Anyone any thoughts on this... Kyoto or Osaka to use as a base camp.

[LovesTimone]

So my neighbor and good friend. Were out on one of our shopping excursions> They are going to Japan in November of this year... so we have been comparing notes... She and her DH are going with 10 or 12 other couples on a group trip... They all have been friends a long time, and do a big trip like this every year or so she said... 2 or 3 or the couples lived in Japan at one time or another and are doing the planning... So hands on experience...

She shared their itinerary with me... I noticed that they were staying in Osaka instead of Kyoto... and I asked her why so she called one of the women and asked her... She said that hotels ( chains such as Hilton, Hyatt and others) are more plentiful in Osaka with the the type of accommodations, that they want, king beds and more american options as well as the cost per night with more competition she said they get more for their money ... as well moving around from Osaka to Kyoto ( 17 minutes by shinkansen), Hiroshima, Nara, Kobe and other sites, it is more centered to what they are planning on visiting, and being close to the JR train station.. and more options for dinning out and entertainment in the evening...

This does appeal to me, as a king size bed is something that we need, DH is tall and a big guy and I am not really short so a King bed is important to us, to make our travel easier, if we can both sleep properly...


Anyone any thoughts on this... We are just in the very beginning of planning...

 

[indoshakespeare]

Yes, Osaka is more central if they plan to go to Hiroshima, Nara and Kobe. It's also closer to Kansai International Airport. It's a more International city compared to Kyoto.

 

[LovesTimone]

Yes, Osaka is more central if they plan to go to Hiroshima, Nara and Kobe. It's also closer to Kansai International Airport. It's a more International city compared to Kyoto.

Yes Hiroshima, Nara and Kobe, as well as Kyoto are on their agenda for this trip... I think that I am going to check out this option since we are just beginning... I like knowing all my options now rather than later on...

Thanks for the info...

 

[Haley R]

So my neighbor and good friend. Were out on one of our shopping excursions> They are going to Japan in November of this year... so we have been comparing notes... She and her DH are going with 10 or 12 other couples on a group trip... They all have been friends a long time, and do a big trip like this every year or so she said... 2 or 3 or the couples lived in Japan at one time or another and are doing the planning... So hands on experience...

She shared their itinerary with me... I noticed that they were staying in Osaka instead of Kyoto... and I asked her why so she called one of the women and asked her... She said that hotels ( chains such as Hilton, Hyatt and others) are more plentiful in Osaka with the the type of accommodations, that they want, king beds and more american options as well as the cost per night with more competition she said they get more for their money ... as well moving around from Osaka to Kyoto ( 17 minutes by shinkansen), Hiroshima, Nara, Kobe and other sites, it is more centered to what they are planning on visiting, and being close to the JR train station.. and more options for dinning out and entertainment in the evening...

This does appeal to me, as a king size bed is something that we need, DH is tall and a big guy and I am not really short so a King bed is important to us, to make our travel easier, if we can both sleep properly...


Anyone any thoughts on this... We are just in the very beginning of planning...

Our situation may be a little different but I booked in Kyoto specifically to be at a more low key hotel near the Inari shrine. Our travel times will be a little longer because we have to go to Kyoto station some of the times but being walking distance to the shrine was important to us. Our room is a king bed studio with a washer/dryer and a kitchen and it was super cheap with good ratings.

When we go to Nara and the Gion district we can take a JR train from our Inari station.

 

[Agent 86]

It really depends. On our first trip, we based ourselves in Osaka (after Tokyo) and just did a day trip to Kyoto. We did plenty of other day trips to other locations from Osaka as well. On our second trip, we did ... maybe two nights in Kyoto because we'd really enjoyed it on our first trip and wanted to stay longer. On our upcoming trip, we're staying four nights in Kyoto because we want to take it easy and we're going with people who have never been before, so we'll be doing a lot of the main attractions again. We also feel that we've seen most of what Osaka has to offer on all of our previous trips (and we're skipping Universal Studios this time around).

