my sister summed it up as "universal studios" vs "disneyland". i'm hoping for some more in depth analysis.
― ken c (ken c), Friday, 5 May 2006 11:00 (eighteen years ago) link
Osaka was nice but a bit me too.
― Treblekicker (treblekicker), Friday, 5 May 2006 11:29 (eighteen years ago) link
― darren (darren), Friday, 5 May 2006 13:23 (eighteen years ago) link
― Andrew (enneff), Friday, 5 May 2006 13:39 (eighteen years ago) link
― Momus (Momus), Friday, 5 May 2006 13:43 (eighteen years ago) link
― gbx (skowly), Friday, 5 May 2006 13:51 (eighteen years ago) link
― JW (ex machina), Friday, 5 May 2006 14:09 (eighteen years ago) link
― ken c (ken c), Friday, 5 May 2006 14:51 (eighteen years ago) link
― permanent revolution (cis), Friday, 5 May 2006 14:51 (eighteen years ago) link
(osaka has takoyaki and lovely lovely okonomiyaki but you can get all regional specialities in tokyo anyway (like kyushu ramen which is basically food of the gods), so.)
― permanent revolution (cis), Friday, 5 May 2006 15:02 (eighteen years ago) link
Osaka (well Kansai) food is generally better, except for sushi. Kuidaore!
Music, clubs, art, fashion, and design are generally better in Osaka.
― Steve Shasta (Steve Shasta), Friday, 5 May 2006 15:48 (eighteen years ago) link
― alex in montreal (alex in montreal), Friday, 5 May 2006 16:44 (eighteen years ago) link
http://www.japaneselifestyle.com.au/travel/kagoshima.htm
OK OK, I'm just in a volcano mood today... never mind me.
― DOQQUN (donut), Friday, 5 May 2006 19:36 (eighteen years ago) link
― JW (ex machina), Friday, 5 May 2006 19:41 (eighteen years ago) link
Kyoto is very close to Osaka, so if you think you should visit Kyoto, you might as well stay in Osaka instead of Tokyo.
But as a first time visitor, you should go to Tokyo, especially since you don't have enough time to explore and appreciate the more nuanced pleasures of Osaka. Save Osaka for a later visit when you are weary of the cramped madness of Tokyo.
I never got the sense of Osaka being the Birmingham to Tokyo's London. I lived 20 minutes away from Tokyo, and I preferred Osaka. But maybe that's because I only visited Osaka a few times, and most of those visits were associated with leisure and pleasure, whereas Tokyo is all about that four letter word -- work.
I don't really understood the appeal of a megapolis. I always found the "lesser" metropolis more interesting and quirky, more regional and less generic. However, it takes time to seek out the more regional pleasures of such places.
― Melinda Mess-injure (Melinda Mess-injure), Friday, 5 May 2006 22:19 (eighteen years ago) link
i would post more, but the space bar is tiny and i keep pressing the japanese key instead by accident which is quite annoying, and also there's a sign that says "please refrain from sending mail that violates human rights and writing in the bulletin board" and since this is a bulletin board and is sometimes allegedly kind of nazi about certain subjects anyway i shouldn't really post here! but will posts pics soon. i stay right by a love hotel! (but not inside one)
and omg i should update the ipso fatso thread.
anyway. will update when i get to tokyo tomorrow! i went to kyoto as well! go me. anyways. xo
― ken c (ken c), Sunday, 28 May 2006 22:28 (eighteen years ago) link
― alex in montreal (alex in montreal), Monday, 29 May 2006 20:17 (eighteen years ago) link
As far as the original question, Tokyo - in an absolute rout. Osaka isn't even in the top 3.
― J-rock (Julien Sandiford), Tuesday, 30 May 2006 04:34 (eighteen years ago) link
first here are some pics.
osakahttp://static.flickr.com/60/157727548_f81170c5d4.jpg?v=0crazy long street
http://static.flickr.com/55/155636223_4c27fd04d2.jpg?v=0haha, very sensible love hotel!
http://static.flickr.com/48/157727598_5f00a25b83.jpg?v=0sadly not my hotel room, but two doors down!
― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 1 June 2006 04:45 (eighteen years ago) link
this bitch + a soup + some salty egg thing was 800 yen!
― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 1 June 2006 04:46 (eighteen years ago) link
― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 1 June 2006 04:47 (eighteen years ago) link
http://static.flickr.com/48/157734501_bc44f455f8.jpg?v=0some temple thing
― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 1 June 2006 04:49 (eighteen years ago) link
― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 1 June 2006 04:50 (eighteen years ago) link
― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 1 June 2006 04:54 (eighteen years ago) link
― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 1 June 2006 04:55 (eighteen years ago) link
― darren (darren), Thursday, 1 June 2006 21:31 (eighteen years ago) link
― gbx (skowly), Thursday, 1 June 2006 21:44 (eighteen years ago) link
I'll be in Osaka from Dec 22 to Dec 29.
