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osaka or tokyo


braid

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I'll be in Nagoya on business and plan to stay for 3-4 nights in either osaka or tokyo but my question is, which one?

Which is better for someone's first time outside the US visiting Japan? I would like to do a little shopping but also see some sites and experience Japan. Which would you suggest and why?

Lastly, any suggestions to cheap accomodations in either location would be great.

Thanks so much...

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As much as I love Osaka, if you have never been to Japan I really think it would be silly to not dedicate your first trip to Tokyo.

Sure, both cities have great people/shopping/sites, but Tokyo needs to be done nonetheless. You can save Osaka/Kyoto for your next trip.........

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Guest jmatsu
I'll be in Nagoya on business and plan to stay for 3-4 nights in either osaka or tokyo but my question is, which one?

Which is better for someone's first time outside the US visiting Japan? I would like to do a little shopping but also see some sites and experience Japan. Which would you suggest and why?

Lastly, any suggestions to cheap accomodations in either location would be great.

Thanks so much...

go to tokyo. fuck osaka. tokyu stay hotel.

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Guest jmatsu
Osaka is better for food. Tokyo is better for shopping. It really depends on what your preference is.

i def prefer kanto flavor to that of kansai. kansai is just too bland.

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tokyo it is...thanks guys, especially englandmj7. Reason I asked was I read in other posts how Osaka was preferred due to nicer people, better shopping, etc.

englandmj7, that hostel you posted in my earlier thread looks perfect in the heart of tokyo. i may pm you for some additional information.

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Osaka isn't "better" for food when you only have 3-4 days. Tokyo has some of the best restaurants in the world.

Agreed. Tokyo has some of the best, if not the best cuisine in the entire world. So, Tokyo for me. But my kansai-jin brothers tend to be more chill and language is way more interesting w/ all the slang. Plus the girls are louder, more agressive...

Edit: Also, for USED/Vintage clothes shopping + Jeans, yes Osaka is better. But there are areas of Tokyo and outer regions that rival Osaka in the jeans/vintage arena.

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tokyo it is...thanks guys, especially englandmj7. Reason I asked was I read in other posts how Osaka was preferred due to nicer people, better shopping, etc.

englandmj7, that hostel you posted in my earlier thread looks perfect in the heart of tokyo. i may pm you for some additional information.

Glad to help. Feel free to shoot me a PM anytime.

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tokyo it is...thanks guys, especially englandmj7. Reason I asked was I read in other posts how Osaka was preferred due to nicer people, better shopping, etc.

englandmj7, that hostel you posted in my earlier thread looks perfect in the heart of tokyo. i may pm you for some additional information.

if thats the place in rapponggi, it really is close to everything. the manager dude cracks me up, you should see if he has his boyband cd. He was a celebrity over there for a while. The guy from the maldives.

there is a ramen joint on the road the McDonalds is on. The ramen there was very very good. I'm far from a ramen expert, but very tasty

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if thats the place in rapponggi, it really is close to everything. the manager dude cracks me up, you should see if he has his boyband cd. He was a celebrity over there for a while. The guy from the maldives.

there is a ramen joint on the road the McDonalds is on. The ramen there was very very good. I'm far from a ramen expert, but very tasty

I know the place. Across from the onsen right? It was always busy with a ton of expats.

Ha hah, Amir is a celebrity? Really?

He is a super nice dude but can be a bit odd sometimes. Couldn't figure out his personality for the life of me.

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I know the place. Across from the onsen right? It was always busy with a ton of expats.

Ha hah, Amir is a celebrity? Really?

He is a super nice dude but can be a bit odd sometimes. Couldn't figure out his personality for the life of me.

yeah. i was there solo, so i made friends with some of the long term kids. One afternoon they all sat around the couch and talked shit on him for like a good 2 hours, really loud thinking he was at home. He was sitting in his office the entire time in the dark. Very weird dude. But yeah, his cd is there at the place, and the other kids put on the DVD part of it, which had their music video. It's pretty insane. The group was really big for a bit, guessing that's how someone from the maldives ends up in tokyo...