Accommodation choices are more plentiful and cheaper in Osaka. Also, Osaka has a suburban train / subway system, so you don't need to stay near the main train station. In Kyoto, they only have buses to get around the city itself which we find more challenging given the language barrier and hauling around luggage. In Kyoto we will only stay within walking distance (i.e. 15 or so minutes) of the main train station.

We find Kyoto to be much more ... picturesque and charming. But, it's smaller size can also make finding restaurants a little more challenging (especially if you just want something that you're more familiar with). And, as mentioned, getting around can also be difficult. To be fair, we haven't tried navigating the bus system since our first trip in 2009, so things may have improved since then (e.g. English announcements / electronic displays of destinations).

 

[LovesTimone]

Op here...

I have spent the last day or so looking around at what we want to do... and more and more things are in this area are making the list... that we want to checkout... Plus looking at the cost of hotels in Osaka, for what we need, and are wanting... Osaka is pulling out some what in the lead...

I love the idea of Kyoto it looks almost like it is out of a story book... then I know how we like to travel and what we need to travel... we try to pick a area that is in the center of things we want to see, travel time to those place's, and what can offer the most for our budget...

While we aren't big night life people, so going out isn't a big deal, I do however like the option of finding meals that we are familiar with. This was a good point that "Agent 86" made, we will want to change up our meal choices...

 

[LovesTimone]

Our situation may be a little different but I booked in Kyoto specifically to be at a more low key hotel near the Inari shrine. Our travel times will be a little longer because we have to go to Kyoto station some of the times but being walking distance to the shrine was important to us. Our room is a king bed studio with a washer/dryer and a kitchen and it was super cheap with good ratings.

When we go to Nara and the Gion district we can take a JR train from our Inari station.

I have not ruled out Kyoto, trying to figure out how to get the most out of our trip... with DH's job scheduling we are looking at 9 nights in Japan - not including travel days, and a day to re-coup once home, I am playing around with different scenario's of travel... to and from... coming into one airport and leaving by another... maybe Leaving on a late night flight to the other coast, so we can get ahead of the trips long haul and make it easier get on the time zone...

Figuring out what we really really want to put at the top of the list of our must see's. This is the hardest part... As well we are not commando style travelers. So much goes into all this...

I will say that I am forming a plan of sorts... Maybe ...

 

[tinibee]

I just wanted to put a plug in for Goodwill guides in Kyoto. You pay their transportation and lunch and they take you around. You are supposed to pay their entrance into places but they had a guide pass to get into most everything for free. I think I only paid for the monkey park for our guide in Arashiyama. I didn't have to think about bus routes or trains or unique walking paths, I just followed the guides. Plus they knew all the restaurants around for lunch. We did one tour with two really sweet ladies and a second tour with a college student. It's a nice way to hang with the locals. There are several volunteer groups who do it. They are listed on the JNTO website.

 

[LovesTimone]

I just wanted to put a plug in for Goodwill guides in Kyoto. You pay their transportation and lunch and they take you around. You are supposed to pay their entrance into places but they had a guide pass to get into most everything for free. I think I only paid for the monkey park for our guide in Arashiyama. I didn't have to think about bus routes or trains or unique walking paths, I just followed the guides. Plus they knew all the restaurants around for lunch. We did one tour with two really sweet ladies and a second tour with a college student. It's a nice way to hang with the locals. There are several volunteer groups who do it. They are listed on the JNTO website.

Thanks for the tip, another entry into my "notebook"

 

[Colleen27]

I've been pondering the same question, and like you, I'm in the early stages of planning (won't be traveling until 2020) and still just gathering information about all of the options. I hadn't even planned to visit Osaka initially, but a friend recommended it as an alternative to basing ourselves in Kyoto for the time we spend in that part of the country. We're going to daytrip to Nara, to Koyasan and to Himeji and Okayama, but won't be using it as a home base for the Hiroshima area because we'll be moving on that way later in the trip. It seems like Osaka is the better location and has cheaper accommodations by a bit, but Kyoto looks so unique and picturesque that I'm not sure day tripping there would do it justice.

