The Colors of Autumn

1st & 2nd November 2007

I tried to totally shacked myself up for the late night flight from Changi International Airport via JL 722 towards Kansai International airport for the day.


I very nearly did caught a wink for the 6 hour flight while watching "Ratatouille" on the JAL Entertainment Network.

Meanwhile, we spot the sunrise across the horizon.

My sister, Jiahui was enjoying Queen Latifah & gang have a ball of a time in 1960s Baltimore in the musical "Hairspray".

By 4 a.m. local time, they served the breakfast... & I was expecting warm congee like last time round.

The plane touch down Kansai Airport by 6.30 am and our journey to discover the magic of the colors of autumn begins...


Our plane was taken for replenishment after a hefty flight.

Me & my missus branding a wide smile on our very first visit in Kansai International Airport.


On the outside it didn't differ too much from other airports in Japan. The limousine service is a viable option to Namba where our hotel is situated.

Corin is reaching for the toiletries for some freshening up.

	Jiahui's beau, Jiajian managed to find a reliable phone rental service by the company known as "Telecom Square" which allows us to pick it up in Kansai and return at Narita.

We were being welcomed by 2 famous actors, Motoki Masahiro (本木雅弘 aka the Gatsby man) & Miyazawa Rie (宮沢りえ).

After wash-up, we headed to explore the stores on the 3rd level of the airport. Check out the unconscious commuter on the left!

After roaming the Kansai Airport which features in likes of "Uniqlo" & Studio Ghibli's official merchandise store, " どんぐり共和国", we headed for the Aeroplaza whete we would catch the Nankai Line to Namba directly as well as exchanged for our JR 7-days pass.



The first sight of the 紅葉 (momiji or red leaves) which set the tone of this trip was by the Aeroplaza.

Corin showing everyone the Nankai Line with the nearest station from the airport, "Izumi Sano" should have a special place in the fans of the famous manga/ dorama series "花ざかりの君たちへ".


The Nankai Line is very accessible for our hotel which is a mere 30 minutes away.

Aeroplaza should be a place of shopping, restaurants and rest for transiting passengers.

We warmed ourselves in these priority seats meant for elderly, young children or disabled on the way to Namba. The Japanese must be thinking "baka gaijin"...

30 minutes of train ride and we had reached Namba subway station. Like many subway stations in Osaka and perhaps in big cities of Japan, the station is a labyrinth with myriad of exits to baffle unsuspecting tourists....


They came out to the exit facing Marui shopping mall which is a good 10 minutes walk to the hotel.

We resided at Cross Hotel, Namba Osaka which is along Shinsaibashi just behind Dotonbori street. Sounds familiar? It's previous incarnation was Hotel Riva Nankai which we stayed 2 years ago when we came to Osaka; there seems to be a change in management who pumped in money to revitalized the entire hotel with a touch of cosmopolitan class. Cross Hotel wasn't even our first choice as the package didn't have it on offer. However with a pleasant twist of fate, our original choice was fully booked and we got this instead. It was fated for us to return to this hotel with spacious rooms and lackluster customer service.


It was still a wee bit early to check in when we reached it by noon.


Here's a peak at their double room. Nice cozy bad, some velvet cushion which serve little and bedside lamps which serve little as well.

Large LCD TV was on offer and this actually is high-definition enabled; therefore "Music Station" shown on the first night we were there was so clear you can see Tamori's nostril hairs.


The bathroom/ lavatory is always an important aspect of the hotel room. We were anticipating a small one as usual which myself would occupy 3/4 of the space but boy were we wrong...

Ok...toilet bowl with water-spraying, rear-washing capability is all so common. But this one features one which can massage as well as remove odor...


The bathing area with a huge bathtub which we used to dip in foam baths every night there as well as shower area with toiletries branded by Shiseido...Talk about class!


A look of the lift lobby area, the dark wall paint gives the place a dark look even under daylight.

I very nearly did caught a wink for the 6 hour flight while watching "Ratatouille" on the JAL Entertainment Network.

Meanwhile, we spot the sunrise across the horizon.

My sister, Jiahui was enjoying Queen Latifah & gang have a ball of a time in 1960s Baltimore in the musical "Hairspray".

By 4 a.m. local time, they served the breakfast...
& I was expecting warm congee like last time round.

Our plane was taken for replenishment after a hefty flight.

Me & my missus branding a wide smile on our very first visit in Kansai International Airport.

On the outside it didn't differ too much from other airports in Japan. The limousine service is a viable option to Namba where our hotel is situated.

Corin is reaching for the toiletries for some freshening up.

Jiahui's beau, Jiajian managed to find a reliable phone rental service by the company known as "Telecom Square" which allows us to pick it up in Kansai and return at Narita.

We were being welcomed by 2 famous actors, Motoki Masahiro (本木雅弘 aka the Gatsby man) & Miyazawa Rie (宮沢りえ).

After wash-up, we headed to explore the stores on the 3rd level of the airport. Check out the unconscious commuter on the left!

The first sight of the 紅葉 (momiji or red leaves) which set the tone of this trip was by the Aeroplaza.

Corin showing everyone the Nankai Line with the nearest station from the airport, "Izumi Sano" should have a special place in the fans of the famous manga/ dorama series "花ざかりの君たちへ".

The Nankai Line is very accessible for our hotel which is a mere 30 minutes away.

Aeroplaza should be a place of shopping, restaurants and rest for transiting passengers.

We warmed ourselves in these priority seats meant for elderly, young children or disabled on the way to Namba. The Japanese must be thinking "baka gaijin"...

They came out to the exit facing Marui shopping mall which is a good 10 minutes walk to the hotel.

It was still a wee bit early to check in when we reached it by noon.

Here's a peak at their double room. Nice cozy bad, some velvet cushion which serve little and bedside lamps which serve little as well.

Large LCD TV was on offer and this actually is high-definition enabled; therefore "Music Station" shown on the first night we were there was so clear you can see Tamori's nostril hairs.

The bathroom/ lavatory is always an important aspect of the hotel room. We were anticipating a small one as usual which myself would occupy 3/4 of the space but boy were we wrong...

Ok...toilet bowl with water-spraying, rear-washing capability is all so common. But this one features one which can massage as well as remove odor...

The bathing area with a huge bathtub which we used to dip in foam baths every night there as well as shower area with toiletries branded by Shiseido...Talk about class!

A look of the lift lobby area, the dark wall paint gives the place a dark look even under daylight.