Osaka on your own

Good afternoon, we are on a Diamond Princess cruise in April which includes a visit to Osaka. Due to illness we have been delayed in booking excursions and although we have them reserved for the other ports the two tours in Osaka are fully booked.

We have gone on the wait list but we would be happy to visit Osaka ourself if that is easy to do. I would therefore greatly appreciate advice on:

......How far the City is from where the ship berths and, if appropriate, is the journey easy by taxi?

......Is there much to see in the City itself (we are easily pleased and would be happy to window shop, have a coffee and people watch if there were no sights to see, as such)

We have previously been to Nagasaki on a Far East cruise and found that a delightful place to walk round on our own after a guided tour to the Atomic museum. We found the local people so welcoming and gracious even allowing for the language difficulties.

Thank you in advance of any help.

With kind regards.

Peter and Beverley

Princess Pete,

how much time do you have in Port?

Osaka is a huge city, but frankly not very attractive. Yes, you can take a taxi from the Port to the Umeda area. There are three major railway stations there and several department stores, plus various shopping arcades, so you can see a wide range of modern and more local shops. Just don't get lost! :eek: (you can always find a taxi back to the ship - bring written instructions in Japanese from the ship so the driver finds the right berth).

A (better) alternative - if you have sufficient time - is to take the train from Umeda station to Kobe (JR is the fastest one, get off at Sannomiya station, not Kobe station) and wander around there. Or check out organized tours to Kyoto or Nara from Osaka.

Another option is to use a goodwill guide.

http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/arrange/travel/guide/list_volunteerGuides.php

MJNI - you live in my favourite part of the world. Absolutely LOVE Salzburg. I had a white Christmas there in 2003, something I will always remember and also hope to repeat once my grandchildren stop believing in the big man with the beard who delivers to all the houses on Christmas Eve. I enjoy spending Christmas with them while they are still young and enjoy the magic.

I have been very fortunate to visit your beautiful city several times over the last 12 years. Another special place is Hallstatt, hubby never wanted to leave when we were there last year. Hope to get back again in September for a week or two.

Once I depart this world my desire is to be cremated and scattered over Salzburg from up at the little lookout area just near the entrance to the Nonnberg Abbey. Recently I was told by friends that it is illegal to scatter human remains in Austria. I guess I need to do some research on that for my family.

......How far the City is from where the ship berths and, if appropriate, is the journey easy by taxi?

I have a similar question. We arrive on a small ship of less than 300 cabins and I wonder whether there will be any taxis waiting for us. We have a hotel in the Umeda district. Is it prudent to order a taxi ahead of time? How to do this best? By the time we arrive in Osaka, we have been 'in the air and on the water' for three weeks already, so no last minute arrangements possible.

Floridiana,

I personally have not been to the port in Osaka, but my (Japanese) wife tells me, that there should be no problem finding a taxi. More info on the port area under

http://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/cruise/detail/029/index.html

Tara Jane,

winter greetings from Salzburg. Actually, my favorite city is Sydney, but after nearly 30 years away from Austria we decided to return...

Yes, scattering ashes outside of designated areas (like some cemeteries) is not allowed in Austria. I guess if you rent a rowing (or electro boat) on one of the lakes or hike up a mountain and empty an urn where no one sees you, you may get away with it (disclaimer before I get flamed: this does not constitute condoning this...), but dropping them from the abbey onto downtown Salzburg would definitely be a no-no

MJN1 Thanks it might just need to be the lake at Halstatt or the Untersberg then. Yes Sydney is impressive particularly the harbour but your mountains are spectacular and thecity so tourist friendly. Love the Salzburg card just ran out of time so much to see.

No problem finding taxis in Osaka. All over the place.

Thank you so much for reassuring me about the taxis and for the link to Osaka.

I assume there will be taxis as well in Iwakuni's port.

We would like to see Kintai Bridge. I sent an e-mail to Iwakuni's tourist office, but did not get a helpful answer about public transportation from the port to the bridge. Online, I only find bus routes from the train station to the bridge and the castle.

 

I assume there will be taxis as well in Iwakuni's port.

 

We would like to see Kintai Bridge. I sent an e-mail to Iwakuni's tourist office, but did not get a helpful answer about public transportation from the port to the bridge. Online, I only find bus routes from the train station to the bridge and the castle.

What info do you need/asked the tourist info for?

I asked how I could get from the port to the bridge by public transport.

The really polite answer included a map with a red dot on the river near the bridge marked as cruise ship port. Maybe that is an excursion boat spot, but certainly not for an ocean going cruise ship. The e-mail said that there was no public bus yet to go from the port to the bridge. I think we have a case of communication break down. ;)

The cruise line still hasn't sent our paperwork, so I don't know where exactly the ship will dock. All ship excursions go to Hiroshima, a city we will visit later on a guided land trip, so we have to find a way to Kintai bridge on our own. Without any knowledge of Japanese, we thought of taking a taxi unless there is a public bus right from the port to the bridge. We are in Iwanuki on a Saturday.

Thank you very much for your willingness to read this.:)

Floridiana,

the cruise ship port is a bit north (east) of the "dot on the river"...

Here is the port info:

http://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/cruise/detail/042/index.html

It is about 5miles from there to the bridge. Frankly, a taxi would be the easiest way to go. There are buses to the bridge from the Iwakuni railway station and there should be a bus station close to the port to get to the station, but with bus changes and frequency this is not worth the hassle.

I guess you found:

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6177.html

already.

Thank you so much for your help. I will have a look at all of our ports! Yes, I found the Japan-guide website, thank you. I am so exited to finally go there since I have always wanted to do so. My oldest Japan guide books are 30 years old! :)

Hi Pete, We are also doing the Diamond cruise in April and were disappointed to see the Osaka trips so quickly booked up. We think this is because the day we arrive in Tokyo is a Public Holiday and the few days before will therefore be used as a long weekend. Also it is just coming up to Golden Week which is a very busy holiday period so we think that Princess is having difficulty getting buses for trips.

Would you be interested in joining us to share a taxi in Osaka? We are interested in going to the Castle and Gardens and also a Museum of Living and Housing which are about 40 minutes away from the port by public transport. If you are interested in meeting up, contact us via this message board and we will try to work out how to contact you on the ship.

Mr & Mrs S (newbies to posting!)