>
>>Give Osaka a miss unless there’s something you really want
>>to see.
>
>I actually somewhat prefer the scale of Osaka to Tokyo's; it's
>a massive city but not nearly as overwhelming as Tokyo can be.
>It has all you'd need as far as shopping, entertainment, etc,
>and the food culture is fantastic (get that okonomiyaki).
>Pretty easy to get around too. For a first trip though I can
>understand focusing on Kyoto more as far as the Kansai area,
>but IMO Osaka is a great base to explore the region

Kyoto is cool for shrines and temples and some of the historical sites and seeing Gion, but if you're like me, those things can start to feel really repetitive, especially further into your trip if you've already seen a bunch of them and then it starts to all feel too similar. I personally think Kyoto and Nara and good for the day trips to do those kind of things, but I think Osaka is a better base if you want to experience more nightlife and things that aren't shrines and temples. Osaka sometimes gets criticized for feeling just like a smaller or less intense Tokyo, but the city and its people felt different enough for me.