Kyoto is a must, I know, but what else?
Any interesting bookshops/music shops/music shows/etc. in Osaka?
If I have time, I might go to Tokyo, but what else can be reached from Osaka? How far is Hiroshima? What other parts are worth going to?
― ∞, Wednesday, 1 October 2014 17:13 (nine years ago) link
I've never been to either but I always remember that Acid Mothers Temple guy saying Tokyo is superficial but Osaka has the true spirit of Japan.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Wednesday, 1 October 2014 18:33 (nine years ago) link
in that case why not just go to some farming village in shikoku or aomori prefecture to see the "real japan"
― clouds, Wednesday, 1 October 2014 18:44 (nine years ago) link
Perhaps he meant more than the rural vs urban thing? I think he was having a dig at people in Tokyo, maybe. I've always thought that what appealed to fans of modern Japanese culture and cities was the familiar aspects mixed with distinctly Japanese aspects. Maybe that guy was dismissing Tokyo as westernized japan, but he didn't seem to think japan was any better than anywhere else.
I would usually prefer the rural areas and mountains of most countries, but the big Tokyo shops would be hard to resist. Would have liked to have seen the arcades at their height in the past.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Wednesday, 1 October 2014 20:07 (nine years ago) link
when i finally JET i'm secretly hoping i get sent to either sadogashima or some small town on the inland sea
― clouds, Wednesday, 1 October 2014 20:51 (nine years ago) link
I think I'll be in Osaka next week for a couple of days. What's essential?
― El Tomboto, Monday, 5 March 2018 17:18 (six years ago) link
I went in October. The castle is great, the aquarium also, if you like theme parks then Universal Studios is a must. Okonomiyaki for dinner!
― Thomas NAGL (Neil S), Monday, 5 March 2018 17:22 (six years ago) link
castle is on the list for sure.
apparently there's a good craft beer scene?
― El Tomboto, Monday, 5 March 2018 19:54 (six years ago) link
the most fun i had in osaka was a sake tasting at shimada shoten. it's a sake shop in an otherwise uneventful part of town. there's a very atmospheric cellar in which you drink sake and eat really good snacks like chunky miso. the owners speak english and are very accommodating.
i also did some good record shopping in osaka but the best record store i went to in japan was parallax records, which is about the size of my bathroom and is on the second floor of a building in a shopping arcade in kyoto, a quick train ride away.
― adam, Monday, 5 March 2018 20:16 (six years ago) link
oh and get a rikuro cheesecake
― adam, Monday, 5 March 2018 20:18 (six years ago) link
man this thread takes me back
i love osaka
just go to dotonbori and eat takoyaki, okonomiyaki and sushi (weirdly enough osaka is known for their seafood, it's a japanese thing i guess)
osaka is known for its food and osakans are historically known for loving food, so it's a point of pride for them
the people are chill, their koreatown is cool, although different than korean korean culture and food -- it's in the opposite side of town, though, so don't go if you're pressed for time, and it starts getting rougher (though nothing compared to the usa)
tourists flock to nanba, but to be honest, it's not that interesting, but if you want to check it off your list, you can walk around, though it is out of the way from dotonbori. i honestly did not like it
what is your level of japanese? i'll recommend some pubs after you answer
― F# A# (∞), Monday, 5 March 2018 21:23 (six years ago) link
wakarimasen
― El Tomboto, Tuesday, 6 March 2018 21:06 (six years ago) link
we're staying in kyobashi so I think I might settle for the castle and umeda. where is the koreatown?
― El Tomboto, Tuesday, 6 March 2018 21:15 (six years ago) link
Detailed reports please, I plan to go in June.
― American Fear of Pranksterism (Ed), Tuesday, 6 March 2018 21:24 (six years ago) link
For what it’s worh these are some restaurants that random Japanese foodies I follow on instagram have been to and I like the pictures.
