Job Discussion Forums

[einsenundnullen]

Wow... almost two years ago I asked this same question about Nagoya. Although I never lived in the places that were suggested in the replies, they all proved to be correct based on my own inspections after arriving in the city.

So, now, I've got the same question about Osaka. It's too big to look around in one day. So...

Are there any neighborhoods or wards that stand out to longer-term residents as particularly liveable? I'm interested in half decent transportation, but more so some peace and quiet, low pollution, and some basic conveniences (conbinis and a Tsutaya or something like that). I'm much more a community-type person than a clubber.

Any tips will be appreciated! Thanks!

[canuck]

Morinomiya or Nagai are popular and sound what you might be interested in. Close enough to the shopping/partying area, but quieter. Both areas are convenient for the various train lines the rents are more reasonable.

There are many foreigners in the Hanazonocho/Tennoji area, but you will be able to "smell" the difference...it's dirty and stinks.

[bucko2004]

I second Nagai. Lots of shops and restaurants, and it's a fairly nice looking area (by Japanese standards), also has Nagai Park which is good if you want to get some exercise, or want to see some sporting games and a very cheap gym too if you need that. The subway will take you right to Namba or Umeda too.

[einsenundnullen]

As always, thanks for the help!

[Rorschach]

I'm a fan of the north of Osaka, I've never liked the south (last place I lived, Kadomaminami, was a pit). Any place north of the Yodogawa is nice enough. I live in Okamachi - extremely livable and cozy with a temple park right in the middle and plenty of shopping. It has a real village atmoshpere. Toyonaka City in general is a great place to live, lots of nice parks and the people are generally very friendly. It's on a local line which means it can be slow getting to work but it is worth the trade off. If I had my time again I would also look at Toyonaka, Sone or Hattori (not very nice looking but very lively with some interesting people about).

[freddie's friend daniel]

I agree. Toyonaka is nice. It's pretty self-sufficient but very convenient for Umeda (10 mins on Hankyu), as well as Kyoto and Kobe (both on Hankyu- takes a bit longer than JR but way cheaper), plus the lovely Minoo quasi-national forest park is only a few train stops away. I live in Ikeda, which is also pleasant. But be aware, it's salaryman-city up here. The last train out of Umeda is something like 12:20 and past the odd karaoke bar or snakku, there's little in the way of entertainment of an evening round here. You said that wasn't important though. PM me if you want more details about the northern 'burbs.

[einsenundnullen]

[Longing for Nippon]

Hankyu Takarazuka line has a good mixture of places to stay, it steadily decreases in nightlife the further you move away from Umeda and Juso. Mino and Ishibashi are good areas and have a few gaijin bars.
Along the Kobe line Nishinmomiya is a good centre and Koshien has the baseball and Lala port for shopping.
I would say for convenience and access to sanomiya, kyoto and umeda somewhere like Juso is ideal but the area has a colourful atmosphere.

[Rorschach]

I wouldn't say Kadomaminami is a place to avoid, it has a great gym and outlet shopping but there is literally nothing there in terms of entertainment, not even a Tsutaya (there is one but it is in the most inconvenient place imaginable). Plus, the place is loaded with rednecks. I had some bad experiences with the locals (me being the only foreigner around). The positive experiences I had living in Kadoma for a year were a friendly Tsutaya manager who helped me fill out a membership application when I couldn't speak any Japanese, a local AM-PM manager who always had a smile for me and the gym. That was it. Not a good place to live.

I agree with the comment about the Takarazuka line. Every stop has it's own character. Juso is seedy. Mikuni is for the upscale professional. Shonai is a traders bizarre. Hattori is blue collar. Sone is upmarket. Okamachi is sleepy and Toyonaka is purely municipal and commercial. Great line to be on.

einsenundnullen - To answer your original question I would recommend Okamachi. I hate clubbing and all I want to do when I want to do when I get home is kick back and watch some TV. Okamachi has shopping, a local video store and it is close to larger areas like Sone and Toyonaka without sacrificing the silence. It's not pollution free but it is better than the city by a long shot.

[Zzonkmiles]

Stay away from southeastern Osaka--Hirano, Deto, Fuminosato, etc. Very dirty and inconvenient. The Tennoji/Shin-Imamiya area is also very congested and dirty. Lots of homeless people are in the Tennoji/Shin-Imamiya area as well, and it often reeks of urine near the station.

Northwestern Osaka (Noda, Nishi Kujo, Noda Hanshin, Mitejima, Nishi Yodogawa-ku) has very few foreigners, so you might feel a bit isolated there. But it is quite clean.

Southwestern Osaka (anything further south than Taisho) is too inconvenient. There aren't any trains or subways there--only buses. And that's close to the Osaka Harbor also, so there are a lot of warehouses and trucks driving around there.

I personally recommend a neighborhood on the JR Loop Line, particularly Morinomiya, Kyobashi, Bentencho, Taisho, Tamatsukuri, and Tsuruhashi. The stations I listed also have subway stations, so that makes getting around Osaka very very easy. Kyobashi might be a bit pricier than the other neighborhoods, however. The places on the Hankyu Takarazuka Line that were mentioned earlier are nice, but they're a bit too far away to make biking from Namba something you'd want to do regularly if you want to stay out past the last train. Stay in the city if you want to have a social life; move to the suburbs if you want peace and quiet.

[Rorschach]

I would stay away from Kyobashi. I lived there for 3 months and although it was extremely convenient in terms of train lines and shopping the general atmosphere was oppressive. The streets were cramped and of a weekend it was loaded with drunks and yakuza. The biggest factor though is that Kyobashi is way overpriced for what you get. I looked at some apartments there and most landlords wanted 60000+ for little more than holes in the wall. If want to live on the Loop I'd recommend Morinomiya. Noda is nice as well, I used to take Japanese lessons there.

[einsenundnullen]

Thanks again for all the suggestions.

For those of you who've lived in the northern part of the city (or just north of it), especially along the Hankyu Takarazuka line, how's the noise from planes coming in at Itami? At least once I've been sitting on the bullet train platform at JR Shin-Osaka and seen a plane quite low, preparing for landing.

Thanks!

[Rorschach]

I live right next to the airport and I never hear the planes, honestly. I thought I would but the airport shuts down at around 9pm so there are rarely any night flights.