It is hard to challenge Kansai
region as the historical heart of Japan. It houses two former capital
of Japan
for over a millennium. It is boasted with 5 UNESCO Heritage Sites, numerous
architecture and art master pieces designated as “National Treasure” by
Japanese Government. I discovered these facts in 2013, which inspired me to
start researching about the region, obviously targeting it as my next traveling
destination in subsequent year.
I do not wish to provide free
advertisement for Air Asia, but this budget airline makes the trip possible.
With a return ticket from Kuala Lumpur to Osaka (Kansai
Airport) for less than RM
700 (USD 230), it is akin to an offer I can’t refuse. The next thing I need to
do then is to start panning and saving!
The itinerary
Intrigued by Nara
and Kyoto due to its statuses as both UNESCO
Heritage Sites and former capital of Japan, my trip was focused on these
two. Caused by time-constraint, I reluctantly abandon a detour to Himeji (famous for its Japan’s
largest Himeji Castle)
and Kobe (Beautiful Port
city with plenty of shopping opportunities).
Day 1: Osaka – Arrival in the evening. Spend the
night at Dotonbori.
Day 2: Osaka
- Osaka Castle, Namba walk and Shishaibashi
Shopping Arcade.
Day 3: Nara - Nara Park and its surrounding
(Kofukuji Temple, Taodaiji Temple, Nigatsudo Hall, Kasuga Taisha Wakasuka hill and Higashimuki Shopping
Street.
Day 4: Kyoto
– Kiyomizu-dera, Ginkaku-ji, Kinkaku-ji & Ryoanji.
Day 5: Kyoto – Nijo-jo, Nishiki Market &
Hoganji Temples
Day 6: Kyoto – Kyoto
Imperial Palace
& Shopping at Kyoto
Station
Day 7: Kyoto – Toji
Temple and head to Kansai Airport.
I arranged my itinerary in a loop (i.e. Osaka
– Nara – Kyoto – Osaka) to avoid spending
additional on returning ticket and the fuss of catching the train back.
Rail passes
Visitors traveling to Kansai
region are both blessed and cursed with numerous money-saving rail and bus
passes offered by JR, private rails and local municipality. It takes effort and
time to study the pros and cons these passes in order to extract the best deal
out of it.
I have dedicated a post for a detailed analysis on this matter. Feel free
to have a look.
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