Dear Matthew and Toby
Our final city on our Japanese adventure was Osaka. We boarded our last bullet train at Hiroshima Station and headed to Shin-Osaka station. Once we arrived we took one stop to Osaka station and found our way to our hotel, which was literally attached to the station. After a bit of a break in our hotel room, we headed to another kids indoor playground called Kids Plaza. This playground was over three stories and you both had fun exploring. It also had some science areas (a bit like Scitech) but your favourite section was by far the kids 'mini grocery store' where you got to 'buy' food, scan it and pay for it.
That night we had our last authentic Japanese dinner at a lovely restaurant a few stories below our hotel room. We had bento style dinners and celebrated a fantastic holiday. Your dad loved the sake. Afterwards we bought a famous Rikuro cheesecake which I basically devoured myself because your dad thought it tasted like a giant scrambled egg cake.
The next day we went to the Osaka Aquarium, which is one of the best aquariums in the world. It had levels and levels of sealife, including otters, dolphins, fish, giant crabs, seals, penguins and even whale sharks! We had a great time exploring the aquarium and then afterwards went on the giant ferris wheel nearby (the biggest in the world). We had an amazing view of Osaka. In the afternoon we played at a local playground for a while before heading back to our hotel. That evening we headed to Kansai Airport as we were heading home early in the morning so had decided to stay overnight at the airport hotel. We filled up our bags with yummy chocolate treats from the many convenience stores at the airport and enjoyed our final night on holiday.
The next morning we flew home. We were all very happy to come home after a wonderful but full-on two weeks, however I now wish we were back in this beautiful country exploring as a family of four! It has made me realise just how important travel is for families, how it can really strengthen bonds and I can't wait to go on our next adventure soon-ish! I hope we have instilled in you both a love of travel and a sense of adventure.
Love you boys,
Mum xxx
