Nesting at the Hilton, Osaka Japan

Memories of my trip to Japan bring back fond memories. It was wonderful, but I was fairly well prepared with the help of many IgoUgo guides and their fine journals. I printed out many of them, including those by becks, to have as a custom-made guide book. I enjoyed the ancient sites almost as much as I enjoyed the Japanese people I met along my way. Their kindness and hospitality were outstanding. I overcame my fears of problems with unusual food by finding tiny restaurants where the staff made great efforts to make sure I didn't go away hungry. The artistry is amazing and the care taken in the details of every day life is something I truly respect. I longed to return before my airplane landed back in Los Angeles!

Quick Tips:

As I am allergic to shellfish, I found myself eating a lot of noodles and Italian pasta. Not only safe for me, but easy on my budget. I also ate a lot of ice cream, with the same excuse. I bought pork sandwiches in railroad stations that at less than US made a large and satisfying meal as well as all sorts of things out of the famous vending machines: soups, coffee, tea, sodas, bottled water, candy and French fries. Very good French fries.

I found that keeping a postcard of my hotel, or at least stationery from my hotel, in my purse made it easy to explain to a taxi driver where I wanted to go at the end of my day. Hotel doormen usually explained my destination on my outgoing trips. Few Japanese taxi drivers speak English.

Best Way To Get Around:

I love the high-speed trains and used them often. I also walked a great deal and took taxis. I lacked self confidence to deal with the subways in Tokyo and Osaka, a flaw I hope to overcome on future trips. I found walking fairly easy to do, with the exception of massive flights of stairs that left this car-addicted woman breathless and worn out. May I say it again? I adore Japan!

Big king-sized beds are hard to find in Japan, but this hotel has some that are so comfortable, you can shake off the effects of jet lag. Tall Americans will appreciate these beds. You will receive a smiling, warm greeting on arrival. These employees aren't looking for tips (tipping as such is not allowed in most Japanese hotels) but are happy to see you. The staff at this fine hotel made my visit.

I spend a lot of time in hotels. This one is on the top of my lists for comfort, service, facilities, comfort of beds, bathroom features, ease and quality of room service (very fine speakers of English answer your telephone call, and American-style food is on the menu), and beauty of the building and interior spaces. Save your (possible) desire to experience a traditional Japanese Inn for another time. This Hilton will make you feel at home and very, very welcome.

The large bedroom included a full-size desk/table, two side chairs, a mini-fridge, full tea/coffee service, two robes, two kimonos, two pairs of slippers, and other Japanese touches, including sliding screens to cover the large picture window.

The bathroom was both large and well-fitted-out with a large soaking tub with shower, a modern and very fancy Japanese toilet, and a sink/vanity area with a complete selection of items including toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, comb, hairbrush, razor, and shaving cream and many large and fluffy towels. Be wary of the extremely hot water! Follow the signs to make sure you don't boil yourself in the tub.

This is a city-centre hotel, so views are limited by high buildings, but I did have a view of the railroad station and the furious traffic on the streets below. Suitable for business travel or vacation with family. This hotel is above and connected to a vast underground network of stores and restaurants with connections to railroad stations. You don't need to go outside to get to many things.

A tip learned from experience: take a postcard of the hotel with you when you leave the building. You can give it to a taxi driver in order for him to take you back to the hotel. The taxi drivers only speak Japanese but are pleased when you hand them a postcard of your destination.

Buffet breakfast was included in what I paid for my room. The buffet includes both American and Japanese-style offerings, as well as meats and cheeses often preferred by Europeons. Excellent coffee as well.

Without question, this is the cleanest hotel I have ever experienced. Clean and tidy in all areas and regards. Very much appreciated by weary travelers!

This restaurant is one of six in this hotel. Those for Japanese and Chinese cuisine are both elegant and expensive. Jet lagged and too worn out to go out hunting a restaurant, we were given a nice table in this lovely bar. The extensive menu of this and that from around the world had the typical Japanese-menu feature of highly detailed photographs of the food on offer.

My husband ordered a large glass of red wine and a selection of shrimp and seafood items, all cooked. I ordered, for no reason, a plate of nachos! What was I thinking? In actual fact, they were very good. Our service was very elegant and refined, with a full layout of silverware and cloth napkins. It was certainly not a typical bar set up. It is highly recommended if you are "Lost in Translation" and needing something to eat after spending most of the past 24 hours in airports and on airplanes.

We finished our meal with desserts heavy with cream and chocolate. Divine, but also not logical. Should we have been restoring ourselves with protein?

The cost of my room included the buffet breakfast, but some rates don't. Be sure you find out when you book. The buffet breakfast in the bright, sunny morning room on the level above the lobby has enough choices for just about anyone to find a breakfast. There are areas of American and European-style foods, and also Japanese. Coffee (very good), tea, cooked cereals, and eggs to order are brought to your table.

I developed a taste for cold Soba noodles for breakfast, but also enjoyed the fresh yoghurts, fruits, pastries, and eggs. The breakfast meats were more in the European style than American, with the bacon being a wider than we are used to and less cooked.

Although this restaurant is very busy some mornings, the attractive, young people who staff it are very cheerful and welcoming. Several spoke excellent English. I believe many were graduates of the Hospitality University in Osaka. This is a Hilton, so Americans will find enough familiar foods on offer to be happy. I found it interesting that, as I ate using chopsticks, many Japanese people were using silverware. The vegetables on the Japanese food tables were apparently cooked frozen Bird's Eye vegetables, a treat in Japan!

I have a couple purposes for posting this entry. Primarily, I want to explain how to order food in a restaurant in Japan when you don't speak Japanese. It is remarkably easy. Nearly all Japanese food-selling places in all price ranges have either menus with photos and/or plastic representations of the food. If you have a choice made, it is considered polite to walk your server over to the plastic replicas and point one out.

Most food places in Japan do not take credit or debit cards. You will need cash. In the case of this ice-cream shop, the items cost around US$10 each. It was high by American typical prices, but the ice-cream specialties served were large. We made a meal of them. The woman making our treats turned out duplicates of the plastic items on show.

My ice-cream treat included Kellogg's corn flakes, Jell-O, marshmallows, and candies. Other items included Jell-O and soy beans. You aren't in Kansas! Well, there is the Jell-O, which is popular both in Japan and in Kansas.

Ordering and constructing our treats took about 15 minutes, so I would call this semi-fast food. We got the giggles in the middle of our meal. It’s something about being in a room full of happy Japanese teenagers!

Other food shops in this location offered Italian food, including pizza; McDonald's hamburgers; and seafood.

Everywhere we went in Japan we felt very welcome and quite happy. Hospitality is an art in Japan.

It must have been the fatigue of jetlag that caused me to make the decision to ride this enormous Ferris wheel is located on top of a shopping center! I don't do things like this as a usual habit. For ¥700 (you will need to coins to buy tickets), you get a 15-minute (or longer) ride in one of 52 gondolas 106m above the Umeda shopping district. You see plenty if you have a clear day, but I think a sunset ride would be much more interesting.

Each gondola holds four people. What I could see when I now and then opened my eyes was great vistas of Osaka. You have to go up to the seventh floor to buy your ticket to ride in a glass elevator! That was almost enough for me. This woman is quite content to say that I really did this, but once is enough! I trust Japanese engineering quality, or I never would have done it. Well built it is! I couldn't even bend the hand holds, although I really did hang on.

It is accessible for all and interesting for the entire family.