Everybody loves Tokyo. You’ve heard so much about it, right? But take it from me, not only can you leave Tokyo out of your planning, if you do, your trip will be a whole lot better for it.

Those quintessential experiences that people expect from Japan such as cherry blossom, temples, food, bright lights, can be found somewhere better.

Heresy, I know, but let me explain. Everything people love about Tokyo, love it because it is Japan-special not because it is Tokyo-special. Osaka has all those things too, just better. And it is a lot less crowded.

But what of those pictures of the bright lights of Shibuya and the Shinjuku crossing? Reportedly one million people a day surge out of the train station but there is no street life, there is just a lot of people moving around. All they are trying to do is get from work to home without being squashed. Having to change trains at Shinjuku at peak hour was a terrifying experience, and I was a head taller than anybody else.

Bustling Shinjuku – the people crush can be frightening. Photo: Unsplash

Asakusa Temple you say? Your friends loved it! It’s a temple. There is no shortage of temples in Japan. And most of them don’t have pushing packs of tourists. Most of them don’t have anybody, even locals.

Regarded as Tokyo’s premier attraction, the Skytree is one of the tallest towers in the world and it offers a superb view of unending kilometres of square grey buildings. Can you see Mount Fuji from the Skytree? Only if you are holding a postcard of that very sight in front of your nose.

No, instead, turn your attention to the second city of Japan, housing a paltry 2.8 million people, about a sixth of the population of Tokyo. Does that make it only one-sixth as crowded? I hope so. And even less when you consider that the world’s mass tourists congregate in Tokyo.

Other reasons why your ticket should be to the place known as KIX in airport language:

1. It is generally cheaper to fly to Osaka and, given the huge demand for flights to Tokyo, easier to find a ticket on sale.
2. Osaka has a lot more diversity. Midosuji, the grand boulevard, lined by flower boxes of thick azalea could be in Paris, yet metres away is Orange Street (Tachibana-dori) just named as No.2 coolest street in the world by Time Out magazine. Young people sport hairstyles and clothing that you never thought possible – do you really need three sleeves on a shirt?
3. Osaka is closer to better things. It is really four cities, and includes the hilly port of Kobe, with its own 19th-century village while Nara has a huge wooden temple and aggressive grazing deer to feed. Like Kyoto, they are just a suburban train ride away.
4. Osaka has food. Takoyaki, balls of batter containing chopped octopus, usually cooked and sold on a street corner, are a wintery delight. Udon, the fleshy white noodles are also at home in Osaka. But best of all, Osaka has Dotonbori, a six-storey high wonderland of flashing neon and waving crab claws, all dedicated to food. With a canal running through the middle, it is as picturesque by day as by night.
   

   The gastronomical delight that is Dotonburi. Photo: Deirdre Smith

5. Osaka has better day trips. You have heard of Kyoto, surely? Himeji with its classic white castle, the grandest of the 12 surviving feudal times, is only half an hour by shinkansen. Or under an hour by local train, and both are included in the Kansai Wide train pass. But there is also Uji, a village with allegedly the best matcha (powdered green tea) in Japan and a low-rise temple that has pride of place on the ¥10 coin. And not much further, set by the shores of Lake Biwa, the mountain-top temple of Enryaku offers serenity in spades.
6. Osaka is at the more interesting end of Japan. Hiroshima is a 90-minute ride away on the shinkansen, as is Shikoku, the quiet “fourth” island of Japan. Unlike anywhere else in Japan, Shikoku’s rivers and mountainsides remain unrestrained by concrete. Braver souls might also consider the overnight Osaka-Shikoku ferry.
7. Osaka has more history. It was bombed less and the rush to modernisation seems to be more considered. South of the central area, the tongue-twister Tsutenkaka Tower looks like something from The Jetsons. It was rebuilt in 1956 and the surrounding area, with its neon lights and little shops selling everyday if somewhat strange goods, doesn’t seem to have changed since that time.
8. Osaka has the Instagram shot. Nothing says Japan like a white, multilevel castle set in a sea of cherry blossoms. That’s Osaka Castle. It is surrounded by a park and a moat and it is slap-bang in the middle of the city. It is all your Japan dreams in one.
   

   Osaka Castle with the shots that almost everyone heads to Japan for. Photo: AAP

9. Osaka has its own indefinable quality. Regarded as more working-class than Tokyo, Osaka locals are seen as bawdy, coarse in their speech and their style of comedy is regarded as the best in Japan.
10. Osaka has nature. Located at the mouth of a river valley that leads to Kyoto, the mountains are never far away and a 20-minute train ride will take you to a place that seems like country villages.

There is only one way Tokyo beats Osaka. That’s Disneyland. Even if you didn’t think you were a fan, there is nothing like the sight of grown-up girls dressed up as Minnie Mouse and happy little kids beaming with their new mouse ears.