Kitty Trail: Japan 2008 -> Where I Stayed in Osaka

OSAKA

I finally managed to snag a reasonably-priced place to stay in this city where Yakuzas are found, and although it was daunting at first thought since this would be my first train transfer in both JR station and local/subway, and aside from the fact that admittedly the inn I was to stay at was a bit difficult to get to, my luggage suddenly got heavier due to some cakes I got at Nagasaki plus other pabaon from Benjie.

I chose this inn because Frommer's had listed it under "Inexpensive". (Between you and me I would think this term would apply for 4K Yen and below but it was more in this case *grin*).

My first choice, which was Hotel Il Monte had mistakenly said in another site that it was fully booked already, so when I tried the hotel's main site and they replied they had a room, it was already too late since I had booked elsewhere in my zeal to have a roof over my head. The site for this in case you are interested is http://www.ilmonte.co.jp. Don't worry as there is an English page there somewhere. Its near to the Osaka station too.

The name of the hotel I ended up in was Family Inn Fifty's Edobori. Address is 2-6-18 Edobori, Nishi-ku, Osaka 550-0002.

The con is that there was no closet (but there are hooks on the wall), but it was quite clean, had the usual bath and large containers for shampoos, rinses and body washes, had a double bed, wall-mounted TV, and airconditioning. Toothbrush, toothpaste and slippers were provided.

To reach this place: you have two choices, take the bus from Osaka station (come to think of it I should have dared this) or try the subway by changing subway lines in Osaka station.

Luckily, I think Osaka has one of the more user-friendly train stations as it was easy for me to follow the color-coding to transfer from the Midosuji Line to the Honmachi Station, then transfer to the subway Chuo Line, getting off at Azawa Station. I seriously doubt the 7 minute walk though, as I think it would be 10 minutes or more...plus since there is more than one exit, you have to be careful to orient yourself.

It's location, though a bit far for some first timers is okay though, especially if you want to be nearer Universal Studios Japan and the Osaka Aquarium as it is near the bay area.
Another plus is there is an eat all-you-can continental breakfast (knowing me, can you doubt the deciding factor, regardless of whether it was difficult to travel to this place?) with all the pastries, breads, coffee, milk, juice, tea, jam, butter, eggs you can carry in your stomach. Sorry, but I have no pictures during my breakfast since I was all focused on stuffing myself for the long trek ahead.

Amenities include free use of computers in the lobby, and these have internet access. Be careful though, you might end up with the one with Japanese characters keyboard hehehe!

Visit http://www.fiftys.com where they have undoubtedly better marketing material than what I have posted here. Aside from picking up this inn's name from the travel book, I also used http://travel.rakuten.co.jp/en/ to book my reservation for this hotel since it is Japan's largest online hotel reservation company for those on the lookout for budget and moderately-priced accommodations.

I admit that I did lose about 15 minutes of walking around before I could find this hotel. Armed with a map, I was able to navigate transferring from the JR line to the subway line running near this inn's vicinity...and I really thought I could make it with enough time to check in and go back to see a bunraku which was extended due to public demand and which had its last show at 4:30 pm. Alas, by 4 pm I was still walking around the streets looking for this as the tall, fair and handsome policeman I came across could not speak English and could only point to the park which thankfully was on the map I had. Hmph...gwapo sana, walang English word naman.

Anyway, since I couldn't read the kanji for the high school building, hence my miss, but luckily with a look at the compass and a question to a lady passing by, I figured enough to find this..lucky too as it was starting to sprinkle little raindrops on my head. And with my extra bag slung over my already drooping shoulders I thankfully recognized the building by the picture I saw of it. 

I finally managed to check in without too much difficulty (clerk again had not much English on hand), and they just had to take a photocopy of my passport, and off to my room I went. I unpacked, washed, took a cat-nap and with darkening skies still ventured out to try my luck again.

Arrived in Osaka May 5, 2008 at 2:45 pm, left for Kyoto on May 6 at 1:30 pm.

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Directions & Transportation:

*From JR Osaka station
Take the bus No.88 to Tosabori-2choume (about 10 mins). 1 min. walk from the bus stop.

*From Higobashi station (subway Yotsuhashi-line)
10 mins. walk from the station

*From Awaza Station (subway Chuo Line)
7 mins. walk from the station.

*From JR Shin-Osaka station
Take the subway Midosuji Line to Honmachi Station. Change to the subway Chuo Line and get off at Awaza Station. 7 mins. walk from the station.

*From Kansai Int'l Airport
Take the Nankai Rapid Express Train to the last stop, Namba Station. Change to the subway Sennnichimae Line and get off at Awaza Station. 7 mins. walk from the station. The total travel time will be 65 mins.

*From Osaka Int'l Airport
Take the Airport bus to Osaka station. From the station, follow the direction above. The total travel time will be about 50 mins.