so what's the deal with osaka?

[bluepxl]

i had a japanese friend from tokyo visit me for a weekend. we were talking about my going to japan this summer and someday possibly living there to study the language and what not.

and she kept going on about how tokyo is kinda lame, and how much i'd like osaka.

i dunno though.. i have grown up in houston tx which while business oriented, is still real working class industrial oriented. i have nothing against these people, i am just attracted more to high city life than factory towns.

is that really the way osaka is though? i asked her about it, and she said she'd never been (which i found quite amusing she was suggesting that i would love it). but she was saying that it was really laid back, and everyone she met from osaka is usually real nice and laid back, compared to the tokyonites she has known all her life.

of course i'm not getting up and moving anywhere anytime soon, but i was curious to know what everyone's thoughts on osaka are, especially for a gaijin. i love huge cities, i love lights, i love being able to see lots of shows and lots of people. and one of the biggest things i love about a place like tokyo, are the trains. growing up in houston, everything is spread out and you HAVE to drive to get to anywhere. it sucks, and that is probably the biggest reason i am attracted to a place like tokyo. i hate driving cars, so i want to be able to walk and bike and take trains places, something that is almost just stupid to do in houston (and we don't even have a major train system).

but from what i heard, osaka isn't really like any of those things that tokyo has. i heard it is more of a blue collar industrial town, in which having a car would be most likely needed. is this true, or just lies? i haven't heard the straight verdict on osaka. it sounds nice, cause i do like laid back atmospheres with nice people... but if i have to drive and have no cool places to go and things to see, then it'd be no more than a fun place to visit for a night.

i know some of you live there, so holla back!

[cstaylor]

From the small sample group of kansaijin I've met, you can summarize them in two lines:

- They speak their minds, often without engaging them first
- Everyone thinks they are a comedian (most of the manzai [spelling?] come from the Kansai area), but most just come off as rude assholes

A big plus: very few people in Kansai eat natto, so you won't get that crap pushed on you. Osaka is an industrial city, but you'll be a short train ride away from Kyoto, one of the most beautiful cities in Japan. From Tokyo, you'd need to take a train down to Yokohama and then over to Kamakura to see ancient temples. Most of Tokyo got flattened in the second world war, so there are very few ancient structures that remained. Conversely, Kyoto was untouched by allied bombing, so there are plenty of photography opportunities down there.

[GuyJean]

[quote="cstaylor"]Most of Tokyo got flattened in the second world war, so there are very few ancient structures that remained. Conversely, Kyoto was untouched by allied bombing, so there are plenty of photography opportunities down there. ]
CS, you should write the Kyoto tourist brochures.

One of the contributors for TokyoDV (my site) is located in Osaka. Most of his photographs are of the area's street fashion and city-scapes. He's usually very prompt in answering the questions on his message board:

Japanese Streets
http://www.japanesestreets.com

message board:
http://www.japanesestreets.com/mynote/index.htm

This month's City eScape shots are beautiful:
http://japanesestreets.com/20032/city/thumb.htm

When I was in Osaka, they seemed more 'Korean' to me than Tokyoites; Spicey.

GJ

GJ

[cstaylor]

Most of Tokyo got flattened in the second world war, so there are very few ancient structures that remained. Conversely, Kyoto was untouched by allied bombing, so there are plenty of photography opportunities down there. ]
CS, you should write the Kyoto tourist brochures.

Ugh, I can't imagine that job. "Kyoto: we ain't Tokyo... come for the uppity tour operators and overpriced tofu lunches" or "Kyoto: proof that Japanese architecture was beautiful at one point in our history" or "Come brave the teeming hordes of homeless guarding the moat of Osaka castle"

Any other suggestions?

[GuyJean]

"Kyoto: proof that Japanese architecture was beautiful at one point in our history"

See? You got skills!!

"Nara: Land of the domesticated deer."

... Gotta work on my skills..

GJ

[GuyJean]

Wife, Brother Behead 'Lazy' Husband with Chainsaw
http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/news/20030221p2a00m0dm017000c.html

Police said the pair drugged Ishitani and strangled him inside a company van in late October last year. They drove the body to a storehouse in Osaka's Minato-ku, where they dismembered it using a chainsaw.

I wonder if it was an electric or gas saw.. What a mess!

GJ

[cstaylor]

"Nara: Land of the domesticated deer."

"Nara: The place to visit if you've ever felt the desire to stick your head through the nostrils of Buddha"
"Nara: you think Kyoto is old?"

[bluepxl]

wha the...

[cstaylor]

The Great Buddha of Todaiji temple is so large that you can place your head through the nostrils (no, visitors are not permitted to touch the giant statue, but you can hear stories about the monks having some fun on cleaning day).

I've been to Nara and Kyoto four times, but it's not a day trip from Yokohama... if you stayed in Osaka, you could zip over there and see many of the beautiful temples in a single day. If you have extra money to spend (and if you speak decent Japanese or have a bi-lingual Japanese accompany you), don't do the Hato bus tours... instead, talk to a tour agency and rent a personal tour guide and a private car... the drivers are very experienced and know all of the temples by heart.

[Big Booger]

I'm heading to Omizudera on March 8th. Will also hit nara, daibutsu, and a plum park. It should be fun.
BB

[Kurofune]

There's a bit of a rivalry between Osaka and Tokyo. Osakans tend to see Tokyoites as beaurocratic and cold; Tokyoites see Osakans as rude, merchantilistic gold-diggers. I think they both have a point. Whether you'd be happier in Tokyo or Osaka depends on you.

[stuckinkysuhu]

Let's also remember that while even though it is smaller than Tokyo, Osaka is no "town". Nor do you need a car to get around. The Kansai area (Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto) is the 7th biggest metropolitain area in the world (http://www.citypopulation.de). If you like trains, they have those too. There is a great subway system and a JR loop line just like the Yamanote. Personally I like Tokyo better, but as kurofune said, it is all about personal preference. Don't judge one because it is bigger than the other - they both have everything you could possibly need - experience both and see which best suits your lifestyle. Also, whether or not you can listen to people speaking kansai-ben without taking a club to their head figures into it.

[bluepxl]

awesome, that's very interesting, helpful, informative. thanks a lot! i'll be sure to check it out.