Japan (Oct2013): Day 1: Singapore to Osaka Kansai. Stay at Osaka. ~ Linchakin

For my recent solo trip (26 Oct to 6 Nov 2013), here's my itinerary:
Day 1 26/10: Arrival at Kansai Airport. Stay at Osaka
Day 2 27/10: Osaka. Stay at Osaka
Day 3 28/10: Daytrip to Ise's Okage Yokocho and Inner Shrine. Stay at Osaka
Day 4 29/10: Domestic flight from Kansai Airport to Sapporo via Peach Airlines. Stay at Sapporo
Day 5 30/10: Daytrip to Otaru. Stay at Hakodate
Day 6 31/10: Visit Onuma-koen and Hirosaki. Overnight train Akebono from Hirosaki to Tokyo Ueno.
Day 7 1/11: Visit Karuizawa + Shibukawa + J-World. Stay at Tokyo
Day 8 2/11: Visit Yokohama + Tokyo. Overnight train Sunrise Seto from Tokyo to Yonago.
Day 9 3/11: Yonago to Tottori. Visit Tottori. Stay at Tottori
Day 10 4/11: Tottori to Kinosaki onsen. Stay at Kinosaki onsen
Day 11 5/11: Kinosaki onsen to Kyoto. Visit Toyosato and Nagahama. Stay at Kyoto
Day 12 6/11: Visit Kyoto. Kyoto to Kansai Airport.

Misc Expenses:
International Flight (by Singapore Airlines): promo rate S$699 (include tax)
Domestic Flight (1 way Osaka Kansai to Hokkaido Shin Chitose, by Peach Airlines): 6005yen (include tax) -add additional 1600yen for check in luggage
7day JR Pass: 28300yen (S$370 based on the exchange rate on the day of purchase)
5day Kintetsu Rail Pass: 3700yen (bought at Kansai Airport)
B-mobile data sim card (1GB version, can use for up to 14days or until 1GB is used up): 3980yen

Accommodation:
26/10, 27/10, 28/10 (3 nights): Osaka's Hotel Raizen South, 5600yen for 3 nights (1900yen per night)
29/10 (1 night): Sapporo's Aspen Hotel, 5000yen for 1 night.
30/10 (1 night): Hakodate's Smile Hotel, 2700yen for 1 night
31/10 (Overnight train Akebono): Free bunks for JR Pass holders were all full, so I had to top up 6300yen for a paid bunk.
1/11 (1 night): Tokyo's Palace Japan Hotel, 3500yen for 1 night
2/11 (Overnight train Sunrise Seto): Free bunk for JR Pass holder.
3/11 (1 night): Tottori's Toyoko Inn Tottori Eki Minami guchi, 5480yen for 1 night
4/11 (1 night): Kinosaki Onsen's Kawaguchiya Honkan, 6300yen for 1 night
5/11 (1 night): Kyoto's Piece Hostel, 3900yen for 1 night

Day 1 (26/10/13): Singapore to Osaka Kansai. Stay at Osaka

Time breakdown:
1345 Depart from Singapore via Singapore Airlines
2045 Plane touchdown at Kansai Airport
2110 Cleared immigration
2120-2150 Went to buy Kintetsu Rail Pass, and then Haruka + ICOCA package, exchanged JR Pass, and made seat reservations for some of my train journeys.
2216 Boarded Haruka Express at Kansai Airport towards Tennoji
2250 Arrive at Hotel Raizan South near Dobutsuenmae station in Osaka

Expenditure:
3700yen 5days Kintetsu Rail Pass
4000yen Haruka Express + ICOCA package (2way package)
9450yen Top up for Overnight train Akebono from Hirosaki to Ueno for day 6.
200yen Subway from Tennoji to Dobutsuenmae
590yen Katsudon
796yen Pocari, bottled water, cocoa drink, cup noodle, 2 panda choc biscuits.

Nothing much that's significant on this day, since it was already night time by the time I arrive at Osaka.

In-flight meal. Think it was some sort of fish with rice. Can't really remember. The round rice cracker is really nice though.

Ice Cream dessert.

I liked this rice cracker served with the in-flight meal so much that I asked for a few extras to munch on during the flight.
I was eventually able to find this being sold in Osaka as well as in Singapore.

Luckily our flight arrived at Osaka Kansai Airport earlier than expected, so I didn't had to rush like mad to the tourist counter at Kansai airport in order for me to buy my Kintetsu Rail Pass. I was originally planning to give up purchasing that since my flight's arrival time and the counter's closing hours are kinda close.

I tried to purchase this pass from Singapore, but JTB informed me that they had ran out of stock (even though I enquired about it about 3 weeks in advanced to my trip) so my only hope was to buy from Kansai Airport.

This is the Kintetsu Rail Pass which I bought (3700yen, 5 days version) : http://www.kintetsu.co.jp/foreign/english/useful/ticket/rpw1-3.html

After managing to get my Kintetsu Rail Pass, I then went to the JR office to exchange for my 7days JR pass using the voucher I had bought from Singapore. Since JR office closes later than the counter which sells Kintetsu railpass, so I wasn't too worried about it.

Other than exchanging for my JR Pass, I also bought the Haruka + ICOCA package:

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2359_icoca_haruka.html .

This package is actually quite value for money if you are planning to take the JR Haruka Express train and don't have any other railpass coverage for your journey between Kansai Airport and Osaka/Kyoto.

Haruka Express train is the airport express train operated by the JR company which travels between Kansai Airport to Tennoji, then Shin-Osaka, then Kyoto station. ICOCA is kinda like our Singapore's EZ-link card, which is like a card with stored value in it, and you simply use it to tap in/tap out of gantries at train stations. There won't be any discounts in the train fares since it's not a railpass, but by using this card, you won't need to buy a single trip train ticket every time you want to take a train/subway.

That being said, Haruka Express is not the only airport express train linking Kansai Airport to downtown Osaka though. There's another airport express train operated by the Nankai company, which travels from Kansai Airport to Shin-Imamiya and Namba in Osaka. However, this train doesn't go to Kyoto. So if you are going Kyoto (or travelling to Kansai Airport from Kyoto), then Haruka Express is the train which you will take.

Anyway, after my 35mins train ride from Kansai Airport to Tennoji station in Osaka, I had to simply take a short subway transfer to Dobutsuen-mae station where my hotel for my first 3 nights is located at.

Hotel Raizan South is a no-frills "hotel" for travellers on a budget. There are no ensuite toilets/bathrooms, and instead, you will have shared toilets on every level...whereas the shower rooms are on the ground floor.

Each room is really small (see pic) but for the price of about 2000yen a night (about S$24), I found it adequate for my use. There's even a tv and a mini fridge in my room, so I preferred this over sleeping in shared bunk beds in hostels.