Job Discussion Forums

[Ferfichkin]

Hi everybody,

My name is Tyler. I'm living and working in Taipei right now, but after my contract is up I'm thinking about going to Japan. I was figuring that I would go to Tokyo, but a lot of people, including my Japanese roomate from Tokyo, said that people in Tokyo are very unfriendly and that the people in Osaka are the complete opposite. Basically, I just want to know if this is true or not.

The second thing that I would like to get is an overall Tokyo vs. Osaka impression, hence the poll. I realise that there are probably advantages and disadvantages to both, but overall, which city do you prefer and why?

Thanks a lot for you help,
Tyler

[Brooks]

depends what you want. If you aren`t as concerned about money, try Osaka.
But if you have debt and/or want to make money, go to Tokyo.

The Kansai area is more interesting.
Tokyo is just a place for work. Tokyo is big and spread out.
People generally aren`t friendly. Tokyo is really crowded.

My wife is from Osaka and she can`t stand Tokyo. She told me one more year and that`s it. So, I will be looking for jobs later this year.

I was at a wedding on Saturday in Umeda and my wife got to meet a lot of people she used to work with. She was told that she has changed, that now she talks less and listens more and that she is quiet at work in Shinjuku.
But when she worked in Tennoji she would act like a clown and talk a lot.

[SEndrigo]

I hear you Brooks!

But I don't necessarily think Kansai is more interesting than Tokyo! Around Osaka you have Kyoto, Kobe, Himeji, etc. Those places are all great, but around Tokyo you have Kamakura, Nikko, Yokohama, etc.
Those are interesting places as well.

Both Tokyo and Osaka are crowded and expensive. Tokyo has more and better jobs, without a doubt!

More opportunities for leisure, more parks, and it's a more diverse city than Osaka.

Nor do I think all Tokyo people are more unfriendly! Remember there are lots of people in Tokyo, from all parts of Japan, so you can meet Japanese people from Sendai, Miyazaki, Tokyo, Osaka, etc.

I really can't say which city is better, I live in Tokyo but I've visited Osaka. They're both great cities, at the end of the day it all depends on what you're looking for!

[Brooks]

I have met nice people in Tokyo, but usually, since their jobs are demanding, I don`t often get a chance to meet them.
That is partly because my own job keeps me busy.

for me it is a preference.
I prefer Kyoto, Nara, and Kobe to what is around Tokyo.
I haven`t been to Nikko, since it is too far, but I think I will visit in March.
In the Kansai area, it is easy to get around by train.
For example, you can take an express train from Kobe to Kyoto, and it takes about 50 minutes.

[Big John Stud]

[quote="Ferfichkin"]Hi everybody,

My name is Tyler. I'm living and working in Taipei right now, but after my contract is up I'm thinking about going to Japan. I was figuring that I would go to Tokyo, but a lot of people, including my Japanese roomate from Tokyo, said that people in Tokyo are very unfriendly and that the people in Osaka are the complete opposite. Basically, I just want to know if this is true or not.

The second thing that I would like to get is an overall Tokyo vs. Osaka impression, hence the poll. I realise that there are probably advantages and disadvantages to both, but overall, which city do you prefer and why?

Thanks a lot for you help,
Tyler[/quote]

This is a tough question! I like both cities. I like Osaka slightly more but as you wrote each city has advantages and disadvantages. The reason why I slightly and I do mean slightly like Osaka more is because the night life! People are very friendly in Osaka and jsut about every place I've been has really good food!

[Rorschach]

Osaka is a more interesting place but it has a decidely blue-collar feeling about it. Tokyo has more parks and such in the city but Osaka has more interesting locals surrounding it which ae very accessible by train (Kobe, Kyoto, Nara, Mino, Shiga etc.) There are more job opportunities in Tokyo and the pay is generally higher on average but you sacrifice other things (cost and lifestyle for example). Most Osaka people I speak to dislike Tokyo people intensely because they get the impression Tokyo people look down on them. I can understand the feeling as most Tokyo students I have taught consider most Osaka people to be takoyaki loving, munzai spouting hicks.

[Brooks]

and yet the reality is that a lot of people in Tokyo are just hicks from Kanto, Tohoku, or other parts of rural Japan, and they pretend to be sophisticated.

I would say Osaka is more blue-collar.
Many white-collar jobs have moved from Osaka to Tokyo as the companies moved there since the 1960s.
Tokyo certainly has more money, and Osaka must have more poverty and homeless.

[Rorschach]

The homelessness and poverty are more visible in Osaka, especially in the large parks. There was a big fuss this week because the city governement evicted a bunch of people from the inner city parks. I like Osaka but I have to admit it is one ugly place - aesthetically there is little to nothing redeeming about it.

[Gordon]

I'd go with neither place, I don't care for either of them. I'd go to Kobe, Hiroshima or Fukuoka. Not as many opportunities, but nicer places to live IMO.