Here it is... our Osaka-Kyoto tour (5 days 4 nights)... without a tour guide... Rhythm... We'll be traveling on our own, researching, gathering information, booking accommodation, choosing attractions, and figuring out routes ourselves. In short, we'll be doing everything ourselves... This time, we're only traveling with two people, so we've chosen the places we like the most and want to visit the most... Enough with the introduction, let's get started.

For this trip, we chose to travel during the middle of November 2016, between November 15-19, 2016. This is because our goal was to see the changing leaves, which, if you're going to see them, you have to choose your timing well. If you go too early, the leaves haven't changed yet, and if you go too late, you might see wilted leaves. So, you have to time it right. If you want a good atmosphere and beautiful leaves, then this is the time to go.

Once the date is selected, the next thing is the flight ticket. For this trip, we will choose the cheapest ticket for an airline that lands at Kansai Airport, Osaka. There are many airlines to choose from, but we chose NokScoot because we got a good promotion. The round-trip price was around 10,000 baht. It's a good deal, so we booked it right away.

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Note: For this airline, I read a lot of reviews because it was my first time traveling abroad, so I was worried. So I read a lot. It was said that this airline abandons people because they have a policy of overselling tickets, and those who are slow can miss their flight. From my own experience, I went early to wait for check-in. It opened 30 minutes before, so I waited. In the end, I was able to check in without any problems. I was confident that I would fly and that I would have a seat.

However, I would like to criticize the customer service at Don Mueang Airport in Thailand. It was not terrible, but the service was slow and the staff were chatting among themselves. This is in contrast to the service at Kansai Airport, where the same airline provided excellent service. The staff were quick and attentive, ensuring that check-in was fast and efficient. They didn't waste time chatting or dawdling. Once the counter opened, check-in was very quick. It was a stark contrast to the experience in Thailand.

The in-flight entertainment... is a ground service, not very impressive, but the interior of the plane is good. The seats are wide, the staff is friendly, and there are no movies to watch. If you're traveling for a long time, I recommend bringing a book or movie to watch to avoid getting bored...

Continued... (The more I write, the more emotional I get)... When we got our tickets... Oh... I'd like to give you a little advice. We planned this trip for a year because we wanted cheap tickets, so we had to keep checking the market price. When there was a promotion, we booked it for the next year.

Let's continue... Then we planned our trip, starting from the airport. We will go to our accommodation. How to get from the airport? Where to visit? For this trip, we planned to travel on the 1st (the first day of the trip), travel during the day. Arrive in Osaka at 4-5 pm. The goal is to check into our accommodation. In the evening, we might go sightseeing near our accommodation, such as shopping and watching the night lights.

On the 2nd and 3rd day, we will be spending 2 full days in Kyoto. We want to visit as many of the famous temples and historical sites in Kyoto as possible. Since it's our first time here, we want to make the most of it. We have a rough plan to visit Kiyomizu-dera Temple, Tofuku-ji Temple, Kiyomizu-dera Temple, Ginkaku-ji Temple, and Kinkaku-ji Temple. (Stay tuned for the next episodes!)

Today, we plan to visit Universal Osaka. We will spend the entire day here, as our main goal is to experience the Harry Potter attractions.

On the 5th day, we will give you the opportunity to visit Osaka Castle for half a day. We will stay here for a while. They say that you haven't arrived in Osaka if you don't come here. Hehe. And from Osaka Castle, we will travel back to Bangkok. We expect to arrive in Thailand around 8-9 pm. Then we will go home and rest. Something like that.

The end... for the rough plan... for this year-end trip, if anyone has enough money, they don't have to wait for promotions or choose other cheap airlines. Thai airlines or Japanese airlines are fine. And try to plan your trip roughly or use our plan, it doesn't matter. But I'm telling you, it doesn't look tight, but it's actually very tight.

Snippet... Tips... before encountering the real thing in the next episodes

Apart from booking your flight, the most important thing for this trip is the JR Pass, which is used for train travel in Japan. It is recommended to buy it in Thailand from a reputable source or a travel booth before your trip. This is better than buying it in Japan. Once you have purchased it, you can pick it up at Kansai Airport. You should also check if the JR Pass allows you to travel between cities and which train lines it covers. When you buy it, you can ask the seller about this and how many days you will be traveling.

Sample image of the ticket we bought in Thailand

What else you need to prepare is... Universal Osaka tickets. This is as important as the JR Pass. You must buy it in Thailand because if you buy it there, let me tell you, there are a lot of people. If we wait, we will wait a long time. We will also have less time to play the rides. It is highly recommended to buy it in advance.

For this ticket... the other ticket you need to buy is the expressway ticket for playing the rides. This is important (high voice). If you want to play the rides without waiting, you should buy it. If you don't play, it's okay, but it's a bit strange not to play when you go there. You should buy it. And there are 2 types: type 3 and type 7.

Option 3 allows you to play 3 rides without waiting, with express access. Option 7 allows you to play more rides, around 7, according to the types they specify. In summary, you need to buy an entrance ticket and a ride ticket. Can you buy the express pass? Yes, but you have to wait to play if you want to go on the rides. And I can tell you that there are a lot of people, like a lot. When you see it, you might say it's not worth it and you should have just paid for it. You can't wait like this. We Thais don't go abroad often, so why waste time waiting? Just buy it, right?

Example of Express Pass...For the Express Pass, we received a sheet of paper written in both Japanese and English. It indicated the time and the rides we could access with the pass. We purchased the Express Pass because we wanted to ride the Harry Potter ride, which was our main goal. The other two rides, the Dinosaur ride and the VIP parade viewing spot, were considered bonuses as we weren't particularly interested in them. (The specific rides included in the Express Pass may vary depending on the booth or agent where it was purchased.)

Here are the most important things to prepare before you go... because for other trips, we can just buy things like train tickets to Universal, bus tickets to each temple, and limousine tickets to get from the airport to our accommodation (if you don't use the limousine service, you can take the train from the airport, it's connected). The end.

Stay tuned for the next episode.

The first episode of Wat Jing Jork has come to an end. Please stay tuned for the next episode. I will try to write it as soon as possible. I can't tell you how many episodes there will be, but I will try to make them as detailed as possible, as far as I can remember. It's been a while since I've been there… and it's taken me a while to write this. 555+