Well, Well, Wales! (Part 1): The Shift to Cardiff!

- June 23-24, 2026, Tuesday to Wednesday. 

- Taking off from my previous entry, I rushed to London's Paddington Station to catch my late afternoon train ride to Cardiff, the capital of Wales. Wales is another country in the United Kingdom, and is located west of England. The trip from London took around two hours, and I was in Cardiff in no time! The first thing I noticed was how compact Cardiff was, so it was easy for me to walk from Cardiff Central Railway Station to my hotel, Angel Hotel.

I AM HERE!!

Angel Hotel. Despite being an "actual hotel", it does not have air conditioning. I was given a small desk fan at least but....huhu. (Just when I thought I could escape the great heat wave.)

Hotel lobby.

- I had a bit of sunlight left because it was summer, so I used my time to not only look for a place to eat, but also to familiarize myself with the layout of the city. I ended up eating at Jollibee, and is the first of a few times I ate at Jollibee in the United Kingdom. The menu, as expected, was a bit different from what we have in the Philippines. Taste is almost the same, but chicken sizes could be bigger.

Streets of Cardiff.

TASTE OF HOME.

FEELS LIKE HOME.

LOOKS LIKE HOME. Hahahaha. (And because dishes in the UK are generally blander than Asian flavors, my meals in Jollibee across the UK have been some of the best hahahaha.)

- While preparing for my trip months back, I've read in many articles that many people tend to skip Cardiff when traveling to the UK as it is a smaller industrial capital city compared to the flashier capitals of, say, London and Edinburgh. However, one of my favorite singers was born in Cardiff and I've long wanted to visit the Welsh capital. Little did I know that Cardiff had its own charm, with the convenience of being able to see most main sites on foot because of its compactness.

- After a heart Irish breakfast from my hotel the following morning, I crossed the street to visit the Cardiff Castle. Originally built in the 11th century, with Roman walls built earlier, functioned as a fortress and a lordly residence. During World War II, parts of the palace were used as air raid shelters. Cardiff Castle may not look too big at first glance, but boy did I spend the whole morning there! So much is hidden behind its walls!

Can't believe that my hotel breakfast buffet was cheaper than expected!

Castle apartments.

Main castle! The castle itself doesn't have anything in it. Entry to the castle is free, but tickets are necessary to enter the other buildings like the apartments.

On top of the castle. (You can see Principality Stadium at the back.)

Llandaff Cathedral from afar.

Another look at the apartments.

Arab room.

Banquet hall.

Library.

Castle clocktower.

Paddington Bear is here!

Entrance to the air raid shelters.

How the air raid shelters were used by soldiers.

Honestly I was just glad I had companions inside because the tunnels gave a really eerie feeling.

Outside the castle walls.

Castle's main entrance.

- I later walked to National Museum Cardiff. Opened in 1912, it functions as both an art and science museum. 
 

Museum facade.

Basking shark!

Whale skeleton.

Archaeopteryx model and fossil replica.

I really love my dinosaurs, you can tell.

Mammoth. Literally.

Museum's main hall.

Art galleries.

- I thought of also passing by the Museum of Cardiff, which is a totally different museum found in the heart of Cardiff, in contrast to the National Museum which was a bit away from the center. This museum is located inside the old library and mainly shows the story of Cardiff. Despite the age of the building, the museum itself was just opened in 2011. The museum was rather small but informative.

Museum of Cardiff.

I absolutely love the interactive exhibits!

Entrance to the old library, which the museum has preserved! Look at those tiles!!

The museum has a dedicated area to special exhibits. This time, it was about the Sikh diaspora in Cardiff!

- I thought of finding lunch inside Cardiff Market, which is located across the Museum of Cardiff. I didn't have much luck since many of the stores decided to close early or for the day because of the intense heat. There were a couple of interesting stores like old record stores and artsy knick knacks, but nothing that really interested me at that time. I did get to buy the famous Welsh cake, which some would say tastes like somewhere in between a short bread and a scone. I liked it as it wasn't too sweet!

Cardiff Market.

Market interior.

Welsh cake!!

Market interior from the second level.

- I ended up having lunch at Jollibee because it was the only place I could find with proper air conditioning. I wanted to try other items in the menu anyway. 

