The Backpack Adventures

Day 2 May 18, 2018 Rinku Premium Outlets We woke up to another great morning. The weather was predicted to be fine throughout the day so I brought the kids to the park (actually parks) in the neighborhood of Tsubasagaokakita and Tsubasagaokanishi first thing in the morning.  Go, Ella! Let's try out the other playground shall we Walking back home After an hour or so Ella and Zaq decided that they had enough playground time for the day so we walked back home and arrived just in time for breakfast.  Shopping at Nitori Izumisano There are plenty of products here that you might want to buy Since today was the last full day of Zaq and his family in Japan , we accompanied them on their trips to buy pasalubong and souvenirs around Osaka. Our first destination for the day was Nitori (store) in Izumisano. We also bought some Japanese unique products here for our house like the Japanese Style Diatomite Bath Mat and other household and cookware products.  We

Located in Osaka City in Osaka Prefecture, Osaka Castle  ( 大阪城 ) is one of the most famous landmarks of Osaka Prefecture.  The castle is also the most photographed as well. So far, it has hundreds of photos in Google images and also has more than 11 thousand reviews on Google maps too.  Osaka Castle  ( 大阪城 )  I have been lucky to have visited Osaka Castle twice already. My first visit was on the  2014 Japan trip and the latest was during the 1st day of our 2018 Japan trip . Ironically, I was not able to go inside the castle on both occasions. Regardless, I was still able to explore and stroll around its castle grounds with my family. (If you want to read about my diary entry article about my 2014 visit to Osaka Castle, please do click < HERE >.) Osaka Castle - Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture Revisiting Osaka Castle 2018 Osaka Castle Park is crowded as usual Check out the Osaka-jo Honjin Refrigerator magnet souvenirs in Osaka-jo Honjin Gotta try thi

Planning to visit the Cup Noodles Museum in Ikeda City, Osaka Prefecture? First Timer's Guide to My CUPNOODLES Factory Your visit won't be complete if you won't try out the "create your own personalized cup noodles package" activity in the My CUPNOODLES Factory section of the museum.  However, there would be a lot of times that My CUPNOODLES Factory is jam-packed with tourists. At times like this, the staff is pretty much occupied and there is a huge chance that you'd feel left out in the cold. Other times, there are challenges in communicating with them (unless you speak Nihongo).  This article is written to help you with the step by step procedure to produce that cup noodle package masterpiece without much assistance. So what are you waiting for? Let's begin! Here's the procedure... Here's how it looks like in real life: Step 1: Insert you 300 yen to get one cup Step 2: Place your hand in one of those machines to s

Located at 8-25 Masumi-cho, Ikeda City in Osaka Prefecture, Cup Noodles Museum ( カップヌードルミュージアム 大阪池田 )  is a very educational and interactive museum perfect for all those noodle lovers out there.  Also called Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum , this is actually one of the two Cup Noodles Museums in Japan . The other one is located in Yokohama City in Kanagawa Prefecture.  Cup Noodles Museum  ( カップヌードルミュージアム 大阪池田 ) Cup Noodles Museum History Constructed in 1999, the Cup Noodles Museum was built in the city dubbed as the birthplace of instant noodles. It was in a little shed in the backyard of Momofuku Ando 's house in Ikeda City that the first instant noodles were created on August 25, 1958. It took Momofuku Ando an entire year of research and trial and errors to create what is now one of the most popular food in the world.  Cup Noodle Museum - Ikeda City, Osaka Prefecture Formerly The Instant Ramen Museum Museum hours: 9:30AM -4:00PM The Cup Noodles Museum is fr