Questions about Osaka
 

If things go according to plan for me, I'll be doing a year foreign study in Osaka(at Osaka U) for a year beginning sometime in the fall of 2010. My questions are, what is it like compared to Tokyo like people, things to do, places to go? Has anyone lived or visited there that can give me personal views on it like what is the city like and so forth. Also, I had originally wanted to go to Tokyo to attend Temple but its a Liberal Arts and its based in Philadelphia(PA=out of state college=double it would be in my own state).

Appreciate your input.

Josh

I live about 10 minutes outside of Osaka for three years. I like the Kansai area more than Tokyo as there are many different flavors to the Kansai area.

To make a sweeping generalization, I find Kansai people more open, talkative, and most conversations are humor-filled. Some Kansai people cannot not constantly make jokes.

Overall Tokyo is probably a little cleaner than Osaka, but actually Osaka has been getting cleaned up better in recent years.

I prefer the food in Osaka rather than Tokyo as well.

To make a comparison, Tokyo is like L.A. No one is from Tokyo, but many people move there. Osaka, on the other hand, is like New York. There are generations of neighborhood pride established.

Osaka
 

Well,

Osaka is part of the Kansai urban area of around 10 million people. While it is slightly smaller than Tokyo, the area is very interesting. Nara, Kyoto and Kobe are each cities worth an intercontinental trip and they are around 30 minutes train from Osaka.

You may want to have a look at this story about Osaka, there are a few pictures of what the town is like.

MMM, you said they have "generations of neighborhood pride established", does that mean they aren't very accepting of foreigners?

Thanks for the link uchimizu.

FOOD.. FOOD.. is way much better here..
I'm living here for 4 years now, and I could not wish to live anywhere else.

I lived near Osaka for a year and also worked there for a couple of summers. It's a great place but definitely different from Tokyo.

MMM did a good job of summing up most of the big differences between Osaka and Tokyo. But to add a little, the first big difference you'll probably notice is the dialect. People from Osaka speak Kansai dialect which is quite different from the standard Japanese you're proabably used to hearing.

In general, I think you'll find that Osaka feels more "alive"...mostly because the culture there is more loud and out-spoken. Some people I've talked to feel that people in Osaka are rude and noisy but once you get used to it you realize that they are much more friendly than people in Tokyo and very fun to hang out with.

I would definitely recommend seeing the main parts of town when you visit. The city is kinda split in two: North/South. The nerve center of North Osaka is Umeda (Umeda station on the subway line and Osaka station on the JR line). I always felt that Umeda was a little like Tokyo. It's more manicured and a more high-end than the South part of Osaka.

The center of activity in South Osaka is in Namba and Shinsaibashi. The Midousuji Subway line is really convenient for going between Umeda and Namba/Shinsaibashi.

I would have to say Shinsaibashi is the party district. Lots of clubs and bars to hang out in and really wild at night. There's also a lot of historic and famous things you've probably seen in pictures.

There's actually a street that connects Namba and Shinsaibashi stations that's awesome. One of my favorite things to do when I lived there was to walk from Namba to Shinsaibashi. It's not that far and there are tons of things to do and see. The street is lined with all sorts of small shops, pachinko parlors, izakaya, and anything else you can think of!

Hope this helps!

I would say people in Osaka are really helpful - at least the ones I've encoutered are as so. If they can't help you, they'll look for someone else to assist you. They're also pretty friendly - and pretty loud. The latter trait tends to put you off if you're the type who easily wakes up at night at the slightest hint of sound. Had to endure old men talking really LOUDLY at the streets at 3 am while in bed.

The trains are still crowded over here in Osaka, but less compared to Tokyo.

There's a lot of good food here - and if you're into takoyaki you can find it at almost every corner of shopping districts. But of course there's more other than takoyakis ;)