🥦Mizuo's Travel Blog🥦No.34 - Going back to Osaka, Japan 🇯🇵 - Dec. 2022

January 2023 · 8 min read · Osaka Prefecture

Japanese businessmen lining up in a queue お疲れ様っす👏ﾊﾟﾁﾊﾟﾁ👏

OSAKA! OSAKA!! OSAKA!!! My hometown! 🎏🐇🎏🐇

Going back to my hometown Osaka, Japan!🇯🇵

At the end of last year, the cost of airline tickets skyrocketed and I was quite torn between returning home or abandoning the plan, but I decided to go back. To be honest, there was nothing much to do even if I went back to Japan, but I decided to return to avoid making my mom spend the end of the year alone in Osaka.

After much consideration, I decided to return to Japan, but looking back, I am glad that I was able to return and spend some time with my family, even if it was only for a short period of time.　With the development of various functions such as Google Meet and LINE CHAT, we now live in an era where we do not feel so much distance even if we live in a foreign country, but even so, I was reminded of the importance of actually meeting and spending time with them.

NOTICE!! It’s so important!! LOLOLOLOLOL!!! — NOTICE!! It's so important!! LOLOLOLOLOL!!!

Yes, the flight was long, but the cabin was comfortable and I basically slept soundly.　Plus, I was able to watch a few new movies on the plane, which I enjoyed.　One thing I noticed about the airport is that Japan has become a little more "digital!"

To Anyone Entering/Returning to Japan

I felt this "Fast Pre-registration System" very convenient when I returned to Japan!

I have memories of being handed a lot of paper documents on board and writing them down in the unstable cabin in "safety mode" when disembarking, but this digitalized immigration process was really convenient and made the immigration process go so much smoother! 😉👏😉👏

This time, the flight was not direct from Kansai International Airport (KIX), but via Tokyo-Haneda Airport (HND), so I headed to Shinagawa Station to catch the Shinkansen to Osaka. When I was working in Japan, I often came to this Shinagawa Station and every time I saw the scenery of this station, I was filled with nostalgia as I remembered many memories.

It's been a while since I've been on a bullet train, and my spirits are soooo high! When I was taking pictures, the kids were staring at me, and I'm sure they thought I was a strange person taking a lot of pictures (laughs).

Tokyo ekiben are the best! I eat local ekiben when I take the Shinkansen, and Tokyo has a great selection of local ekiben from the regions.

What is ekiben???

Everyone love EKIBEN!! I do too! I got one before I get on shinkansen. 😉👏🚄🚄🚄🚄🚄

Too bad it was night when we got on the Shinkansen so we couldn't see Mt. Fuji! But if it was in the morning, I would always stay up until we passed through Shizuoka, watch Mt. Fuji, and then go back to sleep.

This DAIHATSU car display always gives me some nostalgic feelings when I get back to OSAKA!! 😄

It took 2 hours and 30 minutes to arrive at Shin-Osaka station by Shinkansen bullet train. This is the first time in a long time that I have returned to Osaka, and this is exactly how I feel. It's been difficult to travel by air since Corona, and there have been all sorts of restrictions on my activities, but now that the Corona restrictions have finally been eased, I'm really looking forward to 2023! It is a great relief to be back in Osaka. I think it is because it feels like "home" to me.

やっぱり帰阪を決断！

昨年末は航空券の費用が高騰して、帰国するか断念するかかなり迷ったのですが、やはり帰国することに決めました。正直言って、別に帰国しても何もすることは特になかったのですが、オカンが大阪に居てるので一人で年末を過ごすことになってしまうことを避ける為に帰国しました。

色々と考えてやっぱり帰国を決めたのですが、今思えばやはり帰国して家族と少しの期間ではありましたが時間を過ごすごとが出来てよかったと感じています。　GoogleMeetやLINE CHATなどいろいろな機能が発達して、今日では別に外国に住んでいてもそれほどの距離感を感じない時代が到来しましたが、それでもやっぱり実際に会って時間を過ごすことの大切さを改めて感じさせられました。

確かにフライトは長かったのですが、機内は快適で基本的にはぐっすり熟睡できました。　それに、機内では何本か新しい映画も観れて、楽しめました。　空港について気づいたのが、日本も少しは「デジタル化」が進んできたと感じました！

昔は機内でたくさんの紙の書類を手渡され、降りる際に安全態勢に入って安定しない機内の中で書いた思い出があるのですが、このデジタル化された入国手続きは本当に便利で入国審査の手続きがとてもスムーズに進みました！

今回は関西国際空港（ＫＩＸ）直行便ではなく、羽田空港経由だったので、大阪行きに新幹線に乗るために品川駅まで向かいました。日本で仕事をしていた時期はよくこの品川駅に来てこの品川駅の景色を見るたびにいろいろな思い出を思い出して懐かしさでいっぱいになりました。

久しぶりに新幹線に乗って、テンションがめっちゃ上がりました！写真を撮影していると子供さんにじろじろ見られて、変わった人が写真をたくさん撮影してるなぁ～ときっと思われたと思います（笑）

新幹線に乗った時は夜だったので、富士山が見れなくて残念！でも朝だったら静岡を通過するときまでは起きて富士山を観てからいつも寝てました。

新幹線で２時間３０分で新大阪駅に着きました。久しぶりに大阪に帰ってきて、これこそ、感無量です。コロナになってなかなか飛行機での移動が出来ず、いろんな行動規制がかかっていましたが、やっとコロナ規制も緩和されて２０２３年がとても楽しみです！やっぱり大阪に帰ってくるとほっとします。それこそ、「故郷」と感じるからだと思います。