When travelling to Japan, most people think of travelling to Tokyo. After all it’s the capital of Japan as well as its largest city. However, Osaka has everything Tokyo has to offer and more at a much lower cost. Osaka is also conveniently close to Kyoto, the former capital of Japan and the heart of the country’s history. You can take a train ride from Osaka and find yourself in Kyoto pretty easily.
Where to Stay
The first thing you should do when planning out a trip to Osaka is finding a place to stay. Fortunately, many of the hotels in Osaka are cheaper than they would be in other parts of Japan. I personally stayed at a business hotel called the Ana Crowne Plaza Osaka. While the room itself was a little small, it was high quality and comfortable. Plus, the room was only ¥7,500 a night (around $70). The hotel was also close to a major subway station, so moving from place to place was made significantly easier. I would definitely recommend staying here if you’re travelling alone or with another person.
Another thing I would like to mention are capsule hotels. For those of you who don’t know what that is, it’s essentially a bed in a box with air conditioning, sometimes with a TV or desk if you’re lucky . While the higher quality ones can be slightly different, that is essentially what a capsule hotel is. I stayed in one of these for a night and it was definitely an interesting experience. It was also quite cheap, only ¥2,500 (around $22). While I wouldn’t recommend staying there for more than a night, I would still at least try to experience it while you can when in Osaka. After all, capsule hotels are something completely unique to Japan and you won’t be able to stay in one anywhere else.
Best Time to Visit
Japan tends to have two main tourist rushes, early spring for the blooming of the cherry blossoms as well as certain festivals and summer for summer vacation, and Osaka and Kyoto are no exception to this. I visited Osaka in late summer, so it was packed with tourists and almost all the popular attractions were crowded, the beating sun didn’t help much either. Winter is also not a very good option for travelling. While there might not be many people visiting and causing tourist traffic, the cold can be pretty annoying to deal with, though Kyoto can be quite attractive when it snows. I would suggest visiting in either autumn or early spring. Both aren’t overly hot or cold and there aren’t as many tourist that visit at the time. Plus, if you visit in early spring, you can still enjoy the blooming cherry blossoms.
Transportation
Japan’s subways are infamous for being ridiculously complicated and interconnected, and for good reason. While there are subways to almost anywhere you might want to go, if you don’t know exactly when to get off, it can be very, very easy to get hopelessly lost. The subways have hundreds of stations and railways that all connect in one way or another. Fortunately, navigating is made much easier if you have a map so make sure to keep one on hand or on a phone. There tend to be three main rush hours for Japanese Subways, early in the morning, later in the evening and the last train of the day. This can be very annoying to deal with, especially if you’re on a long train ride. You might accidentally miss your station and might have to pay for an extra ticket that really isn’t necessary. I’ve experienced it, it wasn’t fun at all. As long as you avoid the three rush hours however, you should be fine. I would also suggest getting a train pass as it should make travelling around much easier.
Japanese Etiquette
As can be expected with any country, Japan has different customs and cultures compared to other countries, with the exception of maybe Korea and China. If you don’t know them, it’s possible to get strange looks from people. Japanese people tend to be more reserved and dislike causing unnecessary problems or trouble so if they often apologize for just to avoid starting an argument or a fight. So don’t cause any unnecessary disturbances or fights, but that should be a given anywhere you visit.
Japanese stores and restaurants also tend to only take cash. While there are many shops that do accept credit or debit cards, a majority of them will only accept cash. This can lead to many embarrassing situations and can sometimes lead to fights. There was one time where I had to scrape around my wallet to pay for a meal I had just eaten. Thankfully, most shops or restaurants will have a sign saying they don’t accept credit cards.
