⛩️ Ultra EPIC Cheap Japan Trip ⛩️ / PART 3 - What Actually Happened (Osaka

⛩️ Ultra EPIC Cheap Japan Trip ⛩️ / PART 3 - What Actually Happened (Osaka - Nara) 🎴✨

5/13/2026

PART 3 - What Actually Happened (Osaka Edition) 🎴✨

This part is different.

PART 2 was the plan.
This is how things actually went: what changed, what worked, what didn’t, and what we learned along the way 👀

There will be multiple parts!

◥ Arrival & Flights ✈️

We flew from Milan early in the morning and arrived in Osaka around midday, and honestly… that was one of the best decisions of the whole trip! We had a whole extra day to visit Osaka and didn't feel the jetlag!

Flying with Air China was surprisingly good for the price:

🍽️ Meals included (breakfast, lunch, dinner)
✈️ Smooth long-haul experience overall

The only stressful part was the layover in China.

We had around 3 hours, which sounds like a lot, but with the amount of people and security checks, it got a bit tight. We had to rush a bit, but we made it.

👉 Tip: 3h layover is enough, but don’t relax too much, queues can get long.

Train from Rome to Milan

▲ Day 1 - Plans vs Reality 🌧️

Originally, we planned to start with the Katsuoji Temple…

…but it was raining ☔

So we switched immediately to a shopping + city exploration day, and it worked perfectly.
(Originally the plan for Day 3)

The area around Tsūtenkaku Tower (where our hotel was) is incredible:

🍜 Local restaurants everywhere
🏮 Traditional streets
🛍️ Shops literally in every direction

You can go from nostalgic Osaka vibes to modern shopping streets in minutes.

The shopping street Namba Nannan and the Nipponbashi area are MASSIVE, didn't have time to visit everything, look up the stores you want to visit first...and don't lose too much time at the gashapon stores 😅...

View of Tsūtenkaku Tower from the main street

👉 Tip: Keep your days flexible. Adjusting the itinerary based on the weather or the group's fatigue makes a huge difference; we've done this many times, especially since it's a multi-day trip.

gambling day 1

◥ The Hotel Choice 🏨

We stayed at Hotel Aaron 通天東, right next to Tsūtenkaku, with a view directly on the tower, which lights up beautifully at night ✨

Rooms were small, but:

💸 Price was insanely good
📍 Location was perfect
🍽️ Endless food options nearby

At the beginning of the trip, traveling with fewer suitcases made everything easier.

We didn't use the subway much! Everything is close enough to walk to!

👉 What I’d change:

Maybe booking one extra room next time for more comfort.

View of Tsūtenkaku Tower from our hotel room

◥ Convenience Stores & Food 🍙

One thing that surprised us: Japan is FULL of convenience stores.

In Osaka especially:

🏪 Tons of FamilyMart
Some Daily Yamazaki

I ended up using them constantly:

🍙 Onigiri are cheap and super good
🍗 Fried Chicken is really good, especially the spicy one at 7Eleven 👀
🍦 Coolish ice cream became an obsession (you drink it like a frozen shake)
🍨 A LOT of Custard desserts...so good...

👉 Tip: Convenience stores are not only a backup plan, they’re one of the most useful shops you'll find.

Also worth noting:

There was a huge Don Quijote nearby → fun to visit, but I realized it’s more of a tourist trap than a deal place

You’ll find most items cheaper elsewhere, don’t assume Donki = best price.

It’s not a convenience store, but it’s also worth checking out 100 yen shops like Daiso, they’re great if you need anything! ✌️✨

Best Icecream in the world and tuna and mayo onigiri

▲ Day 2 - Nara Switch 🦌

Since the weather was better in Nara, we swapped plans again.

At Nara Park:

The deer are way more aggressive than expected 😭
They will push you for food without hesitation

We also visited Todai-ji and Isuien Koen botanical garden.

Cool deer in Nara

There are plenty of options for getting to Nara by train or subway, always use Google Maps to check schedules and see which lines are best suited to your plans!

We arrived in Nara in the morning; it wasn’t a very long visit, so we went back to Osaka in the evening and even had time to finish up our last-minute shopping and visited the stores we had missed.

Isuien Koen botanical garden

▲ Day 3 - One of the Best Days 🌿

This was easily one of our favorite days:

Katsuo-ji → Minoh Park → Cup Noodles Museum Osaka Ikeda

Katsuoji → stunning and full of Darumas 🏯
Minoh Park → nature, bridges, beautiful waterfalls 🌿

Walking down from the temple through the park was amazing.

Daruma at Katsuoji Temple

Route from Katsuoji Temple to Mihon Falls

BUT timing was tight, we got there pretty early in the morning and got down just in time to visit the museum!

The Cup Noodles Museum closes early, and we arrived just in time. (Closes at 16:30)

👉 Tip: Always check closing hours, many places shut earlier than expected in Japan.

Cup Noodles Museum

▲ Day 4 - Last Days in Osaka 🎮

We originally planned a concert…

…but we skipped it.

Instead, we:

🎨 Visited a really cool Osamu Tezuka exhibition at Abeno Harukas Art Museum
🛍️ Explored the Tennoji / Abeno area (huge shopping districts)
🏬 Got completely lost inside massive malls (they are like cities)

Honestly, it was the right choice. We needed a slower day.

👉 Tip: Don’t overpack your schedule, skipping plans can improve the trip.

View from the top of the Tsūtenkaku Tower

◥ A Surprise Spot - Spa World 🧖‍♂️

We discovered too late: Spa World Hotel and Resort

It’s not a traditional onsen at all, it’s actually:

Very modern
Very Cheap (statues, themed areas 😭)
But HUGE and fun

Includes:

Pools
Slides
Saunas

👉 Tip: Perfect for a chill or recovery day...It sounds interesting, but we haven't had time to try it, so check it out online reviews first!

◥ Food Moments 🍖

We ate a lot of street food around but found cool restaurants too!

The first day we had dinner at APPARE, a really cool small restaurant near the hotel where we tried Takoyaky, Okonomiyaki and Kushikatu!
It was really good! 😊

We tried the KURA SUSHI, a conveyor belt sushi chain, pretty cheap, not high quality, but a fun experience to do with friends!

We also tried yakiniku (grill-it-yourself meat) at this restaurant called Gyu-Kaku Tennoji, and it was one of the most fun food experiences.

Osaka in general: