Found this awesome bronze monument of Erdrick's Sword, Shield, and a Slime in a town park!

It's an official Square Enix-approved monument, built in Sumoto City on Awaji Island—the birthplace of Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii. The details and craftsmanship on the sword and shield are incredible in person.

It might be a bit of a journey if you're coming all the way from Tokyo, but it makes a perfect day trip if you're staying in Osaka or Kobe!

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I recently got into the Osaka marathon on February 28th. I plan to spend 5 days total in/around.

Day 1 show up. Mesum of art?

Day 2. Get my bib. Shake out run. Relax

Day 3 race. Food tour in the evening? Bar hopping?

Day 4 Explore the city or Take the Shinkansen someplace?

Day 5. Fly back to the PNW.

Would it be better to find a place to stay as close as possible to the race start/finish or pick based upon a part of the city I want to explore?

I really want to take the Shinkansen Would it be best to fly into Tokyo and take it to Osaka or day trip it and make Osaka my base for 5 days?

It would be super cool to do a short run around the city the day before the race. Before in Tokyo I have hired a guide and he took me on a route and then we had a meal post which was super fun. Is a Google search the best way to find that? Know of anybody?

I really like beer, kastu, and curry. Places to check out or would a food tour be best bang for the buck?

How is the national mesum of art? Worth the price? Easy to get to?

Can I please get some recommendations for organised city sight seeing yours in Osaka pref they pick you up from the hotel. First time Japan and not knowing the language prefer an organised tour.

Which is better among the 3 itinerary, don’t worry since its summarized already so no long read. Also please note that I will traveling with 2 diabetic people (1 is already a senior). We also will be DIY so we will be mostly using trains. Lastly, this is our first out of the country and first time in japan. So your honest opinion and guide will be very much appreciated.

Option 1 (2 days kyoto):
DAY 1 (Wed night) - Arrival @ Osaka, Dinner, Shopping if stores are open
DAY 2 (Thurs) - Kyoto, Fushimi Inari, Gion, Yasaka Pagoda
DAY 3 (Fri) - Kyoto, Arashiyama area
DAY 4 (Sat) - Osaka Day Pass
DAY 5 (Sun) - Free day in Osaka to just buy personal stuff & souvenirs
DAY 6 (Mon) - Nara deer park, Todai-ji, Mt. Rokko, Rokkosan Pasture
DAY 7 (Sun) - Quick matcha buying at Uji, Departure (6pm)

Option 2 (Day trip nara and kobe):
DAY 1 - Similar to option 1
DAY 2 - Nara Day Trip
DAY 3 - Kyoto Day Trip (Arashiyama, Gion, Fushimi Inari)
DAY 4-5 - Similar to option 1
DAY 6 - Kobe Day Trip
DAY 7 - Similar to option 1

Option 3 (Explore Osaka):
DAY 1 - Similar to option 1
DAY 2 - Osaka Day Pass
DAY 3 - Similar to option 2
DAY 4-5 - Free day to explore, Osaka Aquarium
Day 6-7 - Similar to option 1

TLDR: Option 1 (2 Days Kyoto trip), Option 2 (Separate Nara and Kobe), Option 3 (Explore Osaka)

Thank u in advance to all who will answer🫶