Part 1: Winning the Trip
Let’s start by saying that I enter any and every giveaway I see, so at this point my algorithm shows me so many.
It was August 12, 2025. The email came in at 6:02 a.m. I rolled over, still half asleep, and when I read what it said, I literally sat straight up in my bed. I was so shocked I was shaking.
Like I said before, I enter a lot of giveaways, so I honestly didn’t remember what this one was. I went on a deep search trying to figure out who this Matt person was that was giving me a free trip to Japan.
Once I saw that he was legit and I finally believed it, I ran to my mother’s room, woke her up, and told her the good news.
She was not as enthusiastic about it as I was. 😂
My parents don’t stop me from traveling, but they definitely don’t like me constantly going places.
Telling My Family
So, I immediately sent my sister a voice message:
“Jessi, I was gonna call you, but I was like let me not wake you up. But I’m literally shaking, trying not to cry, because you know how I’m always entering all these prizes and giveaways and stuff like that? I actually just won one! I was looking like, is this legit? Did I actually just win? But it looks like I actually did just win a trip for two people to Japan! Oh my gosh! I just confirmed the prize, and they’re gonna get back to me to work out everything. But if this is really true, we’re going to Japan for free!”
I called her like five minutes later because she was taking too long to respond lol.
My dad was my next phone call.
His immediate response was:
“Oh Lord.”
Fast Forward a Few Months…
Fast forward to a couple of months later. I stayed in contact with Matt, decided on a date, and got all the documents that were needed sent to him.
During this whole process, I was still in disbelief that this was actually happening. My sis was in even more disbelief than me.
Then the day finally came when it was time to fly out to Japan.
Finally On Our Way to Japan
We arrived at the airport super early and had to wait in line for hours before we could even go through TSA.
I was operating on about three hours of sleep, but I didn’t care because I was on my way to Japan!!
For free!!!!
We had our first flight, which was about 3 hours.
It was that second 14-hour flight that got me.
I was so tired I couldn’t focus on watching TV, yet I couldn’t seem to fall asleep. Which is unusual for me because I’m someone who always sleeps on planes.
On top of that, it was FREEZING on that plane.
Seven hours into that flight, I was ready to strap on a parachute and jump. 😂
Part 2: Arriving in Osaka
We finally arrived in Osaka, Japan!
We took a taxi with MK Airport Transfer Service and had a great experience with them. I highly recommend their services.
Our Hotel
We stayed at Quintessa Hotel Osaka Shinsaibashi Comic & Books for 3 nights.
The hotel lobby was very nice looking. I loved the aesthetic.
The room itself was quite tiny, but that’s to be expected when staying in Japan.
We got in so late that first night that after checking in, we crashed.
Our First Morning
The next morning, we had breakfast at our hotel.
It was very different from what I’m used to, but it was very good.
Except for the natto, which is a traditional Japanese food made from whole soybeans fermented with the bacterium Bacillus Subtillis. It’s an acquired taste and definitely not for me.
Part 3: Absolute Osaka Food Tour
Later that day, we had our Absolute Osaka Food Tour with our tour guide, Miyuki, who was amazing. I highly recommend her to anyone.
During the tour, we walked around Dotonbori, got the iconic picture with the Glico Running Man, and visited the Hozenji Mizukake Fudo-son Temple.
And then we finally got to the food portion.
I was lucky enough to try a range of different foods.
Ending the Tour With Dessert
We finished our food tour with Taiyaki for dessert, and it was absolutely delicious.
10/10 experience.
Part 4: Cherry Blossom Tour
The next day, we had a Cherry Blossom Tour that morning. We arrived at the meeting spot early, so we decided to walk around for a bit.
We ended up walking into this Japanese traditional craft shop. They had so many beautiful things for sale, but they were way too high for my blood.
Trying Fresh Mitarashi Dango
We met up with our tour guide and the rest of the group and started our tour.
One of our first stops was this place making fresh mitarashi dango. Mitarashi dango is a traditional Japanese sweet and savory snack made with small rice dumplings on a skewer and covered in a soy sauce glaze.
The first time I had it, it was store-bought, and I thought I didn’t like it.
Turns out, I just needed to have it fresh.
It was absolutely delicious.
Exploring the Market
We walked through the market to get some food before going to see the cherry blossoms, and all the food in there looked SO fresh.
The eyeballs on the fish were so clear. That’s how fresh we’re talking.
We also picked up some strawberries, and little did I know that about an hour later, I was going to fall in love with strawberries in Japan.
Raw Eggs?!
We then stopped by a restaurant called Tamago no Tamako Karahori Shop, where they served tamago kake gohan, which is raw egg over rice.
They had all-you-can-eat raw eggs.
Now, I did NOT know that raw eggs were safe to eat.
To be honest, I was scared to try it, but when in Rome…
And it was surprisingly delicious!
Finally, the Cherry Blossoms 🌸
We finally made it to the cherry blossoms, and they were very pretty.
Our guide laid out a whole picnic for us, which included the strawberries we picked up earlier.
And y’all…
That first bite I took changed my life.
It was the perfect amount of sweet and the perfect amount of juiciness. I ate so many that my stomach started hurting.
So here’s a tip from me:
When you visit Japan, go easy on the strawberries. 🍓
Exploring a Little More
Our tour ended there, so my sister and I walked around the area some more, did a little shopping, and eventually headed back to the hotel.
What Happens in Osaka… 🤭
Later that night, we went to a Macho Bar and a nightclub.
Now THAT is a story that’s going to stay under wraps.
What happens in Osaka, stays in Osaka. 😂
Part 5: Universal Studios
The next day was my big sis’s 35th birthday, and she wanted to spend it at Universal Studios!
I cannot express the amazing time we had there!!
Living Out Her Harry Potter Dreams ⚡
My sister got to live out her Harry Potter dreams and get a wand.
She was the chosen one. 😂
We had the best Butterbeer I’ve ever had and rode Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. Even though Harry Potter isn’t really my thing, it was still so much fun.
A Special Moment 💚🩷
We ran into Elphaba and Glinda, and they literally stopped taking pictures with everyone else and just interacted with us.
It was such a special moment, and I really wish I had gotten a video of it.
We had more strawberry-flavored stuff, which was, of course, absolutely delicious.
We saw more characters throughout the day, and everywhere we went, people would see my sister’s birthday sticker and tell her happy birthday. It made the day even more special.
Super Nintendo World 🍄⭐
We ended the day at Super Nintendo World, and my inner child was SCREAMING.
It was so amazing to see in person.
Goodbye Osaka, Hello Tokyo
The next morning, it was officially time to say goodbye to Osaka.
We packed up our things, checked out of our hotel, and headed to the train station to catch the bullet train to Tokyo.
The hustle and bustle of the train station was an interesting experience. We even ended up on the wrong train. Thankfully, we were able to get off at the next stop and switch to the right one.
Once we were finally on the correct train and headed to Tokyo, I was able to eat my bento box I bought at the station. It was really good.
And one of the best parts of the ride was getting to see Mt. Fuji out the window! Seeing it in person was such a cool moment and definitely made the train ride even more memorable.
Osaka was such an amazing way to start our time in Japan. From trying new foods and seeing the cherry blossoms to celebrating my sister’s birthday at Universal Studios, we made so many memories in just a few days.
But our trip wasn’t over yet…
Next stop: Tokyo! 🗼
I’ll be sharing everything we got into in Tokyo in Part 2 of our Japan adventure.
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