Osaka vs Tokyo?

14 comments

1. Osaka has a lot of English everywhere because there’s still many tourists coming by. So for the JO thing, probs won’t change much. Either way you have to actively put yourself in situations and social groups to practice. Nightlife is good here. It’s basically Tokyo in what it has to offer but more relaxed and people are a bit friendlier

2. I live in Osaka and my gf is in Tokyo so I have been constantly moving between the two city every month. Osaka in general is just alot more chill.

   Rude people are more rude but kind people are more kind. People are in general more direct with their opinions and feelings.

   Also when you want to do mini trip in your holiday Kansai just has better spots in my opinion.

3. Everyone I know who lived in Osaka and then moved to Tokyo feels like they made a mistake. Everyone loves Osaka. Caveat: All this was before the tourist boom. Osaka people feel like they’re more open about how close to their limit they are about rude tourists. I sometimes get caught by locals who assume I’m a tourist, but when I speak Japanese the tension seems to vaporize.

4. 1. If you leave out the cost of living and food quality, there aren’t really any major pros to living in Osaka over Tokyo. I guess one pro is that Osaka is relatively compact, so it’s easy to get around and access most places.
   A con would be that, compared to Tokyo, Osaka has a lot of steep hills. That’s a problem if you’re into cycling. And if you think the downhills make up for it, think again. Most stoplights are right at the bottom of the hills, so by the time you get there it’s probably red, and once it turns green you’re stuck climbing uphill again.

   2. Yes, but in my company there are only two foreigners, me included. I also never use English outside of work, nor have I since I went to college here, where I was the only foreigner in class. To improve, you have to find environments where you actually get to improve.
   You being allowed to work remotely won’t promote that environment unless you seek it out yourself.

   3. Meeting people in Osaka seems easier than in Tokyo—at least for me. Most of my friends have always been from class or work and never outside of that until I moved to Osaka. Here, I’ve met people through my hobbies, like climbing. When I wanted to learn how to build garage kits, I hit up someone in a store and ended up painting and learning in his studio while chatting about our hobbies and life and so on.

   4. Hobby-wise, Tokyo will pretty much always be better—aside from the socializing aspect, in my experience.

   I have a counter question for you though, how do I get a job like yours?? I’m on my knees begging with my 9-6pm, 4m yen salary!!

5. I lived in Tokyo and now I’ve been living in Osaka for 7 years; Osaka is visually less pleasant I would say. It’s not as clean, trendy and modern as Tokyo and overall the city feels less maintained. It’s a big ocean of industrial concrete outside of some areas (the Umeda / Namba axis and all the Honmachi to Morinomiya areas are pretty clean tho).

   Not many trees, large grid-shaped avenues (Tokyo has more curved street, which I prefer but I’m European lol).

   For all the rest, I prefer Osaka. Much cheaper (I live in a 60m2 2LDK from 2022, not so far from the castle and I pay ¥110k per month); a lot of Showa-vibe neighborhoods, very cheap and retro tachinomi restaurants and people are usually more open if you speak a bit of Japanese. It’s relatively easy to form a group of drinking friends in your local izakaya / tachinomi.
   So yeah, good opportunities to meet people and improve your Japanese. Just go and grab a few beers around Juso, Kyobashi or Awaji and see how it goes 😊

   I love all the old shotengai, plenty of cheap teishoku restaurants and food shops in those streets.

   Easy and fast commute to Kobe, Nara or Kyoto. Totally different cities in the historical heart of Japan so yeah plenty of things to see if you are interested in cultural activities. If you drive, check out the countryside in the Tamba area just north of Osaka / Kobe. It’s gorgeous.

   I love both Tokyo and Osaka. My Tokyo friends usually say “there’s everything in Tokyo, why would I move somewhere else?”.

   There is also pretty much everything in Osaka. Maybe less career opportunities but it doesn’t seem to be an issue for you, so…

   TL;DR if you like a more trendy – おしゃれ vibe and a slightly more energetic city on the long term, Tokyo might be better; for the rest I think Osaka offers a much better quality of life overall.

6. Osaka

7. Having lived in both, id choose Osaka in a heartbeat. Btw can I ask what you do and how you got into it?

8. I’m British.

   I love Osaka. I was recently back in Tokyo and I just felt out of place and was happy to get back to Osaka. It’s a great city, easy to get around, all my hobbies are well catered for, I chat often to locals, they seem friendly and I haven’t really come across any rudeness/xenophobia.

   The speed at which I can get out of the city to somewhere quiet/filled with nature is also a huge pro for me.

   I hope to continue to call it home, worried recently due to the rise in people being angry about immigrants and proposed visa rule changes, but thats not city specific.

9. The downside of Osaka is that the expat community is pretty small, and its mostly English teachers. Not that that’s a bad thing, but networking etc. can be difficult.

   If that doesn’t bother you, then Osaka has a lot to offer. Lower cost of living, arguably better food, easy access to Kyoto/Nara/Kobe.

10. If you want more space, super low costs of living compared to Tokyo and Osaka, live in Nara. Nara has two cities that are literally 15mins away from Osaka prefecture and 30mins or so away from namba. Famous for being able to rent out a 4 bedroom house for 7万円 a month.🤣

    There’s also areas which has a lot of Chinese in Osaka. Think it’’s nishinari or Dontonbori. Tsuruhashi has a bunch of Koreans. Sekai is a bit dangerous area at night.

    Trains in Osaka aren’t as bad as Tokyo in terms of crowding.

11. Don’t think there’s a bad answer, really. People who love Tokyo will say Tokyo, and people who love Osaka will say Osaka. And their reasons for doing so is not necessarily relevant to everyone else.

    That said, Osaka. Obviously.

12. wtf is your job that makes you over 15m a year

13. Cons first: not as wide entertainment options as in Tokyo (although it should be enough for you)

    Pros: cheaper everything, people are friendlier, it’s easier to strike a conversation with locals.

    Given that you are full remote and earn a lot of money, why not spend one month at an Airbnb and try by yourself?

14. nobody on this sub is gonna say tokyo obviously

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