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  • Osaka Castle Museum

    Osaka Castle Museum

    After various day trips to nearby cities, it’s time to shift the attention to Osaka attractions. And the first stop is Osaka Castle (大阪城).

    Since we are moving around Osaka area for the next 2 days, I would think that the Osaka Unlimited Pass (now: Osaka Amazing Pass) present good value. The Pass comes with free admission, discount rates and unlimited train and bus rides.

    Osaka Unlimited Pass

    Priced at 2,700 JPY back in 2010 (now: 3,000 JPY) for a 2 days access looks like a good deal to me. Especially when a rough 1 Day itinerary as below would already costs 3,300 JPY (assumed all Metro rides to be 200 JPY). Definitely worth getting it!

    *1 Day in Osaka Itinerary example

    200 JPY – Metro to either Tanimachi 4-chome (谷町4丁目駅) or Morinomiya (森ノ宮駅)
    600 JPY – Morning visit to Osaka Castle
    200 JPY – Metro from Tanimachi 4-chome (谷町4丁目駅) to Tennoji (天王寺)
    700 JPY – Tsutenkaku Tower
    500 JPY – Tennoji Zoo
    200 JPY – Metro from Tennoji (天王寺) to Umeda (梅田)
    700 JPY – Umeda Sky Building
    200 JPY – Return Metro ride to Hotel

    The Iconic Osaka Castle

    The famous brainchild of Hideyoshi Toyotomi was unparalleled in terms of scale during its time. A symbol of Osaka ever since but it too suffered from the ill fate of being destroyed and burnt down in separate occasions… The current structure is actually a concrete reconstruction of its glorious form in the past.

    Like all great castles, Osaka Castle is surrounded by magnificent moats and stone walls.

    Castle Huge Moat

    Castle Moat View

    Castle Moat

    The grand appearance of Osaka’s best known sight is enhanced by golden accent, the extravagance act was mainly due to Toyotomi Hideyoshi liking of gold. Though I find no practical sense to add gold to the castle, I must say that it certainly add class to it.

    Osaka Castle

    Beautiful Osaka Castle

    Big Gun of Castle

    Castle Lift

    Castle Info Guide

    Unlike the well preserved Himeji Castle, Osaka Castle is more like a museum with the shape of a castle. The modernized interior exhibits information on its builder, the battles and castle history. Among the exhibits, there are some animation videos showing historical re-enactments. Too bad it’s all in Japanese which we are totally clueless.

    Toyotomi Hideyoshi Picture in Osaka Castle

    Golden Tiger Osaka Castle

    Castle Map

    The Mysteries of Castle

    Warlords Pictures in Castle

    Exhibits in Castle

    We took the lift inside Osaka Castle Museum to its top floor. Yeah! No climbing needed! The observation deck offers a nice panoramic view surrounding the castle.

    From the Top of Castle

    Castle Observation Deck

    Castle Top Floor

    View from Observation Deck

    It’s a great experience to see both the original Himeji Castle and modernized Osaka Castle during this trip to Kansai region. Just don’t come here expecting to see the internal structure of a castle.

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    Osaka Castle

    540-0002 Osaka Prefecture, Osaka
    http://www.osakacastle.net
    Getting here: Take Metro and alight at either Tanimachi yonchome or Morinomiya Station.
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    What are your thoughts about Osaka Castle? Leave a comment and share it with me.

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  • Japan’s Kobe Beef: The Special Cut

    Japan’s Kobe Beef: The Special Cut

    Kobe Beef (神戸ビーフ) is widely regarded to be the best tasting beef in the world so how can we not have it when we are at its city of origin? It would be like coming to Singapore without trying Hainanese Chicken rice. Ok ok, I know some will say Chili Crabs but you get what I mean…and yes, Kobe Beef was the main reason why we ended up in Kobe.

    The most popular Wagyu brand in Japan is well-known for its exclusivity and quality, and that reflects in Kobe Beef price. We got to taste of the legendary cherry red meat twice on the same day – lunch and dinner even though my wallet was yelling at us lol. All I can say is that this expensive delicacy is worth every yen.

    Kobe Beef is, without a doubt, the best beef we had!

    Kobe Beef at Kobe Brand Tei

    The Kobe Beef restaurant where we had our first bite was Kobe Brand Tei in Mosaic Mall. Lunch crowd, if any, would already be long gone given that we were having our lunch close to tea break time. We quickly made our orders and waited in great anticipation.

    Kobe Brand Tei Restaurant

    Signboard at Kobe Brand Tei

    Inside Kobe Brand Tei Restaurant

    Finally, the Rolls Royce in beef world made it to our table. Just look at those exquisite marbling of fat on that meat!! It’s so clear to see the difference as compared to a regular slab of beef.

    Kobe Beef at Kobe Brand Tei

    Close Up Shot of Kobe Beef

    Next to follow is the Kobe Beef Steak, when being cooked in this form, we were told that it cannot be cooked further than medium rare else its unique flavour would be gone.

    Kobe Beef Steak Set.jpg

    Kobe Brand Tei Kobe Beef

    What about the taste then?

    IT’S SUPER DUPER GOOD!!!

    It’s hard to describe Kobe beef using any adjective, it’s just THAT good. The unique buttery texture and melt-in-your-mouth goodness is simply out of this world!!

    Kobe Beef at Kissho Koubegyuu

    We were still talking how superb our lunch was while walking around Chinatown. And before we know it, we came across this Kobe Beef speciality shop at one corner of the street. The posters and medals displayed outside Kissho Koubegyuu (神戸牛の元町 吉祥) were urging us to go straight in…we couldn’t resist of course.

    Kissho Koubegyuu Restaurant

    Kissho Koubegyuu

    Inside Kissho Koubegyuu

    The price at Kissho Koubegyuu is rather steep when compared to Kobe Brand Tei so we only ordered one plate of seemingly ‘lower grade’ of Kobe Beef to share. We were trying hard not to burst our budget for the remaining trip.

    But we changed our mind once the meat was served – the Kobe Beef here was even better than the one we had for lunch! Yummy!!

    Kissho Koubegyuu Kobe Beef

    So we decided to order another plate of Kobe Beef and…to hell to budget haha

    This time round, we asked the waiting staff to recommend, she pointed at one picture in the menu and gave us a thumb up. The price is thumb down but we went ahead with her recommendation nevertheless.

    Here’s the plate which the waitress gave a thumb up.

    Kissho Koubegyuu Set

    And she was so damn right!! Wow!! This Kobe Beef taste heavenly!!! All thumbs up!!! The lean and sweet meat just melted away in our mouth.

    Kissho Koubegyuu Beef Texture

    While we were busy savouring the beef, the waitress came back to our table and presented us a certificate. The paper is a proof of authenticity that the slab of meat we ordered was from one of the certified cows.

    This is the very BEST BEEF we’ve ever had.

    Kissho Koubegyuu Kobe Beef Certificate

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    Kissho Koubegyuu

    https://www.koubegyuu.com
    Getting here: They have quite a handful of outlets in Kobe, find one nearest to you at their Kissho Koubegyuu.
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    What are your thoughts about Kobe Beef? Leave a comment and share it with me.

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