Everyone knows that if you are in the Osaka bay area, Kaiyukan is the place to be. But you have travelled all the way to the bay, is there really nothing better to do besides visit the aquarium!? To get your train fare’s worth, here are some side-trip suggestions for your Osaka bay excursion!
Walking down the street to the Kaiyukan…
If you followed the sign to ‘Kaiyukan’ after getting off the train, 99.99% of the time you will end up on this street lined with cafes and eateries. As awesome as the aquarium is, their food leaves a lot to be desired, so best fill up that stomach before you proceed!
If you are looking for a proper meal, Sukiya ( すきや ) is a great place. Cheap and delicious (and also open 24/7), the Ponzu Gyudon (Beef rice bowl with grated radish and Ponzu sauce) is delicious and only costs 399. For those with bigger appetites, you can upsize your meal to greater portions, of course, you pay for what you get.
Snacks wise, if it is summer, Xue-Hua-Bing is a must. These snow-like shaved ice made from creamy milk is bound to shake off some of that summer heat. If not, some crepes should be in order. Run by an elderly couple, Crepe Hoshinomori are hands down the best crepe I have ever tasted. Everything is made in-house, with love and care. For their crepes, they use locally produced flour, which I suppose is what makes their crepes so tender and delicious. There are a myriad of flavors to choose from, but for a simple snack, go for the milk jam, it is to die for.
When you are done staring at the otters, fishes, dolphins and such…
Plan your trip wisely so you will run into golden hour, which is the time when the sunlight is the most beautiful and conducive for photo taking. If you bought the ticket for the Santa Maria sightseeing cruise, hop on your ship and set sail into the beautiful (and photogenic) sunset. If you did not or have no wish to sail anywhere, still make a trip to the boarding area of Santa Maria.
The back end of the Kaiyukan offers breathtaking views of the bay and on days with great weather, nothing beats the photo-ops this location provides (just check out them photos!). If photography is not your thing, a stroll down the bay with wind in your hair is a great way to end the aquarium visit too.
But wait, we are not done yet…
The weather day is young (or not, depends on when you go), why not ride on the Ferris Wheel?
The Tempozan Ferris Wheel is quite worth the ride, not only because of the photo-ops but also because of the sea-wind that is constantly battering on your capsule, making the ride extra-exciting. One you have done your 15 minutes on the Ferris Wheel, take the short-cut to the Tempozan Marketplace!
You probably have done more than enough shopping in Japan as it is, but the Tempozan Marketplace is really less like a mall and more like a bunch of eclectic shops stuffed into a mall. They have all sorts of strange and quirky shops here. There is a One Piece goods shop, most likely run by fans (because all the goodies in there sure do not look like it is from the Shounen Jump shop). A ninja shop where the assistants are dressed up as Ninjas and they sell real Shuriken and Kunai. Leather shops, accessories shops, fashion for the unconventional…they even have a stall just selling small Japanese food models for your phones and keychains! It is definitely worth checking out.
For a quick bite/dinner, there is the Naniwa Food Theme Park, where you can find a collection a authentic traditional local Osaka street-foods served to you in a street-like setting.
And if somehow, after all that you still have time to kill. Get on the train and make your way to the Sakishima Prefectural Building Observatory. They have hands down one of the best observatories I have ever visited. Just ask all the other photographers who have crowded there.