Nagahori izakaya1 Chome-3-9 Uemachi, Chūō-ku, Ōsaka-shi, Ōsaka-fu 540-0005, Japan+81 6-6768-0515https://goo.gl/maps/rLkaNvUQQ1n
野口太郎Japan, 〒530-0002 Ōsaka-fu, Ōsaka-shi, Kita-ku, Sonezakishinchi, 1 Chome−3−1+81 6-4796-8222https://goo.gl/maps/5X7epF2TUrp
和洋酒菜ひで2 Chome-1-3 Shinsaibashisuji, Chūō-ku, Ōsaka-shi, Ōsaka-fu 542-0085, Japanhttps://goo.gl/maps/4yGnMNYhKUC2
― American Fear of Pranksterism (Ed), Tuesday, 6 March 2018 21:33 (six years ago) link
xxp
oh ya! if you're close to kyoubashi station you're super close to koreatown, just get off at tsuruhashi station
i kind of want to go on and on about it but i won't. just know that it's not something everyone is into, but there is definitely lots of barbecue meats and good food, but not 100% korean, because even though the biggest zainichi korean population lives around there, their korean food is slightly japanized, sometimes milder flavours i guess you can say. you can still get bbq, bulgogi, kimchi, etc though
from kyoubashi you're also close to osaka castle
and fuggit, i'm gonnarecommend abeno harukas, the tallest skyscraper in osaka, and "arguably" in japan (tokyo skytree is twice as tall but some people don't count the antenna that makes it so tall). i think the observation deck at abeno is 300 meters high, while the skytree one is 350 to 400 (you have to pay more to get to 400 meters, which a lot of people don't do because it's kind of not worth it)
but i recommend it because abeno harukas is around tsuruhashi. theoretically you can do a loop from kyoubashi station south to tennouji station then north up to tsuruhashi station and back northish to kyoubashi, if you want something quick and easy to do
― F# A# (∞), Tuesday, 6 March 2018 21:46 (six years ago) link
TB: Head west to Tenjinbashi, great local shopping/restaurant district that isn't overrun by tourists.
My favorite restaurant in Osaka is just a short stroll from there, but it caters to locals not tourists so I'd not recommend it unless you are confident with your language ability or are with someone who does. My wife, kid and I dined there about 5 months ago and it was 7500 yen for a 4+ stars on tabelog which is pretty much unheard of. Reservations are rough but your hotel will get you in if you ask: http://sp.raqmo.com/manryou/#t-accessFeels stupid to recommend something so niche & unapproachable but who knows who else is reading this.
There's also a super good Hawaiian (well, "fresh" Japanese-Hawaiian) breakfast spot not too far away, it's really nice to eat on the terrace if weather permits (which is doubtful this time of year):https://www.yelp.com/biz/%E3%83%8E%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B9%E3%82%B7%E3%83%A7%E3%82%A2-%E5%A4%A7%E9%98%AA%E5%B8%82-%E4%B8%AD%E5%A4%AE%E5%8C%BA
For craft beer, Dolphins Umeda is great, but for the real local experience, take a short train ride out to Minoh for a half-day. Beautiful mellow hike to a lattice waterfall (lots of monkeys & deer at times), and in that little town they have one of the best breweries in Japan. They make a dwarf maple pilsner that is fantastic. Also get a dwarf maple leaf fried in tempura, that's a regional specialty.
J-Whisky has jumped the shark by spirit speculators, but the Yamazaki distillery is worth stopping in. You can get a pour of sherry cask 25 year for like $50 (like I said, the game has changed). Namba is crazy touristy (thousands of Chinese, Malay, Korean, Filipinos & Weaboos on every block) but if you can hit the Kuromon Market first thing, you can score some regional delicacies that aren't just doughy glops slathered in kewpie, furikake & katsuboshi... my favorite is the local blue fin & abalone & geoduck.
I go pretty often for work so let me know if you are ISO anything specific, I might be of help!
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Tuesday, 6 March 2018 23:46 (six years ago) link
ya sounds weird to say but i don't want to recommend the places i know because they're hole in the walls out of the way run by local families that will be a challenge for tourists to enjoy
last i heard minoo park was heavily damaged and they are still doing work on it, so tomboto you might want to double check conditions before you make it out there
― F# A# (∞), Tuesday, 6 March 2018 23:58 (six years ago) link
Feels stupid to recommend something so niche & unapproachable but who knows who else is reading this.
― startled macropod (MatthewK), Wednesday, 7 March 2018 01:15 (six years ago) link
ended up finding some good places to chill out in Kyobashi - BE GLAD and J'S BAR were really funky, and the mandatory social at GARB DRESSING was pretty good. Too much work, not enough time to fuck around and check the place out. Osaka is way more my style than Tokyo though - much more relaxed and outgoing
― El Tomboto, Saturday, 17 March 2018 20:44 (six years ago) link
like you really can just find a dim storefront bar at 22:50 and wander in and some businesswomen who are all half in the bag will be like OH HEY WHERE YOU FROM? and a big dog will woof at you. One round later you're all practicing language skills on each other, the dog is smelling your butt while you check out the whisky selection, and you're allowed to just grab a cold one out of the fridge and use the bottle opener hanging off the side as if you were at the house of a friend's friend. Except the bathroom is really clean and the aforementioned cold one is actually cold!
