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[rich]

Hi all,

I recently spent a few months travelling in Japan, including a fair amount of time in both Kyoto and Tokyo.

I'm going back at the beginning of October for a 6 month teaching stint, but can't for the life of me decide which of the above cities to base myself in! I love them both of course, but for completely different reasons:

Tokyo - exciting, vibrant, more opportunity for jobs maybe...
Kyoto - beautiful city, apparently evenmoreso during the Autumn, less opportunity for jobs although Osaka's nearby...

Which city would you choose to live in for a while...and why?

Thanks,

Rich

[rbisset]

Kyoto because the women I saw whilst walking around the streets were breathtaking! Plus the town is beautiful although hotter than the sun in the far too short 2 days I managed to stay there.

[stevejames]

Another vote for Kyoto here

[rich]

Yeah I am leaning towards Kyoto myself, but Tokyo is such a buzzing city...very tempting.

Steve, what makes you choose Kyoto over Tokyo (in terms of living there)?

As for the women, Fukuoka was the best city in that respect...certainly better than the horrors seen in Roppongi!

[rbisset]

Hahaha definitely Fukuoka is the best in terms of women! Good man.

From my blog: One thing I had noticed when wandering around Tenjin last night was the amount of women. They must have outnumbered the men by about 2:1 and were almost all stunningly beautiful. So men of the world, if you like your women of the Asian variety and Japanese is your particular preference then head down to Fukuoka!

I actually think Fukuoka would be a great place to live.

[rich]

Hahaha definitely Fukuoka is the best in terms of women! Good man.

From my blog: One thing I had noticed when wandering around Tenjin last night was the amount of women. They must have outnumbered the men by about 2:1 and were almost all stunningly beautiful. So men of the world, if you like your women of the Asian variety and Japanese is your particular preference then head down to Fukuoka!

I actually think Fukuoka would be a great place to live.

Yes Fukuoka was a particular favourite, despite getting lost for a change after leaving through the wrong exit at the train station! Maybe I should give it some thought. Presumably it will be a little warmer down there through the winter...

I need to take into account the job market in whichever city I choose, and not sure how plentiful opportunities are in Fukuoka and how many competing foreigners there are.

The good thing about Kyoto is that it's so close to Osaka which is supposed to be good for jobs...

[rbisset]

Decided not to go to Osaka. It sounded like a concrete jungle.

[rich]

Decided not to go to Osaka. It sounded like a concrete jungle.

I really didn't like Osaka, and in no way would I live there, but commuting from Kyoto would be doable.

It is a complete concrete jungle with no respite...even Tokyo has large areas of greenery to escape the hordes, but not so in Osaka.

[kitkatgo]

I won't make any comments about the women, lol....

But I suppose if I had to choose, I might pick Kyoto. Although I loved both cities. I loved the history of Kyoto. I liked that Kyoto wasn't quite so, well, frenzied as Tokyo. I also noticed more Westerners in Kyoto. Can't beat the shopping in Tokyo though, but then, I'm a girl.

I doubt you could go wrong with either city... You're bound for some good adventures in either city I imagine.

~Kit

[kacampau]

There are always teaching jobs everywhere in Japan. I found that some of the best paying are in a small town or city where there aren't a lot of foriegners. You could really go anywhere.

That said, transportation and lodging is expensive in Japan, would you really want to commute every weekend out of a concrete jungle?

[kacampau]

It is November... What did you decide?