Comparison: Osaka and Tokyo
June 29th, 2008 Posted in Japan, Travel
Tokyo is a bit of a Mecca for some people, especially in regard to technology and video games, and it also has a pretty good reputation for nightlife and fun, but a lot of people overlook Osaka, Japan’s second-largest city. Perhaps for many of us it’s a bit of an unknown, so there’s not much reason to go there. Well, it depends what you want really – Osaka is definitely a worthy destination.
In the end, it comes down to what you want to do on your trip. If you want to go to Tokyo so that you can say you went to Tokyo, well… go to Tokyo. But, if you’re Australian at least, you might find that it is much cheaper and easier to go to Osaka. So, what’s the right thing to do? Spend the extra dollars and go to Tokyo, or take a trip to Osaka and face a lot of “Where’s that?”-type of questions from your friends?
Again, it depends on what you want. They both have a distinct identity. Of course, each city has it’s pros and cons, but how are they similar?
Well, they each have an ‘Electronics’ town (DenDen Town [Nipponbashi] in Osaka, and Akihabara in Tokyo), shopping districts, business districts, an infrastructure built around perfectly-run public transport, food and neon galore, and people everywhere. Actually, some say the people are nicer in Osaka, but I didn’t think so, I felt they were pretty much the same. They are pretty similar cities, and in a lot of ways, Osaka is simply Tokyo’s little brother. Much of what can be seen and done in Tokyo can be seen and done there. So… What’s different?
Here is where each city really shines (unfortunately – for your decision-making needs). I think there is a clear distinction between the cities, and knowing these is important for deciding your travel destination.
Let’s start with Osaka. Ask any Japanese what Osaka is most famous for, and they will probably all say the same thing — food. A famous Japanese comedian has even been immortalised there as a symbol of Kuidaore– falling down from eating too much. Go to Doutonbori in Namba, and you will find a circus-like strip of food joints, all of them friggin’ awesome. In reality, I have to agree — the food in Osaka is much better than in Tokyo. For example, there are certain foods I didn’t enjoy in Tokyo, namely Takoyaki (octopus balls, essentially, but not the balls you are thinking, filthy-minded sod…) and Okonomiyaki (pretty much a savoury pancake). When I had these foods in Osaka, I was addicted. They were sublime. Also, although we didn’t try it in Tokyo, we tried fugu (puffer fish) in Osaka as well… It was OK. Fish is fish, and fugu is a pretty plain fish, at that. It’s really the fact that it is potentially deadly that makes it so exciting (and expensive).
The point is, the food is great in Osaka. We didn’t spend as much time as we could have, but all of the food we had was excellent — much better than Tokyo (sorry, Tokyoites). This may be due to the fact that, 1000 years ago, Osaka was close to the ancient capital, which means that much of the traditional Japanese food spread outwards from there… So they say.
Secondly, and probably most importantly (for most tourists), Osaka is much closer to the tourist hubs of
Japan — particularly Kyoto (for all things ancient Japan) and Hiroshima (for obvious reasons). Kyoto is home to the most recognisable aspects of Japan — ancient temples (including the Golden Pavilion) and other such sites of worship (such as zen rock gardens, and so on). If you go to Japan for sightseeing, you want to go to Kyoto.
On the other hand, Hiroshima is humbling, for several reasons. One, you can really feel that something terrible happened there. It permeates everything. In many places you visit in Hiroshima, you are reminded of what happened (but not everywhere, of course). Two, Hiroshima’s a big city. It’s truly amazing how quickly such destruction can be turned around. It’s not quite as large as Tokyo or Osaka (by a long shot), but it’s still pretty surprising. And three, Hiroshima is dedicated to peace. The sentiment is everywhere.
Anyway, I rambled about Hiroshima a bit, but remember — it’s a HELL OF A LOT closer to Osaka than Tokyo.
