So when a budget airline started flying to Osaka, I got very excited. Four years and several seat sales later, I finally booked a real promo ticket.
Elmer and I landed in the evening at Kansai International Airport. The customs staff stopped us (tough luck, yup, both of us). Now a tip for all those who'd be as unfortunate as we are - if you are never hiding anything prohibited, there is no reason to panic. Try searching Australia's Border Patrol on YouTube.
The lady asked that we lay our luggage on their counter. She scanned all the contents of my for-a-fee baggage, and said "Thank you. You can go."
Right before we exited the airport, we were stopped by civilian airport police who asked us to show our passports. I was doubtful. What if this was a setup. A scam. Worthy of an episode on Scam City.
"Where are you going?", he asked. He looked harmless but the clandestine act of flashing his badge was a red flag for me.
"Osaka," I said.
Come on, I was tired and hungry and I wasn't even carrying any drugs. Why the hell would we be stopped, twice, when everyone else seemed to be just breezing through all of the checkpoints.
"Where are you going to stay?," the guy asked. At this point, I can tell Elmer was really worried. The police already had asked for our passport. Which I didn't want to give him. But i didn't want to spend my night in the airport detention room either.
Light bulb moment: I took our hotel voucher out of my coat's inner pocket and instead of trying to give him a I-booked-a-hotel defense, I asked, "How do we get to Namba?".
His face transitioned from strict-looking to excited. Like a new tour guide who just got his first client. He pointed us to the train station.
"Just take the elevators up to the second floor, then turn left."
I smiled while he returned our passports. I thanked him and his "Goodbye!" was this country's way of saying "Welcome to Japan!"
So, after changing money at the airport, we took the train. The station was right outside the airport's main building. And when we got there, I was totally confused.
So there's JR. And there's Nanka.
If there was one thing I hated about my pre-research, it was that I couldn't figure out how the railway systems in Japan work. I mean, Seoul's Subway System looked more complicated than a spider's web but it doesn't take a genius to figure it out. But Osaka's? You have to experience it to understand it.
I was standing in front of the ticket machine. Above me is a complicated train system map. And around me are possibly more than twenty other machines. I looked at the monitor and after five minutes, I concluded that I couldn't figure it all out.
Elmer asked the counter and the staff explained we can buy the ticket from him. Why didn't the machine say so? The ticket to Namba Station, our base for the trip, was 1100 Yen. Around P500. That wasn't bad at all. Considering that we were all alone, save for one guy, in car number 6.
A little over half an hour later, past the suburbs, we got to Osaka's Namba Station in the Minami Area.
It was a good thing our hotel was right at the station. We could even call someone to pick us up from their special kiosk at the station. But we were in a hurry to check in.
Now, the hotels in Japan do not come cheap. I mean, you can get hotels for as little as P2,000++ but that'd mean living in a matchbox. And with the amount we paid (about P7,500 per night), we got a bigger room. A great view of Osaka. A couch. A bath tub. And a bed that can sleep twenty people. Okay, I was exaggerating, but it was really big.
The only problem I have with paying close to $200/night is that the rate does not even include breakfast. No, not even one piece of a teeny weeny Takoyaki Ball. •
The police incident would freak me out. Hehe.
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