Imperial Hotel Osaka

... caught on to my and Phil's snickering.    We were able to take a direct subway from the Shin-Osaka station to our Hotel.  And, other than mistakenly entering the "women's only car", it was a stellar commute.  We exited the train and ...

... streets. The streets seemed quiet but it was Sunday so I don't know if that de a difference. I just walked up towards the imperial palace gardens abandoning my initial plan of going to Nijo castle after being templed out from the day before. I just kept ...

... close we were to the train in front in this congested railway environment. Dinner was at Lotteria at Shin-Osaka Station before retiring to the hotel ahead of another travel day. Lotteria proved to be a cheaper (quality-wise) version of MOS Burger but ...

... Hilarious. Back to Umeda and have dinner in another restaurant in Umesan Kouji, the arcade that runs through from Osaka Station to our hotel.  Another picture menu available so no issue, although more fried food..... and we get charged for two ...

... magnificent shrine is that you can't see it! The main building is almost completely hidden from view - only members of the imperial family and certain priests are allowed to enter. The shrine houses the sun goddess-who is considered to be the guardian ...

... the know (bab'loo). Sorry, inside joke there. We headed out to see the Golden temple (Kinkakuji), the Nijo Castle, and the Imperial Palace.... and if we had enough time that day, this place on the map that showed a large series of Torii gates... the ...

... settled for some nail art stickers and some fake lashes.  Oooooo i'm wild. FRIDAY We already had to check out of the hotel and head to Osaka by nighttime so we got up early and headed for Mount Fuji, a very high dormant volcano.  It's a 2h30 ...

Click on the photo to see pictures of Kyoto, Yokohama, Tokyo, Osaka, Kamakura, and Hakone - Lake Ashi area. Japan Trip October ...

... was a bitch. There are so few things I actually remember about Singapore even though we spent weeks there. I did remember the Imperial Hotel where they had a really good restaurant. Now it is a service apartment with a sign which just says Imperial, ...

... a group of American companies to the Japanese government after WWII!   We also visited the Old Imperial Bar in the Imperial Hotel. It is the only part of the hotel that has the original Frank Lloyd Wright work he did for the hotel. Very expensive ...

... I spent the rest of it much the same as the first, wandering about Dotonbori and Shinsaibashi, before crashing in my hotel room.  Getting out of Osaka and seing a little of Ancient Japan was well worth the time and money, and I hoped I'd get a ...

... some than others...) we arrived in Kyōto. We were staying in the middle of town near to the Imperial Palace at a place called the Kyōto Garden Hotel. We had to take the subway into town from the train station but as with the Tokyo subway, the ...

... pressure was applied to it; a security system for the Shogun to alert the presence of intruders. Finally, it was the Imperial Gardens (the Palace requires a booking with the Imperial Household, and isn't that impressive - the royal family relocate to ...

... to the street in droves. It was too late to do anything of historical importance and too dark for a stroll in the Imperial Park, so we poked around a long line of trinket stands illuminated by white Christmas lights strung through the trees above. It ...

... we travelled to Koyasan which was nearly 2 hours away by train, cable car and bus up in the mountains south of Osaka. Very very helpfully the Cross hotel let us keep our big bags with them which turned out to be a godsend as we would have had a nightmare ...

... Asakusa with fellow hosteleers Emma, Kemmer, Dave and Simon), went to 2 acts of the weird, traditional theatre kabuki, visited the Imperial Palace and hit the Sapporo/Yebusi brewery to sample a platter of their best beers (including a lovely ale). We ...

... , Heijyokyu Palace Ruins, and Kasugayama Primeval Forest.   Anyway, after Heijokyo Palace, I headed for Tennohji, Osaka, where I had planned to stay. My hotel was Hotel Toyo located a few minutes' walk from Dobutsuen-Mae Station on Midosuji Line. The ...

... are making a booking as you might be able to get a discount. Kyoto - In Kyoto I stayed in the Kyoto Royal Hotel. Its located near the Imperial gardens as well as the downtown area of Kyoto and is well served by the Kyoto metro. Very good rates if ...

... find the exit. After amusing myself with a bidet, I picked a direction to go that felt applicable. Good choice Mike! I found the Imperial Palace, and some beautiful fountains. Not too sure what it is about fountains, but they fascinate me to no end. After ...

... is perfect - 1 block from a train station and close to so many attractions we could walk to, such as Ginza (2 blocks away), Imperial Palace, Tokyo Tower and the waterfront. We like the experience (and cost savings) of public transit! Taxis here are very ...