deuceの旅行: Universal City Osaka and Dotonbori (道頓堀)

Some say you weren't in Osaka if you haven't been to Universal Studios Japan and didn't see the Glico man in Dotonbori. Since Osaka Castle was part of the itinerary, I thought we might as well go to these places. On second thought, not exactly like that. We didn't have the luxury of time, so enjoying an entire theme park was not a priority, but I thought we could still at least use some time at Universal City Walk, a shopping mall just outside Universal Studios.

From Osaka Castle, we took the Chuo Subway line (大阪市営地下鉄中央線) bound for Cosmo Square (コスモスクエア行) and transferred to the JR line at Bentencho station (弁天町駅). Then we took the train going to Nishi-kujo (西九条行), and from Nishi-kujo, we transferred to the next train going to Sakurajima (桜島行) and got off at Universal City station (ユニバーサルシティ駅). Only the subway was included in our Kansai Surutto pass, so we had to pay extra for the JR line, which was only 160円. We had no choice because only JR lines pass by Universal City station.

Transfer at Bentencho station

Transfer at Nishi-kujo station

It was lunch time when we arrived at Universal City, so first thing that we did was find a restaurant. There were a number of shops on the 5th floor and we decided to have some yakiniku (焼肉) at Yakiniku Den. They had a lunch buffet for 1,480 yen, but we opted to just order from their regular menu. I had a pork loin yakiniku (ロース) and my wife had galbi (カルビ). Both were 950円 exclusive of tax. This included unlimited rice, soup and salad, but not drinks.

After lunch, we just strolled around the area; checked out and bought some souvenirs from various shops, went near Universal Studios' gate to take some pictures of the iconic globe, and also happened to see a monkey show. Hard Rock Osaka is also located here in Universal City Walk.

From Universal City station, we went back to Nishi-kujo, then transferred to the Osaka Loop line (大阪環状線) in the direction of Osaka station (大阪方面). Again, we paid an extra 160円 here, then transferred to the nearby Tamagawa station (玉川駅) of the Sen-Nichimae line (大阪市営千日前線) and took the train going to Minami-tatsumi (南巽行). We finally got off at Namba station (なんば駅).

I think it's best to go out via Exit 14 of Namba station when going to Dotonbori and just go straight ahead until the Dotonbori Bridge (道頓堀橋). That's already the Dotonbori Canal, and the Glico man would be right there to the right. Actually, I didn't see anything special about it, but even locals posed and took pictures in front of this huge ad. For me, if you didn't know that it's an Osaka landmark, you really couldn't tell. But it is famous and people really just go there to see it, and since I didn't know where else to go to in Osaka, I added this to our itinerary.