Must Sees
Both Osaka and Kyoto have incredible and diverse attractions that have something for everyone. Historical sites like the Kinkaku-ji (the Golden Pavilion), theme parks like Universal Studios, a massive aquarium in Osaka called the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan, modernized streets and shops in Dotonbori, and much more. While there were a few disappointments, Osaka Castle in particular was a bit underwhelming and the interior didn’t feel like a building from the 16th century. Despite this, there is plenty of enjoyment to be had. I would especially suggest going to is the Fushini Inari Shrine in Kyoto. It is one of the most important Shinto shrines in Japan and is full of the country’s old customs and traditions. It is the number one place to go to if you’re interested in learning about Japan’s Shinto culture.
Another big tourist attraction that I would recommend visiting before leaving Japan is Universal Studios. While the massive amount of people there can be annoying, especially in the summer, the worst this does is increase the wait time for some of the more popular rides. Universal Studios has massive amounts of rides and attractions from dozens of popular franchises including Harry Potter, Transformers and Spider-man. With it’s massive variety of rides, you could stay there for days on end and still find something new and fun.
What to Eat
Fortunately for anyone who enjoys eating, Osaka and Kyoto have plenty of Japanese staples as well as their own unique foods. Something you should always try before leaving Osaka is takoyaki, octopus cooked in balls of dough. While that may not sound appetizing, it’s surprisingly good and extremely cheap, only around ¥300 – ¥500 (around $2.70 – $3.50). It is also an Osaka staple and is one of the most popular street foods there.
Another thing you should try before leaving Japan is really, really obvious, sushi. Sushi is a Japanese staple and almost everyone has at least seen or tried it before. While there are plenty of cheap and affordable sushi restaurants that are all decent quality, especially conveyor belt sushi restaurants, if you want high quality sushi it’s best to go to a sushi bar. They are quite a bit more expensive but they tend to use higher quality ingredients and have professional sushi chefs who’ve been making sushi for years. I’ve visited one before and it was worth the price easily. If you’re willing to spend a bit of extra yen, I would highly recommend visiting one.
One more popular dish I would like to mention is okonomiyaki. Okonomiyaki is almost like a stir fry pancake. It’s a specialty of Japan and is generally made from shredded cabbage and noodles with other meat and vegetables mixed with egg. It can also have seafood, mochi, cheese, really whatever you want. There are also many okonomiyaki restaurants that allow you to make your own okonomiyaki in any way you like! Though it can be a little tough making it at first. Plus, each city and prefecture in Japan have their own ways of making okonomiyaki so Kyoto and Osaka will have two different types of okonomiyaki to enjoy, though I prefer the Kyoto style myself.
Shopping
Something you can’t leave Osaka or Kyoto without doing, which I’m sure some of you are already thinking about, is shopping. While it’s true not everyone enjoys it, Osaka and Kyoto have things you won’t find anywhere else. Plus, it’s always nice to pick up a souvenir or two. One place in particular, Don Quijote, is one of the most and diverse stores I’ve ever visited. Some of the items there feel so outlandish I never would have thought they existed, but at the same time, they also felt oddly practical. It almost feels like an upgraded dollar store and a good place to pick up a small bobble.
I would also suggest visiting Namba, one of the largest shopping districts in Japan. With over 500 different stores, Namba has a huge amount of variety. From designer brands like CHANEL and LUIS VUITTON, to more local shops selling items you probably won’t find anywhere else, there are a countless number of stores to visit. Namba is also where Dottunburi is located, one of the biggest and most popular tourist locations in Osaka. It’s basically Osaka’s Time’s Square.
Another thing I want to mention are Japanese convenience stores. To me, they feel like the only convenience stores that have earned the ‘convenience’ in the name. It’s possible to live off of your entire trip off a convenience store and it wouldn’t even be half bad. You can buy full meals for only ¥400 (around $3.50). The most you can get at a Seven Eleven in the US might be a bag of chips and a slushy for a similar price.
Conclusion
Both Osaka and Kyoto are easily some of my favorite places to go for vacation. There are massive amounts of things to do and places to visit. Even after visiting multiple times, I still haven’t seen all that they have to offer. I would strongly recommend visiting at least once or twice, if only to see more of each city. It’s definitely an enjoyable experience, as long as you don’t visit in the summer or winter.
Adam's Travel Blog 