Traveling to Osaka by Train

I had an unforgettable trip to Osaka.  It was an exciting, unusual, and fun-filled adventure.  I survived my trip to Osaka and back.  

From 5:15 a.m., I started my day.  I walked early in the morning with J to catch a bus to the subway to Nagoya Station.  

We were confused about how to purchase tickets, which became our first nightmare.  It's not so easy to navigate chaotic Japanese train stations (or when you come from Hawaii and there are no trains).  If you don't speak Japanese, it can also be difficult to navigate your way around Japan.

I was able to use my Japanese and bombarded a poor soul behind the ticketing desk with questions on the best deal to Osaka, which I scored with the Seishun 18 Kippu for 115000 Yen for two people.  Expensive, I know, but the  best deal of them all for a student on a budget...  

For our price, we had to ride the local trains which weren't as straight forward as I imagined.

From Nagoya station, you ride a train to Ogaki and transfer.  

From Ogaki you ride a train to Maibara and transfer.  

From Maibara, you ride a train to Osaka.  

The crowd above is nothing in comparison to Tokyo 

The trains come within minutes a part, so you have to figure things out rather quickly.  It's very crowded during rush hour and people can be pushy, especially the old ladies!  

On these trains, don't expect to sit down either.  Just because you bought a ticket, doesn't mean you get a seat!  

By 11:00 a.m., we finally made it to Osaka.  I felt such a sense of relief.  I had to be at an appointment at 2:00 p.m., so I knew everything would be fine now (or so I thought).

I almost didn't make it to my appointment.

Thankfully, with persistence and determination to be on time, we asked a ton of Japanese people where to go and they gladly assisted.  I don't think we could have done it without them.

I really burned some calories.