The Path to Osaka

After an eventful and vibrant few days in Shinjuku, Tokyo – it was time to move on to our next destination. While we stayed at a business class hotel in Shinjuku(albeit it was TINY, but cozy) this time we were trying something different and using an AirBnB. AirBnB was technically a gray area and not fully legal in Japan until last year, although many were still operating “unofficially”.

Accommodations aside, we had to get there first. Osaka isn’t exactly close to Shinjuku(about 300 miles away, in fact) but luckily Japan is equipped with its own very advanced bullet train system called the Shinkansen and we purchased a “JR Pass” in advanced. The JR pass basically lets you, as a foreign tourist, travel easily over many of the rail systems in Japan. We were a little intimidated at first, but it turned out to be pretty easy and actually went incredibly smoothly! Some of the Shinkansen ride below….

We arrived rather smoothly to be honest, the Shinkansen was amazing. We need these things in the States! Once we finally arrived to our AirBnB in Osaka(which our host gave us a detailed PDF with screenshots and red circles directing us and everything) we were dumbfounded and impressed. The setup was fantastic! It seems so authentic, even with us needing to remove our shoes and put on slippers they provided for us in the accommodations.

We made it safely, and began to prepare for our next week in Japan with our homebase in Osaka. We’re loving our new location, and we can’t wait to tell you about the upcoming days!

See below for some shots of our Air BnB!