We flew from Helsinki to Osaka with Finnair my favorite airline and got upgraded to their comfort economy which is like premium economy so we were very comfortable.
Going through immigration, they need to know the address you are staying at so make sure you have it ready. We booked Airbnb which in Japan is frown upon so the best way is to tell them that you are staying at a friend place. Normally Airbnb will have your host name and their contact numbers.
We got our bags within 15 minutes and went straight to the Tourist information office to book our Osaka Amazing pass ( 2 days) and Universal Studio ticket.
If you are looking to do a lot of tourist attractions then Osaka Amazing pass is worth it as it includes your transportation, attractions and discounted tickets.
1 day pass 2300yen 2 day pass 3000yen (consecutive)
Map and attractions (You get the map when you buy at their office)
We planed to go there on Monday 19th September 2016 as we thought it was a weekday to avoid the crowd but it ended up being a public holiday! Make sure you check Japan's public holiday when you plan your trip here.
1 DAY Studio Pass 7,400 yen with tax 2 DAY Studio Pass 12,450 yen with tax
The Tourist information only accept cash so make sure you have some yen with you or there is a money exchange place near by. The Tourist information gave us a pack of tissue from the money exchange office as they give you a slightly better rate so make sure you take that with you otherwise there are some atm machine as well.
There was also a free wifi stall that you should download before you arrive or the staff can do it for you called "TRAVEL JAPAN [TJW] Free Wi-Fi". The staff will give you a code for you to use while you are in Japan. It's free but not very reliable.
After we got our tickets, we headed to the train station so that we can check into our Airbnb place in Namba. We paid 920 yen each for a ticket to get to the city which took about 1 hour. We didn't our Osaka Amazing pass as it'd be a waste as we weren't going to do any tourist attractions today as we wanted to be a relaxing arrival day since it's my first time to Japan.
We studied the map of how to get from the airport to our place to make sure we didn't get lost. Got off at Namba station and walked for 20 minutes. Our place was modern, cosy and have everything we needed. They also supply us with a free portable wifi as well which was great but the limit is normally 3GB per stay so make sure you know what you can use.
While Scott was having a shower, I went to the convenient store near by to get some water and onigiri ( rice ball). We slept for a little bit as we were tired from the flights. That evening we just explored Namba, Nipponbashi and surrounding area.
We found a standing ramen shop by accident so decided to try some. We wanted to try as many different kind of food as much as possible so we shared a bowl between us. Initially we thought that it wasn't allowed or frown upon but we saw another couple sharing so we just shared one. This place has an automated machine which you order your food from there, get a ticket and give it to the chef.
It was very delicious and super awkward to eat at the same time. Walked around for a little bit and decided to have sashimi for dinner since it was our 1st night in Japan. We stumbled across this restaurant called Tarojirou which they have an English menu but very limited. The sashimi was fresh and there was a dish we didn't know whether it was a tuna or what really as we have never tasted before. After dinner we went out to some gay bars but it was so dead so we just came home.