― El Tomboto, Saturday, 17 March 2018 20:50 (six years ago) link
sounds like heaven ...
― startled macropod (MatthewK), Saturday, 17 March 2018 21:40 (six years ago) link
Copy datIf I had any balls I’d move to NRT
― big C (calstars), Saturday, 17 March 2018 21:56 (six years ago) link
By that I mean the airport !
― big C (calstars), Saturday, 17 March 2018 21:57 (six years ago) link
fukuoka sounds like my kind of jam
― clouds, Sunday, 18 March 2018 18:10 (six years ago) link
The Tower of the Sun in Expo Park reopened, I forgot how psychedelic the interior is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPe4QDdJMlk
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Tuesday, 20 March 2018 20:29 (six years ago) link
Hoping to head to Japan for the first time (COVID-dependent) at the end of February. Traveling with my partner and our 5-year-old son. Two weeks, and thinking of maybe splitting it 50/50 between Tokyo and Osaka. Plus maybe one night in the countryside? Is it foolish to just choose a couple places? Will we regret having so much time in Osaka (vs Kyoto or Hiroshima or more Tokyo)?
Really we just like wandering around and random cultural stuff and food and nature, but we have to rein in our ambitions given the involvement of a very active kid. A lot of travellers do one night each in a whole string of wonderful-sounding places, but I feel like it's probably not worth the travel time and frenzy?
― sean gramophone, Monday, 22 November 2021 17:01 (two years ago) link
the cutural contrast is starkest between Tokyo and Osaka (rather than say Tokyo and Kyoto) so those two places make sense. Esp if you're into the more current, 'funky' side of Japanese culture, Osaka makes sense over Kyoto, which has more history...
― calstars, Monday, 22 November 2021 17:15 (two years ago) link
You won't regret staying in Osaka too long as it's a great springboard for day trips to Kyoto or Nara - Nara would be a great place to take the kid (if they like Deers) :-)
― Stop the tape I got spittle all over my moustache. (Talcum Mucker), Monday, 22 November 2021 17:31 (two years ago) link
Tower Of The Sun def the best rec from this thread, whole Expo 70 park worth going - even just the train station where you change to the monorail has so much character. Interior of the Tower super cool. Also in the park we went to the Museum Of Ethnology - no English explanations whatsoever, thankfully it was an exhibit on traditional Japanese masks so very cool to look at.
Dotonbori was frankly hellish, we did go on a Saturday to be fair. No real difference between it and Namba at this stage, nothing but huge crowds of tourists. Did check off the locations from Yakuza tho.
In Namba, the jazz kissa Bird56 was a great night: super friendly guy, good tunes, I mostly don't drink anymore but I knocked back a couple Yamazaki 12. "I'd forgotten how great Japanese whiskey is" I said, dude pushed a glass of water at me and said "Japanese water very good too". Great looking out, what a mensch. Place is sadly stuck in a hellish touristy location and he said he gets 90% foreigners, incredible how he manages to cancel out the shitty atmosphere outside and have this haven of rest and coolness. Previous owner passed away, had had the kissa since the 70's, this guy said he'd been drinking beers there since he was a young student.
― Daniel_Rf, Sunday, 12 May 2024 12:41 (three weeks ago) link
Thanks for the report! I’m off again at the end of the year, keen to check Bird56 out
― H.P, Sunday, 12 May 2024 12:47 (three weeks ago) link
I mostly don't drink anymore but I knocked back a couple Yamazaki 12.
― Roman Anthony gets on his horse (gyac), Sunday, 12 May 2024 12:55 (three weeks ago) link
Yes! I'd been to Tokyo and Kyoto before.
The coolest neighbourhood in terms of just hanging out and scarfing down street food I found was Shinsekai, which used to be an amusement park in the 40's. Overall I think the rep as Japan's kitchen had lead me to expect too much in terms of stands and small places...we ended up realising a lot of great stuff was actually in malls, office buildings and such. We went to an underground mall in the business district - where food would go to die in any Western town - and they had great sushi and katsu places, patronised by salarymen.
H.P. make sure to go all the way up the stairs for Bird56! There's another place right below it that has a lot of English signs about its sound system, think it even namedrops Ryo Fukui. I don't know what the actual deal is but my fan theory is it's some newcomer trying to muscle in on the og, and this will not stand.
― Daniel_Rf, Monday, 13 May 2024 06:09 (three weeks ago) link
Hey, glad to hear you had a good time in Osaka, and yeah Shinsekai has got the funk.Thanks also for the tip on Bird56, will have to check it out next trip...
― m0stly clean (Slowsquatch), Monday, 13 May 2024 07:05 (three weeks ago) link
Yeah thanks for the tip Dan!
― H.P, Monday, 13 May 2024 07:46 (three weeks ago) link