All about Osaka, Japan... ?

Question

I'm going to Osaka, Japan for a holiday next year and am wondering (for anyone who has been there) what Osaka is like? I heard the food there is terrific.

Are the people generally nice/kind/helpful?

Does a sizeable portion of the people there speak English (or do I need to buy an English-Japanese book to help me translate)?

Is there a way/train to take to Tokyo once there?

Any must-see/visit places in particular I should know of?

Thanks.

Answer 1

Osaka is huge. There are so many things to do. Osaka is really a modern city in every way. I recommend staying in the Kita/Umeda area and staying near the JR station.

There are lots of great places to eat near the station, all the department stores are there (Japanese Department stores are very different from department stores in the west. they have restaurants, and grocery stores built into them). You can also use that area as a base to go to Kyoto, Himeji, Nara, and Kobe.

In Osaka make sure to visit Osaka-jyo (Osaka Castle), Tenmagu (Shrine), and ride the Big Wheel on top of the Hep-Five building. All of these things are close to Umeda. The Aquarium is also very good too. Dotonbori/Namba area is fun to walk around. Lots of shopping and people and some very cool signs and things. Nakanoshima park is also nice but it is being worked on now. I am not sure when the construction will be finished. They also have Universal Studios but it is the same as the one in LA pretty much.

You should know some basic Japanese language. Even those who can speak English appreciate any effort you make. AT the minimum you should be able to say excuse me, how much is this?, thank you etc. People are nervous about speaking English to foreigners most learned some English in School but they probably don't have confidence in it. If you do speak to someone try to speak slowly and use a simple vocabulary. The people of Osaka I think are much nicer and more helpful than the people of Tokyo to strangers. This is just my own personal opinion though.

You can take a shinkansen from Osaka to Tokyo but it is kind of expensive. If you do this I suggest you buy a special JR pass that is only available to tourists from other countries. It has unlimited rides on all JR trains for 7, 14 or 21 days. It is several hundred dollars depending on how long you purchase it for but 1 trip from Osaka to Tokyo pretty much pays for it.

Here is more info on the Japan Rail pass.

http://www.japanrail.com/JR_japanrailpas...

Add on:

You will also want to check out some basic Japanese etiquette. Things like not walking and eating, don't ever stand your hashi (chopsticks) up always lay them flat (This is a sign of death and is bad manners) simple things like always wearing good socks as you will be taking your shoes off and don't want people to see holes in your socks etc.

Answer 2

Osaka is known as the kitchen of Japan. It has some of the best food ever in the country. They are known for thier okonomiyaki and takoyaki. My favorite is of course, okonomiyaki mmm...

There aren't a lot of people who speak English beyond a few VERY high frequency words like "hi" "no" etc. I suggest you take a phrase book!

The people are BY FAR friendlier than any city in Japan. I've seen instances where Japanese people on the trains just randomly make conversation with random foreigners for fun. I've seen business men chat up two blond guys, even though the japanese men knew almost no English, they kept uttering the same phrases and laughed along with the foreigners. My friend also had the same experience, random people talked to her. Osakans are very jolly, friendly and outgoing people. They love laughter and fun.

To get to Tokyo, you'd have to take a bullet train from Shin osaka station. The time to get to Tokyo is about 3 hours total. If you go by a regular train, it'll take about 8 hours. Yikes!

There's lots to do! One thing is you can visit the Osaka Kayukan Aquarium, HEP building, Sega Joypolis, EAT FOOD, the Osaka castle, Namba (lots of cheap stuff to buy), Dotonbori street, etc.

Answer 3

Osaka people are generally cheerful, positive, helpful and even meddle somehow for stranger.

I must say that you definitely should have to buy text book much better than nothing. Most of Japanese everywhere except limited area seldom understand and/or speak any native English. Osaka is no exception.

You can take famous Shinkansen to go to Tokyo.

Osaka castle, Universal studio, Dotonbori shopping district,

otherwise Kyoto is neighborhood for worth to go.

Answer 4

i was born in osaka! :) its really great like toko a big city. lot of thigns to do there lot of s**y girls and nitght clubs!