15 hours of delay and transit from Sydney to Osaka

Here we are again, continuing the journey from Australia to Osaka on flight JQ19.

We had bought direct flight tickets from Qantas very early during the year, before the oxygen tanks explosions, before the plunging flight incident. Then sometime in September, Qantas announced that they wouldn’t be flying into Japan anymore. Qantas then emailed to inform us that we’ll have to do a stopover in Sydney, then continue the journey with Jetstar from Sydney to Gold Coast and finally Osaka. At Sydney, the Jetstar flight was 2½ hours late, delaying the flight by around the same time. Jetstar, being Jetstar, didn’t bother flying faster to make up for the delay.

Nonetheless, we thought the service on Jetstar wasn’t too bad for a budget airline mainly because we boarded the plane with no expectations, and there’s actually no service unless you requested for it. The attendants were pleasant and genuine unlike Singapore Airlines – where a male flight attendant rolled his eyes when we told him we’d like some more tea.

We’re miffed having to endure the multiple stopovers, and the delay – which meant by the time we arrived in Osaka, most kitchens will be closed and our choices for dinner will be so limited.

However, the overall Jetstar experience was fine, and we arrived in Osaka safe.

Left to right, top to bottom

• Sydney airport, a female tradie takes a mannequin from behind
• Departing Sydney
• Taking off from Sydney
• Departing Gold Coast
• Aerial view of Gold Coast
• Gold Coast to Osaka
• Naoki, 6 hours into the flight
• Giant ferris wheel close to Kansai airport in Osaka

The Observatory Park and Observatory Hotel. Walsh Bay in the background

We were 5 hours ahead of the usual check-in time, but we secured a room after an hour of waiting anyway.

That’s why we love Amora Hotel Jamison. We think that it is also by far the best in the city for the proximity to the shopping strip (not right smack in the middle like Hilton is), the amenities (separate bath and shower) and a view of Walsh Bay.

Moments later, a giant tanker cruises through the bay

Back in June this year, we had the best dining experience at Galileo at The Observatory Hotel. I’m not big on fresh oysters but they complimented the shellfish with a really yummy dressing and had us ordering seconds. We both had the degustation with matching wine, which includes lots of seafood and also a wagyu steak. Mid-course, the unmistakeable scent of roast pork filled the dining room. Unfortunately that dish wasn’t on our menu, but was ordered by another table. We will definitely order that dish if we return to Galileo! Did we mention the sommelier is a dish too?

Another view of Sydney from Amora Jamison

Clothes shopping in Sydney CBD isn’t that much fun. We get more or less the same brands in Melbourne too. That said, we have yet to discover the smaller boutiques in Surrey Hills. However, there are 3 places we keep going back to when in Sydney – Kinokuniya, Graniph and Incu. Kinokuniya is possibly the largest bookstore in Australia with a massive selection of art books. I like the cute printed Tees at Graniph and best of all, the T-shirts fit my 5’2″ frame. Incu has a great but overpriced selection of clothes from Japan, UK and Scandinavia. We head to Incu each time to finger through the beautifully tailored wares, never buying a single thing. Then later at home, we log on to zozo.jp and selectsquare.com to hunt down the same jackets for less.

Why is this playground empty?

Naoki