Late last year I went to visit my grandmother in Japan.

We spent the first couple of nights in Osaka to do some shopping.

Mum and I should win awards for cutest luggage. I should warn you, do not put really heavy items in Chocoholic (on the right) or Swimmer luggage, they simply do not hold the weight. the bottom wheels fall off (this is the third or fourth one I bought, I ALWAYS fall for the cute prints.) Mum's polka dot suitcase (on the left) is from a local mall in our hometown. It is extremely sturdy and practical, as it has four wheels. I ended up buying a similar one on the way home, and I'm happy with it.

Our first meal when we arrived at our hotel. I've missed family mart!

I definitely recommend purchasing a Pocket Wifi for rent while in Japan. Mine was super reliable and amazing. Google "Rent Pocket Wifi in Japan" or similar, and do shop around. Rakuten does amazing deals, but get someone proficient in Japanese to help you around the site as it is in Japanese. 

We stayed in Hotel Chuo in Shinimamiya, it is our go-to place for a cheap stay. I know some people have heard that it's a "dodgy area" but we've never had issues. We usually are out all day and only return back to crash, so we have no need for a super luxurious place. The rooms are cozy and clean, there's free coffee, tea and WiFi (I know we rented a Pocket WiFi, but its convinient for people who didn't). Check out how cute the wallpaper is on the Ladies floor!

On the first night, we had a Japanese style room with futons. On the next day, we asked for an extra night, and we got a larger room pm the top floor, with an extra bed (which we used to dump all our shopping on :P)

This floor had normal wallpaper though. Boring.

Stay tuned for the next instalment in my Japan travel diary, where we venture outside - where the real fun begins!