Cool Places to Travel in Japan
The Top 5 Places You MUST Visit on Your Trip to Japan
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Osaka is the second largest city in the country and served as the home base for my trip. It is pretty centrally located just south of Tokyo, north of Hiroshima, and about an hour away from Kyoto, so in other words, extremely convenient.
What to Do: After a couple of wrong turns thanks to Apple maps, I made it to my destination: the Hankyu Department Store, aka Japan's version of Barneys. Yes, I spent most of my time alone in Osaka in the department store shopping.
I also made my way over to the train station, which was conveniently located right across the street. The Osaka train station has 17 floors, the top containing all of the restaurants. I perused the different options and settled on a restaurant that served a native dish of Kobe beef with rice, miso soup, and a beer for lunch. This station is a must see if you are ever in this city!
Travel Tip: Before exploring Osaka on my own, I made sure I was prepared with a WiFi hotspot and the address of the apartment I was staying at in Japanese in case I got lost and needed help.