Hi, I'm travelling to Japan first time next year in April. My flight arrives in Osaka, and I'm staying for 10 days in Japan. I'm wondering if it's better to stay in Osaka then travel to Kyoto for sighseeing, or the other way around. Obviously, I'd like to see both places - have wanted to go to Osaka for ages for the food! (Although seems like this forum has had more positive feedback on Kyoto).

I'm also thinking of going to Tokyo for half of the time, but is it a bit ambitious? Also, does anyone have any tips on where to stay - price and convenience is the main concern here, don't reeally mind about comfort . I'm travelling with my partner, we're in late-20's.

I stayed in Kyoto and took the train to Osaka twice (its a quick trip). Do you prefer a small, historic UNESCO World Heritage Site (Kyoto) to a large, vibrant city (Osaka)? To me, 10 days is a bit much in Osaka (I didn't find it that interesting, and food is food -- you'll find great food all over Japan, although I did eat whale in Osaka and I don't recall finding whale restaurants that easily elsewhere). I would definitely take the bullet train to Tokyo for a few days.

Michael

Best would be to stay in Kyoto and sightsee in Kyoto. There is more to see in Kyoto. Actually, I would call Kyoto a large vibrant city with UNESCO WH sites.

You have enough time to spend a few days in Tokyo. It is not ambitious time-wise, but it will cost you about 25,000 yen to get to Tokyo and back. There are several nearby trips that you can make for much less, like Himeji and Nara. And Osaka.

For sightseeing, Kyoto has far more to see, and it's much more convenient to be based there to be closer to the things you want to see.

Osaka is a nice but large city. It has great shopping, some sightseeing, and is very good to see if you weren't going to Tokyo. There is a big electronic goods neighborhood, Korea town, American Mura...quite diverse.

With 10 days, I don't see why you couldn't include Tokyo, too. Do know that it is an expensive journey between the two cities...you either pay a lot in money to get there fast, or you pay a lot in time and the trip takes a long time.

It would be easier to recommend places to stay if you would tell us what your budget and expectations are.

Thanks! Yes, I've researched a bit and found that the bullet train is pretty expensive for both travel ways. But probably it's worth it, since I don't knwo when I can go to Japan next T_T.. But need to research a bit more!
My budget is around $100 per night for accomodation. I'm considering hostels, but I heard you can stay at temples for reasonable price, is that right - do you know where I can find more information about that?
I found some budget ryokan style accomodation, called Tour club in Kyoto. Has anyone heard of it, is it OK? At this stage, it's probably too early to plan on anything yet, but I'm just too excited, been my lifelong dream to go to Japan (just booked my flight 2 days ago). Also, I'm going early April (around Easter), so a few weeks before Golden Week - hopefully can catch some cherry blossoms. Is it busy around that time - how long before should I book the accomodation? I've also heard that it's cheaper to book at the airport or on spot than through the internet, is that right? Thanks heaps guys! ^^

You have plenty of time to plan. Early April is the beginning of the school year and there are many school trips at this time. There are some, but not many youth hostels...often they are totally booked by student groups and often they are poorly located for sightseeing and transportation. There are many similarly priced hotels and minshukus. Tour Club is not luxurious but it would probably suit a budget traveller well, and I'm sure it's a good place to meet other travellers. It's way to early to book for April in all except the pricier places. A budget places won't likely take bookings for April until at least January, but it wouldn't hurt at all to contact the places you liked and ask them when the best time to book for your time period would be.

$100 a night will get you a fine single room, sometimes very fine. It's very often best to book using a place's Japanese language website as their English websites don't offer the rate plans that the Japanese ones do. Also, keep in mind that most English language booking sites like asiarooms.com and expedia.com, for example, often charge 2, 3, or even 4 or more times the rate for a room you could book directly in Japanese at the hotel's own site. This is especially true for the less expensive places. When it comes time for you to do your booking, it would be a good idea to post here again to see what rates I can find in Japanese...that is if you don't read Japanese, which you might, I don't know.

Temples...there are some that offer inexpensive lodging...not many though. All that I've heard of require the guest to rise very early and participate in medidation and to do some sort of work at some time during the stay. This may be a great experience for a night or two. Koya -san is a well known temple area that has many temples in which it is possible to stay.