us where to go. It was the last train, if we didn't board that train, we could have to pay for taking a taxi. We arrived at our rented house past midnight. I washed my face and brushed my teeth then went to sleep. My friend and his family, though, it looked like they had a hard time sleeping because their child was still active.

Bangun jam 6 pagi walaupun tidurnya tengah malam, beres-beres dan mandi untuk menghadapi perjalanan hari ini. Pergi ke Lawson 100(hampir semua barang harganya 100 yen tambah pajak jadi 108 yen) di depan rumah sewa untuk beli 2 onigiri dan inari shushi. Hawa di luar dingin karena anginnya berhembus cukup kencang. Temanku dan keluarganya bangun telat(ternyata mereka kurang tidur karena anak mereka masih aktif dan ruangan tidur mereka kurang hangat) sehingga jadwal perjalanan kita mundur. Sebelum keluar rumah, tuan rumah kami datang dan menjelaskan banyak hal dari cara menggunakan pengering baju hingga bagaimana mendaur ulang sampah.

Setelah semuanya siap(sepertinya jam 10an pagi), kita tidak ke stasiun Chibune, tapi ke stasiun JR Mitejima yang kelihatannya termasuk stasiun yang terdekat. Alasannya karena kita mau mencoba stasiun yang berbeda dan juga kita mau hemat karena di stasiun itu kami ga perlu pakai kartu Suica. Namun yang terjadi adalah, perjalanan ke stasiun itu malah lebih lama daripada ke stasiun Chibune sehingga aku memutuskan untuk tidak menggunakan stasiun itu untuk jadwal berikutnya. Setelah sekitar 40-50 menit, kami sampai di stasiun Kyoto dan waktu itu sudah siang, jadi kami memutuskan untuk makan siang di stasiun Kyoto.

Stasiun Kyoto adalah stasiun kereta yang sangat besar dan di dalamnya terdapat banyak toko dan tempat makan. Saat makan siang, kami cari makan masing-masing karena tempatnya seperti mall, jadi aku tidak perlu khawatir dengan teman-temanku kalau mereka mau memesan makanan, lagipula mereka bisa bahasa Inggris. Aku lalu pergi ke restoran Korea Selatan bernama Minari karena mereka menyediakan menu vegetarian. Tempatnya dipenuhi banyak orang asing dan stafnya bisa berbahasa inggris. Saat menunggu makanan, aku celingak-celinguk dan melihat banyak pasangan yang sedang makan dan ngobrol. Karena aku merasa aneh makan sendiri di situ, jadi aku makan dengan cepat. Rasa makanannya ok, tidak ada yang spesial sih, mungkin karena makanan seperti itu banyak di Indonesia dan aku sudah pernah mencobanya.

Setelah selesai makan siang, kami pergi ke stasiun JR Inari. Stasiun ini kecil jadi tidak ada lift. Untungnya tangganya pendek, cuma beberapa anak tangga. Setelah keluar dari stasiun, cukup dengan menyebrang saja dan kami pun sampai ke depan gerbang kuil Fushimi Inari. Tempat yang pertama kami jumpai adalah kuil di mana banyak orang sedang berdoa dan melemparkan koin ke kotak donasi. Karena waktu itu hari sabtu, tempatnya dipenuhi banyak orang dari turis sampai ke orang lokal(cewek-cewek Jepang banyak yang pakai kimono). Di sebelah kiri kuil itu ada jalan menuju kuil bagian dalam. Tidak jauh dari situ, kami sampai ke area di mana tempat ini dikenal, yaitu 1000 gerbang kuil. Banyak orang berfoto ria, begitu pula kami. Tapi mengambil foto dengan banyak orang lewat sangatlah sulit(atau mungkin karena kami tidak profesional dalam mengambil foto).

Awalnya aku mengalokasikan 3 jam untuk berada di tempat itu, namun karena kita mulainya telat, kita tidak naik sampai ke atas dan cuma sampai tengah jalan lalu turun ke bawah lagi. Sebelum kembali ke stasiun Inari, kami melewati tempat di mana banyak camilan dijual. Aku beli dango panggang rasa teh hijau. Teksturnya tidak seperti yang kubayangkan, tidak kenyal sekali dan rasanya manis sedikit pahit.

Matahari sudah mulai terbenam ketika kami kembali ke stasiun Osaka. Seharusnya jadwal selanjutnya adalah ke Osaka Castle tapi menurut informasi di Internet, pemandangan sore hari tidak bagus di situ. Selain itu kami juga seharusnya ke Namba Park, tapi tempat ini pun batal kami kunjungi. Sebagai gantinya, kami pergi ke Umeda Sky Building. Aku memperkirakan 15 menit perjalanan dari stasiun Osaka ke Umeda Sky Building berdasarkan informasi yang kukumpulkan dari Internet, tetapi ternyata jaraknya lebih jauh dari yang diperkirakan.