Explored some of the arcades I came across. Cardiff is a city of arcades after all!

City center.

One of the things I like about Jollibee UK is that the burgers do feel like actual beef burgers, and the buns were spongey and light!

- The rest of the afternoon was spent walking around window shopping, and winding down at the hotel after an early dinner just to catch up on some rest. I needed to reserve my energy for the days to come anyway. Cardiff so far has my heart, but the city center was not the only place to see in Cardiff - that's why I'm glad I had one more day to see the other sides of Cardiff!

I "Kansai" I'm In Love (Part 4): The Glory of Osaka and Japanese Pop Culture!

- Nov. 20-21, 2023, Monday to Tuesday.

- Ah, Osaka!! Osaka is one of the centers of Japanese cultures and gastronomy, and is a city I longed to revisit after Kyoto. A decade back, my family went to Japan with a tour group and while I had good impressions of Osaka, I barely got to see it. Now, I have my chance.

- I left Kyoto with a limited-stop train from Kawaramachi Station, and arrived in Osaka Umeda Station, which a busting district north of the city center. Since I felt more comfortable using the metro system in Osaka, I bought my ICOCA Card, which is a transportation card that can be used all over the Kansai area (including Kyoto - and the ICOCA card can be purchased in Kyoto train ticket machines as well.) I used the ICOCA card to take the metro to Namba Station, where the heart of Osaka downtown is (and where my hostel is too).

- I stayed at Acro Capsule Hotel Namba Dotonbori; it is a relatively new capsule hotel, but it was one of the best accommodation risks I took. I had the best stay there, and the location was superb. It was close to Namba metro station, and a little hop to the Glico Man sign, Dotonbori Street, and Shinsaibashi. 

- That evening, after checking in, I took a stroll along Shinsaibashi Shopping Street, and finally decided to spend the rest of the night in Dotonbori. I had dinner in Ichiran Ramen, which is one of the most globally recognized ramen chains. Ichiran started in the 1960s in Fukuoka, until it expanded to other places in Japan in the 1990s. Now, Ichiran Ramen chains can be found in other countries as well. They're well known for their hearty ramen broth, tender tonkotsu slices, and al dente ramen noodles. The restaurant itself is known for their single-person seating where customers don't even need to say a word to the staff. (Perfect for introverts, not like me. HAHA.)

Shinsaibashi.

Finally made it back to Dotonbori!

Hmmmmm. Reminds me of Sailor Moon.

Oh, there's the famous giant crab from Kanidouraku Dotombori-Honten.

The chaos that is Dotonbori at night. (During the day, it's less crowded, I promise.)

Quirky restaurant displays.

Ichiran, finally! I had to line up for an hour perhaps.

This is what it looks like from the outside.

Glico Man! I took this photo from below the bridge.

Don Quijote, the star of tax-free souvenir shopping.

Dotonbori, my love.

- The following morning I had an early start by going to the Osaka Castle (closest stations are the Tanimachi-Yon Chome Station, and Osaka-jo Koen Station). Built in 1583, the castle is one of the most iconic landmarks of Osaka. It was built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a renowned samurai warlord and uniter of Japan. The current structure was built in 1995, after the castle was destroyed for countless times throughout history. The castle functions mainly as a museum, and I had limited photos of the museum because photography wasn't allowed in its main galleries.

The Osaka Castle appears golden during right after sunrise. Also, please notice my amazing new second-hand kimono set from Kyoto.

It appears as if I had the castle all to myself.

It looks so....symmetric. And I love it.

This is the castle's base, made of interlocking stones.

Details of the castle.

The only interesting thing I was allowed to photograph in the museum: a holographic depiction of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's life.

Few from the castle's 8th floor.

Just look at that detail.

At the second floor, there is a chance to wear a real samurai helmet and vest for a fee. Fortunately I had my kimono on, so I look very authentic. Also, how did they go to war with these ridiculously large helmets?!

 

By the way, this kind of helmet is called a "kawari kabuto" or "strange helmet". The term refers to samurai helmets that have fantastic shapes (like the one on my head), and can be influenced from animals, Japanese mythology, and other unusual shapes. The shapes help show one's presence during war.

After the photographer takes a photo of you in front of the green screen, they will add a nice background for the complete samurai feel.

