Is it better to stay in Osaka or Tokyo?

If you want to be at the heart of everything, Tokyo can be your best bet. But, if you want to enjoy a lower cost of living and friendlier neighbors, Osaka can be the better choice. Both cities have something unique to offer, and living in either city can be a fantastic experience.



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If you want to focus on one city, Tokyo is the one. However, Osaka offers many similar features and it's a great base to see a whole lot more. Having been to both multiple times, if I were a first-timer again and I can't afford to go to both, I would personally pick Osaka and see everything else around it.

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A Little More Relaxed The Kansai region as a whole has long been characterised as more friendly and outgoing than Tokyo and this is somewhat true. People in Osaka tend to be a bit more open and generally won't hesitate to speak to you even if you're a foreigner.

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You can visit Osaka at any time of year because the weather is temperate. The best times to visit Osaka are the fall (October/November) and spring (March/April/May). Summer (June/July/August) in Osaka is hot and humid. Winter (December/January/February) in Osaka is cold but not too cold for traveling.

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The ideal duration to explore Tokyo is at least 5 days to discover the main areas of the city and the outskirts of the prefecture. To explore Japan's best, spend at least 2 weeks here. Even then, you will realize that there are so many things to discover in Japan.

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Shinkansen or bullet train In just 2 hours and 30 minutes, you can get from Tokyo Station to Shin-Osaka Station. A one-way trip costs 13,620 yen (unreserved seat) or 14,650 yen (reserved seat), and is not covered by the JR Pass.

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The Takeaway The best places to stay (in order of preference) are Kita, Minami, Honmachi (Central Osaka) and the Shin-Osaka Area. Other decent places to stay include the Tennoji Area and the Osaka Castle Area.

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Yes, it is. The Shinkansen starts running around 6 a.m. and the last return train from Shin-Osaka to Tokyo is around 9 p.m. This gives you a whole day in Osaka — but does mean missing out on Osaka's famous nightlife.

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Osaka is a charming, relaxed city best known for its food, fun and nightlife—with some history and culture peeking through. Osaka is only a short shinkansen ride from Tokyo, but has a very different personality to Japan's capital city.

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It is considerably cheaper to fly in and out of Tokyo than to include one leg of the trip going through either Osaka airport (flying from US). We would of course save time by flying through different airports since this would help us avoid backtracking, but it is about an extra $350 USD per person.

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Top tips for finding cheap flights to Osaka High season is considered to be January, November and December. The cheapest month to fly from the United States is September.

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