 

[AngelDisney]

I first thought about basing in one location and taking day trip to the other. But I prefer staying at a location that is within walking distance to the major sites and decided to do a split stay at both places. Since I know I would enjoy the picturesque Kyoto more, I will be staying longer in Kyoto and at a hotel within walking distance to Gion and Nishiki Market (tasting local food is important to us). Then take a day tour to farther sites like Fushimi Inari Shrine and Arashiyama Bamboo Grove which ends at JR Osaka Station. I really want to experience a ryokan with onsen. So we will travel to Nara and have a one night stay at a ryokan that offers private onsen booking. We will get there early to visit the deer park and local areas. The ryokan is just a 10-min walk from the deer park. Then we will travel to Kansai Airport for our flight to Sapporo.

When we travelled to Europe in 2013 for our Med cruise. We did split stays at Paris, Vienna and Barcelona with day trips to Salzburg and Prague. We are quite used to living out of our suitcases and packing/unpacking. This time we are more prepared and will pack essentials for 1-2 days in our carryon backpacks so we will not need to unpack our suitcases for the shorter stays. It’s only DD and me. We prefer two twin beds so it’s easier for us to find hotels at a reasonable price within walking distance to major train stations and sites. All I really need is the self serve laundry facilities. If I have to pick one of the two locations as my base, I would pick Kyoto. Can’t wait to see the old Japan! I think I would enjoy the Kyoto atmosphere more.

 

[LovesTimone]

I've been pondering the same question, and like you, I'm in the early stages of planning (won't be traveling until 2020) and still just gathering information about all of the options. I hadn't even planned to visit Osaka initially, but a friend recommended it as an alternative to basing ourselves in Kyoto for the time we spend in that part of the country. We're going to daytrip to Nara, to Koyasan and to Himeji and Okayama, but won't be using it as a home base for the Hiroshima area because we'll be moving on that way later in the trip. It seems like Osaka is the better location and has cheaper accommodations by a bit, but Kyoto looks so unique and picturesque that I'm not sure day tripping there would do it justice.

We aren't going to 2020 as well...We are looking at Mid- March or Mid May or November -

Looking at my neighbors itinerary, and matching it with what we are wanting to see and do, there is quite a bit of cross over. Trying to weigh out the different options and which will work better overall for us... it's basically boiling down to this...

Osaka seems to fit better is terms of travel and travel time for day trips, its more centrally located for the things that we want to do, hotel cost are lower, and we both like the idea of lots of options for meals in the evening, So this ticks a-lot of boxes for us...

Kyoto is charming, and beautiful...and more a preserved area... which I know we would like to experience...

There are other things that are going into our decision, since I am a planner... I really try to get the most out of our vacation travels... Things like limiting the amount of hotel changing DH and I just absolutely hate this, for us its a waste of vacation time.. grouping things of interest together, and planning how to get around so that the touring seem natural, and not a bunch of back tracking... Plus we are not commando travelers, we like to really see and get more of a feel for what we are doing... We like to take it all in... and experience it, not just walk by it or stop to take a picture...and move on to the next site.... that's not how we like to travel...

Last year we went to Paris, and DLP - My friend had been a year or so before us, We were looking at my pictures of Notre-Dame Cathedral... and she was like where are these pictures from they so are beautiful, I was like inside the Cathedral... and she said you guys went inside.... of course we went inside we were there for almost 2 hours... then she said ohhh we just took some pictures of the outside and moved on... I was shocked... I guess I can't or don't or won't ever understand this why you would go so far to just walk by something... just to say you were there... I really don't get it... Everyone travels differently I guess....