Japan- Best city to live in Japan other than Tokyo and Kyoto?

Question

I got offered a job to teach in Japan. I was told that I would most likely not work in Tokyo or Kyoto but the program is open to suggestions. I would like to live in a city that is beautiful, historical and has a vibrant culure. What top cities would people recommend?

Answer 1

Kanazawa offers you a lot of Japanese culture, good cultural study programs and is a beautiful city!
Whilst i was there, I took a shamizen class, kimono printing class and laquer class and there were many more classes I wanted to take!
http://www.city.kanazawa.ishikawa.jp/index_e.html

Answer 2

It sounds like you're applying to the JET Programme, because they allow for suggestions, but also note that those two cities have almost no vacancies in them.

If you really want to be near either, then choose places close by. Like for Kyoto, you could choose Osaka, Nara, and maybe some random small city nearby. For Tokyo, just pull out a map and see what's on a train line closeby.

Other than that, just think about what you want out of your experience. There are so many cool places. Being in some very rural small town could be a great experience too. Think about climate too. How about applying for Okinawa? Or, if you really like winter, Hokkaido? If you like skiing, then somewhere in Nagano.

Answer 3

Osaka is cheapest among the cities you cited except of Nagoya that I ever had been before. Tokyo is pretty expensive compared with Osaka. Kobe is not bad but the city is not as big as Osaka where you could have fun while you study. Food is also Osaka is cheapest if you stayed there longer and familiar this city then you would know which shop or resturant cheap for eating or buying your daily goods. It would be not bad to buy a second bike cost you about 15000 yen then you could save a lot of money on communicating. But I got to tell you that there are a lot of bike thieves in Osaka that I had been stolen for 3 times for second hand bikes... it cost me a lot.

Answer 4

If you don't mind the cold, I want to say Sapporo. I love Nagasaki, too. It's a beautiful city, and it is the first city to open the country to western world. Nara would be nice also. It's close to Kyoto, but this place is more quiet. Wherever you go, you'll have a wonderful time. Good luck!

Answer 5

If you are not likely to work in either Tokyo or Kyoto, I would suggest you pick a city on Tokaido-Sanyo Shinkansen (High Speed Bullet Train) line, such as Shizuoka, Nagoya, Otsu, Himeji, Okayama and Fukuoka, for your convenience.

If I'd pick one, it's got to be Kobe, which is one of Japan's oldest port and it has vibrant immigrant society. Kobe is less than one hour from Kyoto and 20 min from Osaka. It's got everything you want including China Town, foreign food shops and an Airport.

Answer 6

Osaka because of their people, Nagoya because of their economy.

Osaka people is my favorite in all Japan. They are happy friendly and have natural skills for socializing. They love joking too. Even the Japanese call them "the Latins of Japan".
A friend from Osaka, (or the Kinki region) will most probable always be a friend.

BUT, the economy now is in The Chubu area. That is Nagoya and it's surroundings.
I found that I make more money here than in most of the cities (probable all) in Japan, for exactly the same job. I found that I even make the same here, than a similar job in Tokyo, even thou that Tokyo is more expensive.

Answer 7

Osaka, Nikko, Hakata, Kobe, Hiroshima, Sapporo, Chiba City, Ako City, Fukuoka

Answer 8

There is no place like home...

But I would recommend
1. Kitakyushu, where I was born and raised
I just like it because it is my sweet hometown...

2. Taketomi District in Iriomote Island (Okinawa Pref.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iriomote
Beautiful island, and people are very nice there.

3. Kobe
One of the big cities in Japan.
Lots of foreigners are there too.
Osaka, Kyoto and Nara are nearby.

Answer 9

Depends on your interests. Do you like older Japanese history? Nara is a good alternate.
Nature? Try Sapporo in Hokkaido.
Medium-large city; not too big or too small? Try Fukuoka.
You can see many interesting places - see:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7LcPcmoSg-j4RLa6iC7ayvBAbOn8-028

It has its own Great Buddha as well:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hug3tCMvu28

See this site for more:
http://www.thejapanfaq.con/fukpic.html

Answer 10

There are many cities within travel distance to Tokyo or Kyoto that people overlook. For example if you can't get a position within Tokyo, try Chiba Prefecture which is next to Tokyo or anything in Kanagawa Prefecture (kawasaki, yokohama) or anything in kanagawa which again is a neighbor to Tokyo.

For Kyoto, there's nearby Osaka but that would probably get as full.

Alternate cities include Sapporo and Nagoya.