I’ve lived in Osaka for 22 years
I speak English, French, Japanese and some Spanish
I am a Interpreter
Hello! Nice to meet you too! Talking about Osaka, well - where to start... I've lived here on and off since 2000 when I was just 23. I've had to live in other places since then, but this is where I always went back to when I could take some holidays, and to my great joy I was finally able to move back here full-time last year. There are many things I love about Osaka, notably how friendly people are (and they have the best sense of humor in Japan!), how great the food culture is, and how convenient it is to go from here to three different but amazing cities (Kobe, Kyoto, and Nara), how the mix of traditional Japanese and "international vibe" is just right, how affordable life is, etc etc. Osaka has 3 main city centers, one in the North (Umeda) which is modern, trendy, business-oriented, and quite upscale; one in the South (Tennoji) which is more working-class, old-school, and unpretentious; and one "central" center, Minami, which depending on the area has an amazing combination of highbrow and lowbrow gastronomy, nightlife, second-hand clothes shops, upcoming designers, ethnic food restaurants, tourist hotspots, coffee shops, areas popular with the young, etc. Yes, I'm sure you can guess that's where I live! It's a dense and diverse area, so whenever I have visitors, I can always find the right place for them. "Japanese home-style cuisine"? Sure. Great selection of Japanese whisky? Sure. Sushi with excellent value for money? Of course. Visitors are blasé about Japanese food? Sure, let's go to an Okinawa restaurant. A nice dinner overlooking the river? I know just the place! Korean-Japanese fusion food? I know 10 restaurants. I could go on and on, but I'm sure you get it... In terms of a general tour though, I like to start at the magnificent Osaka Castle (which also has a great park), and then go from there to Shi-Tennoji, an area of very old Buddhist temples and graveyards... as well as many colorful "love hotels", for some reason. And from there to Dotombori, the really lively area where tourists and locals alike gather for street food and iconic pictures. Near Dotombori, there is also a shopping area which is very popular with visitors, as it was initially where restaurants would buy all their equipment: high-end knives, crockery, "Noren" etc - many useful and unique presents or souvenirs to be found there! And as this is a very central area, from there I can quickly take the visitors to any kind of place they want, from calm and refined to lively and casual (with every variation in between). That's the charm of Osaka - it's compact and has tremendous depth! And one last thing - I love flea markets, antique markets, etc; so if the timing is right, I can take the visitors to some really fun and affordable and unique places to do their shopping - but maybe they'll need an extra suitcase when they leave!