Our apartment in Osaka

We went to Osaka last week to celebrate my mom and my daughter's birthdays. When I was there with my friends in December, we stayed at the Swissotel Nankai Hotel which was very conveniently located within Namba Station. I loved the area so much that I wanted to stay in the same area, but since we were travelling as a family, we explored getting an apartment for a week, the same thing that we did when we celebrated my mom and Sofia's birthdays a year ago in Rio de Janeiro. We got a flat in between Ipanema and Copacobana beaches and it was really a win-win scenario because it was more convenient, we were more comfortable and the cost was only a fraction of what we would have paid had we gotten a hotel. 

View from the plane prior to landing.
One of Osaka's many bridges.

Our apartment contact offered to pick us up from OCAT,
the bus terminal of the airport limosine bus.

Sofia was already able to shop in Daiso while waiting.
You can see the DAISO sign in the background.

We rented our apartment for 8 nights
from Apollo Properties.

Our front door. I was happy it was at street level.
I didn't have to drag my big luggage up.

This is what you see from the entrance.

Everyone is asked to remove shoes at the entrance
so the place is pretty clean.
Umbrellas are also provided for the guests.

They rent this place as separate beds to backpackers,
so lockers are provided for valuable.
Sofia and I claimed 1 locker each for our clothes.

The dining table is just across the kitchenette.

They have two sets of bunk beds.
We paid for 4 adults and Sofia bunked with us for free.
Linens and blankets were provided.

There's a curtained doorway near the second bunk bed that you enter to get to the bathroom.

The first thing you see is the sink and bench.

The only 'weird' thing was the toilet.
They had a plastic toilet seat on top of a squat toilet.
Whenever you flushed, water also came out of the faucet.

It's a far cry from heated toilets with the flushing sound in Swissotel.
We just enjoyed them at the nicer malls instead. Hahaha.

Compared to the toilet, the shower stall was much more impressive.
You can control the water to spray from the top or the side panel.
Toiletries are provided, but towels are not. 

There's also a computer available for use and free wifi.
We just had some trouble with it every 2 days,
but once the office is open and the router is re-set it works again.

Our apartment was just beside the Apollo Properties office.
They owned the building and the one across.

The neighborhood is quiet with some residential buildings.

On our way to the mall,
we always pass a hobby store with an antique phone.
Sofia never saw a working phone that looked like this.

Our apartment was 5 minutes away from this side of Namba Station,
It's on the Namba Parks and Swissotel side.

This was how we stocked our apartment.
Snacks from the Philippines meets Kit-o Kat-o from Japan!

We passed 7-11 the night before for breakfast food.

Breakfast on my Mom's 60th birthday!
Happy birthday again Ma! We love you :)

Flashback: Ma and Fi's birthday trip 2011
at our flat in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Pa's already asking, where are we going next year?

Back at our Osaka Flat:

It was Sofia's first trip as a big girl (no stroller!).
Good thing she had lolo to carry her when she was tired,
and lolo to massage her feet too.

Such a donya. Hahaha.

Sofia and Ninang Ads making birthday cards for gammy
using our Daiso buys.

We surprised my mom with a cupcake on her birthday.

Sofia helped us pick the flavor.

Helping gammy blow the candles.

Family picture. Photoshop needed to insert Timmy.

Ma, Pa and their favorite apo.

I am sure Sofia made them do funny faces.

Sofia not only picked the cupcake,
she ate most of it too.
Note: Sugar Berries in Shinsaibashi has good cupcakes.

Evidence.

We liked our flat because of the location, convenience and price. Sofia liked our flat because she thought the bunk beds were like a jungle gym, and we found a playground across the 7-11 2 minutes down the road.

We went to the playground while waiting for everyone to get ready.

Sofia loves any playground.
That's why she loves Brazil. Hahaha.

Slide.

Gymnast post.
Ninang Ria will be proud.

Color accent red.

We were only able to go once because the other days were rainy,
but it was nice to know there's a playground nearby.

Sofia was playing with the little Japanese girl.

On the bouncy elephant.

The little girl trying to scare the pigeons away.

Wheeeeee... though Sofia may be a bit too old for this.

At the end of our trip,
we secured and filled a third locker with all our shopping.

It was also a pleasant surprise that our landlord, Bruce,
offered to drop us off again at OCAT to catch the airport bus.

Thank you Bruce of Apollo Properties.
We will definitely get in touch for a flat when we come back. Just Saying.

You can check out their apartments at http://www.apolloproperties-osaka.com/.