Jravelog

A few details before moving on to my itinerary:

Samurai Wifi rental for 9 days: RM135/6 = RM 23
Air ticket from AirAsia per pax inclusive of baggage, meals and seat: RM 1200
Accommodation for 10 nights per person: RM 1000
Car Rental for 5 days: RM3100/6 = RM 517
Food, Transport, Entrance Fees, Petrol and Toll per person: RM 1000
Total: RM 3740 for 10 days per pax
Disclaimer: some of the prices stated are just approximates and are higher than the expected amount so the total might be lesser than RM3740. 


Day 1: Kansai Airport関西空港 → Izumisano泉佐野市 
We arrived quite late at night, where we just rented an Airbnb place from WenXiang at Izumisano, which is half hour away from Kansai Airport to stay for the night with 24hr airport transfer from the owner!

Day 2: Izumisano泉佐野市 → Nanba難波
The owner from Izumisano dropped us off at the nearest train station, and we went straight to Nanba to check in to our next Airbnb apartment from YUI where we stayed for 4 days. We spent the day around Nanba area, and then we met up with Ayaka, a Japanese girl where my family hosted in Malaysia before for a simple dinner!
Day 3: Osaka Town 大阪市
We bought the one day pass a day before at Nanba Station. I have also shared how I fully utilized the Osaka One Day Pass before along with my whole day itinerary. So if you're interested you can click the link to check out!



Day 4: Kuromon Market 黒門市場 and Nara Day Trip 奈良
We started off the day by having our seafood breakfast at Kuromon Market in Osaka, and then we took the train to Nara for a one day trip. Nara is where you'll be able to find your loved ones- the deers! (pun intended) Nara is also famous for the Todaiji Temple and their pudding too! So make sure to check those out when you're in Nara! Our trip in Nara were solely by walking only. So if you have weak legs then be prepared cause my leg nearly broke. T_T




Day 5: Wakayama Day Trip 和歌山市
I had no idea what came to me that I planned Wakayama in my trip, I shouldn't have crossed out Kobe for Wakayama! Travelling down to Wakayama was quite time consuming actually, so it's actually better to stay the night and see more rather than a one day trip. We went to Kuroshio market to watch some Tuna cutting show, had a BBQ lunch by the sea, watched a free dolphin show and had a dip at the Onsen with super sea view. Totally not worth it. 

 

Day 6: Osaka 大阪 →Takayama 高山
We got our car in Nanba and started our self drive trip up to Takayama in Gifu Prefecture. It was a long drive from Osaka, the weather was quite bad as it was raining for the whole day. We were crossing from mountain to mountain through a two-lane bridge, it was quite thrilling. The view was superb too! We stopped by at a service area and the temperature is quite cooling! Upon reaching Takayama it was already past noon, so we head straight to Hida Folk Village where we can see the farmhouses that are in triangle shape. We skipped going to Shirakawago due to time restriction, if you have a day extra then you shouldn't skip going to Shirakawago! :)
We stayed one night in Takayama at a traditional hotel called Hodakaso Yamano Iori, where we sleep on tatami mat with futon and there's a public hot spring area too!




Day 7: Takayama 高山 → Gero 下呂 and Nagoya 名古屋
We went for a walk in Takayama town, and had breakfast at the morning market before leaving to Nagoya. We stopped by at Gero Onsen, a small town where their main attraction is Onsen(hot spring bath)! As an onsen enthusiast, I can't afford to miss out this place! This small town actually offers an unlimited pass where you can visits different onsen places for the day! However as we were just stopping by for a short period of time, we only went for a leg only onsen area and a public onsen by the river where we met a Japanese uncle and he told us the benefit of going to an Onsen where I blogged about before!
After that we head down to Nagoya and checked in to our hotel, then met my host family for the famous must eat in Nagoya- Hitsumabushi!
Day 8: Nagoya 名古屋 → Mie 三重
After checking out from Nagoya, we drove straight down to Mie to meet Hiromi and her family, another Japanese girl that my family hosted in Malaysia almost 9 years ago! The main reason we went to Japan this time is to attend her wedding!


Day 9: Tsu 津 and Suzuka 鈴鹿市
Today is the big day for Hiromi! Which is also the first time for us to attend a Japanese wedding. Her wedding is not the traditional type I guess, it's quite westernize and fun! There's a buffet lunch and quite a few fun activities throughout the wedding too. Speech from her best friends, performances from her friends and siblings. 50% of the time we didn't really understand what the emcee was talking about, but it was a great experience!
After the wedding, we went to explore around Tsu city, and drove 30 minutes to Suzuka which is a city near Tsu, where it has a very large Aeon Mall!


Day 10: Mie 三重 → Osaka 関西空港
The last day in Japan, we drove from Mie back to Osaka. As our flight was 11pm at night, we went to Rinku Premium Outlet to have our last shopping spree before heading to the airport to return our car. We met up with Ayaka and her parents to have our farewell dinner as well!


That's all for my 10 days trip. I might miss out a few main places throughout the post. The link of the places I've stayed are already included in the post except for the hotel in Nagoya and Mie. I might messed up some stuff in the post so bear with me!

If you have any question you can leave a comment below or email me at suetli_low@outlook.com! I'm more than happy to answer your questions!

When people ask what to do in Nagoya?
Except the famous Toyota Museum, Nagoya Castle, and Nagoya TV Tower, the next most important thing is definitely eat!! Eat all the good food in Nagoya!
Miso Katsu ( Miso Pork Cutlet Rice), Nagoya Style Chicken Wing, and *drumrolls* UNAGI RICE - THE NAGOYA STYLE!!

Please please please try the Unagi Rice in Nagoya if you so happen to stop by in Nagoya.

Before flying off to Japan, my sister and I actually already decide to eat at a certain Unagi Restaurant that we found online. But there was some last minute changes cause I managed to contact my long lost family in Japan, and they brought us to another better restaurant!

I didn't even ask where is the restaurant, they came to the hotel to fetch us and I just hop on to the car! Ya la i know very cincai. But end up I also repaid by blogging about this restaurant a bit also la :P

Unagi Washoku Shirakawa - Joshin Restaurant (うなぎ・和食 しら河 浄心本店)
A very authentic restaurant, I reached there around 7pm I think.
The queue was quite long, people, mostly locals were sitting there waiting for their turn to eat.
Lucky enough, I just walked in without waiting because my host family already reserved beforehand.

It would be quite challenging for people that don't understand Japanese to order, because they don't provide English menu. But no worries, the staff will explain it to you patiently.

We end up ordering mini set for all the ladies, and normal size for the guys.
The picture below is the mini sized one.

Ittadakimasu!
There's 3 ways to eat this Hitsumabushi.

1) Scoop some of the rice and unagi in to the small bowl, and eat it as it is.

2) After finishing the first bowl, scoop more rice and unagi in to the bowl, then add in Wasabi, scallions and seaweed(the one in the plastic in the above picture).

3) After finishing the second bowl, scoop the rest of the rice in to your bowl and pour in the soup that they provide(normally in a jug) into the rice! .
Lastly, enjoy your food!

I'm so sorry I couldn't provide the exact price for this.
But it is around 3000 yen for the normal sized one.