The shachihoko (left) and the crouching tiger (right), symbols of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's prestige.

Castle moat.

I had breakfast at a Lawson branch inside the castle grounds. I was starving, as you can tell.

The most interesting thing I bought was a ramen-flavored noodle sandwich.

- From the museum, I took the train from Tanimachi-Yon Chome Station to Namba Station, all the way to Namba Station (go to the Nankai Line side of the station). From there, I walked all the way to Namba Yasaka Shrine. The temple is known for its larger-than-life lion's head, and a temple that combines Shinto and Buddhist beliefs. It is said to have been built in the 300s AD in order to help cure an epidemic. However, the actual lion's head was built in 1975.

I match the temple's colors!

Reminds me of the Lion-turtle in Avatar the Last Airbender!

This insect landed on me.

Shinto shrine in Namba Yasaka Shrine.

A closer look at the Shinto shrine.

From the side.

- I later took the train from Namba Nankai to Sumiyoshi-taisha (Sumiyoshi-taisha Station, Wakayamashi Line). This grand shrine was founded by the Shinto priest Tamomi no Sukune in 211 AD. The temple is also known for its taiko-bashi (or taiko-drum bridge) that welcomes visitors shortly after entering the temple premises. The bridge is called as such because of its curved appearance, and with its reflection on the water, it looks like a round taiko drum. (There are more taiko bridges in various temples across Japan.)

Entrance.

With the taiko-bashi.

Sumiyoshi-style shrine.

This type of Shinto architecture has been adapted all over Japan because of this temple.

Peek.

I like how well-preserved the temple shrines are.

- I headed back to Namba Station after visiting Sumiyoshi-taisha, and decided to have KFC. This was a big deal for me, because in case you didn't know, KFC is as Japanese as it is American. In the 1970s, KFC Japan marketed its chicken to be an American favorite and perfect as a Christmas meal - especially since turkey (which is more commonly served at special American gatherings) isn't readily available in Japan. Hence, the Japanese associating KFC with Christmas. Since Christmas was coming up, I thought why not try Japan's KFC. Unfortunately, I found out shortly that the chicken pieces were small, but the melon soda was a bit unique.

My Japan KFC 2-piece meal. 2 smallll chicken pieces, one small serving of fries, and my interesting melon soda.

- I walked back to my hostel in the early afternoon and fixed some of my things before heading out for the evening. I decided to go to Shinekai (Dobutsu-en Mae  metro station). Shinsekai is an interesting neighborhood. It was built in 1912 based on Western influences (New York and Paris), and maintains this retro charm. The tower's appearance, the lights, and the quirkiness of everything reminded me of old anime or manga art. It is also less overwhelming than Dotonbori, as it is less crowded, but also with less food and shopping choices. Still, this charming neighborhood was the reason why I decided to go dressed up as a male version of one of Japan's most iconic characters. Can you guess who it is?

"In the name of the moon, I'll punish you (in Shinsekai.)"

This is supposed to be a male version but apparently I was very much in character.

I hear someone calling for help!

Just waiting for the monsters to come rolling in!

Penguins.

See how much it looks like I'm in a manga/anime?

After a night of fighting monsters, I'm beat.

It looks like everything was painted with light.

A sumo restaurant - and that means eating food with serving sizes as what the sumo wrestlers would have.

This now-closed iconic pufferfish restaurant.

I'm scared.

The famous Japanese manholes. This one represents Osaka (because I'm in Osaka.)

- Never in my life did I cosplay formally, let alone cosplay in a public place and abroad. But it was an interesting experience. Anyway, I decided not to eat in Shinsekai because I didn't find a restaurant that spoke to me, so I decided to go back to Dotonbori so I'd have more choices.

SUSHI.

Very Japanese.

This is the restaurant. I remember my family wanting to eat here 10 years back, but it had too many people so we ended up eating some place else. Now I had my chance.

I also had takoyaki because Osaka is famous for its takoyaki. It was nice.

- I ended the night fulfilled as I had seen most of what I wanted to see in Osaka. I still had one more day to see and experience more of Osaka - what else does the city have in store? Find out in the next blog!

** Check out the other legs of my Kansai trip!

Part 1 (Kyoto): here 

Part 2 (Kyoto): here

Part 3 (Kyoto): here

Part 5 (Osaka): here