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there is a ramen joint on the road the McDonalds is on. The ramen there was very very good. I'm far from a ramen expert, but very tasty

Are you referring to the Tenkaippin (天下一品)Ramen joint? It's a pretty famous ramen chain in Japan, pretty good for a chain.

roku-tempo.jpg

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Guest jmatsu
Are you referring to the Tenkaippin (天下一品)Ramen joint? It's a pretty famous ramen chain in Japan, pretty good for a chain.

roku-tempo.jpg

rajio, can you stomach the kotteri? it's like eating melted butter.

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Guest jmatsu
Haha. It's definitely an acquired taste. Have u been to the cheese ramen joint in Ebisu? Now that's like eating melted butterrrrr.....;)

i'll have to put that on my list. throwing noodles in a type of fondue...

you and i've probably ate shit worse then both, but the very act of consuming the koteri agi ramen makes me feel like my heart's going to explode. not so much the taste, but the clogged artery paranoia.

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Are you referring to the Tenkaippin (天下一品)Ramen joint? It's a pretty famous ramen chain in Japan, pretty good for a chain.

roku-tempo.jpg

no, it's more of a hole in the wall, literally. As old school as it gets i suppose in Tokyo. Reminded me of eating pho in vietnam the resturant was so low key...it's right next to the expat bar and right across the street from a hibachi. Sorry, my sense of direction isn't precise and my terminology is so bad...it's been a while now.

and i guess it's techically in abazu juban also...

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Are you referring to the Tenkaippin (天下一品)Ramen joint? It's a pretty famous ramen chain in Japan, pretty good for a chain.

roku-tempo.jpg

there are at least three other ramen joints in the same vicinity that are way better imho... i don't remember the names of them, but there is one on the other side of roppongi crossing, near the pet store and upstairs... they do ramen in individual stalls and you can customize the amount of garlic, green onions, chili, noodles, fatty pork, etc. by checking off boxes on the little paper they give you. it's also a chain and they have a place near shibuya station near 0101 (marui jam)

there is a good shoyu/shio ramen place downstairs and next to the bali relax massage place. you can grill your own meat on a little clay pot stove they give you at your table. it's somewhat novel, but good.

the other place we go to in roppongi serves up some wicked spicy tan tan ramen... it's on the main drag, kinda close to the little street that you turn up to get to the grace building, velfarre or lime.

all three of the above places are on the other side of roppongi crossing from the ramen place shown above. again, sorry i don' t know the names of the places... be aware, they get very crowded weekend nights and afterhours... enjoy!

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Guest jmatsu

what i don't enjoy about osaka is that alot (obviously not all) of the people are fuckin cheapskates. always asking for a discount, and always the last to pay. they think it is their devine right to try be funny/or the center of attention. osaka-ben is alright (i guess), but sometimes it irritates the fuck out of me.

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Guest jmatsu
my kind of people ;)

being pennywise is different from being cheap or having a osaka-like ettiquette. i can't believe some osaka japanese actually think that it's cultural. craaazzzyyy.

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Guest jmatsu
I suggest you go to Osaka, unless you want to go on a shopping spree really bad.

When you're in Osaka, you could also make a trip to Kyoto. Kyoto is awesome.

while i respect kyoto...seriously what's so great about it? don't give me any of this historical crap. besides the maiko, a billion temples, and a big big river, what have you got? tiny confectionized brown roots/weeds that cost an arm and a leg (and they call it kyoto cuisine).

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I thought of Tokyo as a very bland and perhaps, a bit, overrated city. Though, there's enough to see, and the city does have a lot of nice places, I guess the whole metropolis atmosphere jus't isn't my thing. But, you probably feel the same way about Osaka/Kyoto.

while i respect kyoto...seriously what's so great about it? don't give me any of this historical crap. besides the maiko, a billion temples, and a big big river, what have you got? tiny confectionized brown roots/weeds that cost an arm and a leg (and they call it kyoto cuisine).

I like the maiko, the billion temples (the kinkakuji is very nice), and the big big river. What has Tokyo got over Kyoto?

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