I must add, at this point, that the historical sites in Tokyo and Kyoto are strikingly different. The sites in Kyoto have more of a rich traditional feel to them, while those in Tokyo have what the Japanese refer to as a Shitamachi vibe — the small-town, friendly townsfolk feel. Less imposing, but some may think less impressive as well. But then again, it depends on what you like. The traditional vibe is extremely stiff, while the friendly vibe feels a lot more hands-on and inclusive.
You also have to keep in mind that, after the war, Tokyo grew exponentially, and as such is a more energetic city, while the west side of Japan remained rooted in history and traditional identity. That is not to say that Tokyo lacks identity, or that Tokyo is losing its traditions (although some may argue that way), it just has an identity that is different to that of the historical identity.
Furthermore, Tokyo has only recently become the capital city. The capital city was Kyoto for 1000 years, the longest out of all past and present capitals of Japan. Global focus may currently be on Tokyo, but historical focus is firmly set on Kyoto. Many important aspects of Japanese history happened in or around Kyoto and Osaka, and this is certainly evident when travelling in those areas, although Tokyo does itself confer a great deal of charm.
In reality, that pretty much sums up the reasons to go to Osaka. But they are clearly very strong points. Conversely, Tokyo speaks for itself, and I don’t believe I need to spend too much time rambling about it. It’s a great city, for all the right reasons. If you are looking for any aspect of fashion, you want Tokyo — from Cosplay in Harajuku to high fashion in Ginza (and some would argue Shinjuku). If you’re looking for the 
nightlife, Tokyo has that as well — I found it much more difficult to find a good Karaoke box in Osaka than in Tokyo. In fact, in Tokyo, there’s pretty much one wherever you look. Of course, this may have also been a function of location (and the fact I spent only days in Osaka compared to years in Tokyo). Regarding other aspects of nightlife, it’s hard to say. I visited quite a few clubs and pubs in Tokyo, but nothing in Osaka. Of course, the largest club in Japan, Ageha, is located in (or should I say near?) Tokyo, and that place is kick anus! Good times.
For the nerds, though, I have to provide my opinion in regard to the Tech-towns. Personally, Akihabara wins hands-down. There’s so much more to see, it’s much more ‘in your face’ (so to speak) and it’s more centralised. I found DenDen Town to be much less impressive — the strip it’s on is not quite as wide, so it detracts from it. Of course, I spent a lot of time in Akihabara, and I knew what was to be found in all of the side-streets, etc. — perhaps it’s the same in DenDen Town. It just felt a lot smaller to me, but to be honest, we did end up spending a lot of time there, a couple of the shops were pretty sweet…
In summary, Tokyo lives up to the hype, but not necessarily if you are going for sight seeing. Sure, there are a lot of cool things to see — Tokyo Tower, Odaiba (man-made island), Sensouji Temple, and so on, but not as many impressive temples as Kyoto. If you can afford it, go to both! We had a lot of fun in Osaka, the vibe in Doutonbori was mind-blowing — much more fun than similar areas in Tokyo, and (surprisingly) FAR MORE NEON! The touristy places were much better quality in Kyoto (less than an hour out of Osaka by train, from memory), and the food was awesome. For me, however, Tokyo is still the better city. It seemed like more of a party city — a trendy city — and that hit the right chords for me. As I mentioned before, it has an identity far removed from the stiff historical identity, and that is what I needed.
Like I said, it depends on what you want. If you go to either city, you won’t be let down.
Thank you for sharing your experiences in both Osaka and Tokyo. I asked many japanese people who were from Osaka and Tokyo and they would all say something negative about one another. Which was very confusing for me to decide. So thank you again!
No worries! Actually, I should also point out that Nara (another one of Japan’s oldest capitals) is also close to Osaka — it’s next to Kyoto, essentially. That place is awesome, too — lot’s of really old temples, and one hell of a big statue of Buddha… Worth seeing if you go the way of sightseeing and visit Osaka.