Job Discussion Forums

Speed · Joined: 04 Jul 2003 Posts: 152 Location: Shikoku Land

One thing that is rarely mentioned is the access to surfable beaches. That is if you`re into that sort of stuff.

If you live in Tokyo, you can get down to the Shonan area (southwest of Yokohama) in just a little bit over an hour. Granted it`s not Bali, but the surf/beach culture there is nice and really healthy. Kamakura is a nice retro/temple area with plenty of nature around it and surf at the same time.

Chiba isn`t bad for surf either, if you live in eastern Tokyo. If it`s big parks you`re looking for, I`d also recommend Tokyo. Yoyogi, Shinjuku, and Inokashira Parks being my favorites with wide open spaces.

Just to add, I`m in the Kinki area now, so I`m not biased towards Tokyo because I live there, (I have before though). It`s just that Osaka really lacks the things I mentioned above. Osaka is a fun city though, aside from the lack of a beach culture nearby.

Wintermute · Joined: 11 Jun 2007 Posts: 79

Kyoto city isn't such a beautiful area but there are a lot of beautiful villages surrounding it that are worth the trip. Kurama, Kibune, Uji, Konpira-san to name a few are fantastic places to go. It just depends on where you live in Osaka. If you live in the centre or south then it is pretty inconvenient and time-consuming travelling to places like Kobe and Kyoto. If you live in the north it is relatively easy.

I use the Hankyu a lot and it is easy to get to Kobe or Kyoto in under 40 minutes (and cheap), I travel to Kobe at least twice a month to eat out or visit my favourite bookstores. I visit Kyoto less often but it is usually my first choice for hiking as there are some remarkable trails. As to Osaka vs Tokyo, I would favour Osaka because Tokyo is too much - too many people, too full of itself and too big. Not to say you can't have fun there and even enjoy yourself but it wears you out after awhile.

Zzonkmiles - If you only went to Nara once you missed out, particularly if you only went to the city. There is some of the most beautiful scenery I have seen in Japan near Tenri and the northern part of the prefecture.

lisa111082 · Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2007 5:54 pm Post subject:

I lived in Osaka for a year and visited Tokyo for no more than a week at a time several different times during that year.

I know a lot of people who spent a lot of time in Tokyo and then visited Osaka and hated it because there was "nothing to do" which I disagree with. If you know enough Japanese to get around, there's plenty to do.

For me, Tokyo is just too busy and too polluted. There's too much neon, too many flashing lights, and just so much to do and not enough time. Osaka seemed a lot calmer and slower, to where people weren't in such a huge rush to get somewhere. I felt the people were friendlier and "less Japanese" as in they would approach me and start asking me tons of questions about where I'm from, which I thought was really cute.

I'm hardcore into the visual kei scene and my favorite labels are based out of the Kansai area, so I guess that makes me really biased toward it.

What you could do is work a while in one city then transfer to another and see which you like better. In Osaka, I saved a ton of money because housing is really inexpensive if you live in the suburbs--I lived in Hirakata so my rent was like 30,000 yen/month and I was only 20 minutes from Osaka. Kyoto is really cheap to live in, too.

Brooks · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 1369 Location: Sagamihara

sounds good. What was the size of your apartment?
30,000 is cheap.

lisa111082 · Posted: Thu Nov 22, 2007 4:00 am Post subject:

Brooks · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 1369 Location: Sagamihara

did you work at Kansai Gaidai? If so, how was it?
I may be moving to Osaka in the near future.

lisa111082 · Posted: Thu Nov 22, 2007 2:20 pm Post subject:

marinboy · Joined: 23 Dec 2006 Posts: 10 Location: osaka

I live in Osaka, I've been here for a little over nine months and I really like it. It's true the people are very friendly, loud and not shy. I've had some really nice conversations in random situations with all different kinds of people.

However, I'm now considering moving to Tokyo in April. I've visited a few times and really love it. I'm a Londoner and love big cities with so much to do. It's a difficult decision to make and that's why I'm still mulling it over.

Osaka is small enough to cycle almost everywhere (just the odd river that is sometimes a little tricky to cross). Eating out is very cheap and good, Kansai Okonomiyaki is nicer than the Kanto one and it's possible to live very centrally for not too much.

On the downside; sometimes the night life is a bit too samey, there are some good places to go but I would like a wider variety. Also I want more art galleries and museums.

I agree that maybe Nara and Kyoto are overrated; yes great temples but they are all very similar and those cities get as crowded as Tokyo at times. Nice countryside surrounds which is a bonus and there is some good coastal spots down in Wakayama.

So the attraction of Tokyo is that it's really big, so much going on and by Japanese standards cosmopolitan.

Is the grass greener? I don't know, but I gotta live in Tokyo for part if the time I'm here.