Di Umeda Sky Building, kami kaget karena banyak orang antri di depan lift masuk lantai 3. Biasanya untuk ke lantai 39 kami harus masuk melalui lift di lantai 3. Tapi kami tidak melewati rute tersebut karena staf di sana menemani dan mengarahkan kami untuk menggunakan lift di East Tower. Hal ini terjadi karena staf di sana melihat kami membawa kereta bayi. Aku tidak yakin kalau rute ini boleh dilewati oleh orang biasa yang tidak perlu dukungan aksesibilitas seperti orang tua, orang sakit atau yang membawa kereta bayi seperti kami. Setelah sampai ke lantai 39 kami lalu membeli tiket masuk.

Umeda Sky Building tanpa diduga adalah tempat yang bagus. Awalnya aku pikir tempat ini membosankan. Tetapi ternyata banyak tempat untuk mengambil foto dan suasananya cukup romantis. Sayangnya aku tidak bawa pasangan untuk merasakan suasana tersebut. Di tempat paling atas dari dek observasi itu ada kursi di mana kamu bisa duduk bersama pasanganmu dan mengambil foto dengan latar lantai berwarna dari lampu-lampu yang dipasang di lantai. Tentunya aku tidak mencobanya karena aku tidak berpasangan.

Dari Umeda Sky Building, kami pergi ke stasiun JR Namba untuk ke tempat selanjutnya, yaitu Dotonbori street. Karena kami mau menghemat sebanyak mungkin, maka aku selalu merencanakan rute perjalanan dengan mengedepankan stasiun JR sebagai stasiun yang dipakai. Dari informasi yang kukumpulkan sebelum ke Jepang, tujuan kami dapat dicapai dengan berjalan 15 menit dari stasiun JR Namba. Ternyata, aku salah dan ini semua karena informasi dari Internet. Kami pakai Google map untuk membantu navigasi tapi setelah berjalan beberapa menit, tujuannya tak kunjung terlihat. Kami pun bertanya ke orang sekitar dan untungnya dia mau menemani dan mengarahkan kami ke tujuan kami karena dia pun mau ke arah sekitar situ.

Di Dotonbori, istri temanku yang pengen mencoba kue keju Pablo di negara asalnya mengantri untuk membelinya. Saat kami menunggu, aku melihat banyak anak-anak muda dari Indonesia di sekitar Pablo, pikirku mereka sangat beruntung karena bisa jalan-jalan ke Jepang di usia yang masih muda. Setelahnya, kami pergi mencari tempat makan untuk makan malam sekali. Awalanya kami mau coba Ichiran Ramen, tapi tempat itu antriannya panjang sekali, jadi kami putuskan untuk tidak ikutan antri. Selagi mencari tempat makan bersama, ada sedikit kesulitan karena temanku tidak suka Okonomiyaki dan Takoyaki padahal istrinya pengen coba. Akhirnya kami menemukan tempat yang dari luar terlihat seperti kafe tapi ternyata menjual berbagai jenis makanan. Aku tidak ingat nama kafenya. Aku pesan Omelette Mushroom White Cheese Rice. Setelah makan malam, tidak lupa kami berfoto dengan latar belakang Glico Man. Sebenarnya Dotonbori dan sekitarannya banyak tempat yang bisa dijelajahi, tapi karena waktu itu sudah hampir tengah malam, kami harus segera pulang.

Kami tidak pakai stasiun JR Namba kali ini dan pakai stasiun Subway Namba di mana kita harus membayar dengan Suica untuk masuk. Kereta malam yang kita naiki waktu itu tidak sepi sama sekali, penumpangnya ada yang mabuk. Tak lama setelahnya, kami harus pindah kereta di salah satu stasiun. Stasiunnya benar-benar sepi dan tidak terlihat ada orang sama sekali sehingga kita sedikit khawatir. Saat perpindahan peron, kami bertemu seorang yang ramah(bukan staf stasiun, gaya pakaiannya sedikit kotor) yang membantu menunjukkan di mana kami harus pergi. Ternyata saat itu kereta yang kami naiki adalah kereta terakhir, kalau tidak naik kereta itu mau tidak mau harus naik taxi. Kami sampai rumah lewat dari tengah malam. Aku beres-beres dan siap-siap tidur. Tapi kelihatannya teman-temanku kesulitan tidur lagi karena anak mereka masih aktif.