t/s osaka vs tokyo

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.

in that case why not just go to some farming village in shikoku or aomori prefecture to see the "real japan"

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.

when i finally JET i'm secretly hoping i get sent to either sadogashima or some small town on the inland sea

I think I'll be in Osaka next week for a couple of days. What's essential?

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!

castle is on the list for sure.

apparently there's a good craft beer scene?

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.

oh and get a rikuro cheesecake

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

wakarimasen

we're staying in kyobashi so I think I might settle for the castle and umeda. where is the koreatown?

Detailed reports please, I plan to go in June.

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 izakaya
1 Chome-3-9 Uemachi, Chūō-ku, Ōsaka-shi, Ōsaka-fu 540-0005, Japan
+81 6-6768-0515
https://goo.gl/maps/rLkaNvUQQ1n

野口太郎
Japan, 〒530-0002 Ōsaka-fu, Ōsaka-shi, Kita-ku, Sonezakishinchi, 1 Chome−3−１
+81 6-4796-8222
https://goo.gl/maps/5X7epF2TUrp

和洋酒菜ひで
2 Chome-1-3 Shinsaibashisuji, Chūō-ku, Ōsaka-shi, Ōsaka-fu 542-0085, Japan
https://goo.gl/maps/4yGnMNYhKUC2

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

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-access
Feels 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!

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

Feels stupid to recommend something so niche & unapproachable but who knows who else is reading this.

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

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!

sounds like heaven ...

Copy dat
If I had any balls I’d move to NRT

By that I mean the airport !

fukuoka sounds like my kind of jam

The Tower of the Sun in Expo Park reopened, I forgot how psychedelic the interior is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPe4QDdJMlk

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?

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...

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) :-)