Osaka women are the friendliest in all of Japan. Of course, they are just as sexy and sweet as all the other Japanese girls, too.
If you want to date one, look no further than this guide. We will be covering everything you need to know:
- Accommodation, food, and budgeting for a pleasant trip
- The do’s and don’t’s of Osaka dating culture
- All the best places for nightlife, online dating, day game, etc.
- How you can get laid ASAP
- … and how to meet your future girl—even if you speak no Japanese
Let’s start from the very basics and talk about Osaka itself.
All You Need To Know About The City
Osaka is the second largest city in Japan.
Second only to Tokyo by size, it has a booming economy and vibrant culture. Unlike Tokyo, Osaka is laid-back and much more artistic. As laid back as Japanese cities can be, anyway.
The people of Osaka are a lot more friendly than the capital. They are universally known as the friendliest of all Japanese cities. You would not have any problem getting by. Even with minimal Japanese language skills, there are locals to help every step of the way.
Osaka is famous for three things:
- Friendliness and hospitality
- The Osaka Castle, which is the most famous landmark and should definitely make it to your agenda
- The blooming trees
There are plenty of beautiful parks to observe the bloom. Check out Kema Sakuranomiya Park by the river bank and Japan Mint with over 300 cherry trees. During the spring, these turn into an actual wonderland. Locals and tourists alike flock to the parks to enjoy the bloom.
The culture in Osaka is a lot more relaxed than Tokyo. People still work hard but they have at least some free time. In the capital, it’s often hard to get a girl to schedule you in for a date. Even if overworking is a universal problem in Japan, Osaka women seem to be doing a little better.
They are also more laid-back when it comes to choosing a partner and interacting with guys. While casual sex is not taboo in any part of Japan, I feel like the people in Osaka do it the most.
Oh, and one more thing:
Osaka is one of the culinary capitals of Japan.
You can have the best meal of your life for under $20, and that is at a mid-range restaurant. The sushi will only set you back around $8 and trust me when I say that you cannot find bad sushi in Japan.
When you plan your trip, consider what you’re expecting from your stay. If you are the type to survive on little sleep, a long weekend will be enough for both partying and sightseeing. If you are anything like me (I love sleeping in and taking it slow), you are looking at 5-7 days at least to fully enjoy Osaka.
No matter how much time you have, here are all the practical tips you need for your stay:
Budgeting And Accommodation
First, the good news. Osaka is significantly cheaper than Tokyo.
Properties here can be up to half the price of the ones in the capital. This also means cheaper hotels and hostels, cheaper food, cheaper everything.
When it comes to budgeting, accommodation will be your largest non-negotiable expense. If you want to go ultra cheap, consider Couchsurfing. It can also be a great way to meet local friends but requires some planning in advance. Needless to say, if you are couch surfing you can’t exactly bring girls back home.
Hostel beds can range from $15 to $30 per night. A private room at a hostel is the cheapest guest-friendly option you have. Bear in mind that some places charge a fee for overnight guests, while others straight-up turn them down. Check ahead of time if you want to avoid sneaking around.
A basic hotel room in the centre will set you back around $70 (but don’t expect the Ritz, it’s just a bed and a bathroom to yourself). Nicer places are around $120-150. Going up from there, you have the luxury accommodation. The sky is the limit there.
Hotel recommendations in Osaka:
Where To Stay In Osaka
I strongly suggest you go to Minami.
This is the main party district, with neon signs, noisy clubs, and plenty of beautiful girls 24/7. Not only that, but it is a transportation hub. There is easy access to the rest of Osaka from Miami and the stations mean a lot of foot traffic and plenty of day game opportunities.
If you’d like a quieter place, try Honmachi.
You will be in the very centre of the city, right between party district Minami and Kita, which is the day entertainment hotspot.
Since Honmachi is close to everything, you will never struggle to get around. The only downside is that the hotels here are a bit pricier.
What Osaka Women Are Like
Using the highly controversial 1 to 10 scale, I’d say most of the women are 7 and above.
If Japanese girls are your type, that is.
In general, there are four types of Japanese women you will meet in Osaka. These have subtypes but that’s usually not relevant.
The Wealthy Daughter
This Osaka girl has rich parents and you can see it from a mile away. Everything, from her perfectly manicured nails to the handbag she carries, the shoes she wears, the places she goes to, screams ‘daddy’s money’.
Now Japanese people are all about status. This is not as visible in Osaka as it is Tokyo but it’s still a prominent feature of the culture. Rich girls are your best chance of an English speaker. Unfortunately, unless you are super rich yourself, they are not likely to date you.
Upper-class girls in Osaka are your longest shot. First off, they tend to be the prettiest. They are also the best educated and speak the best English. Chances are, they have travelled outside of Japan and met some foreigners before.
Rich girls are much easier to interact with because they know about your culture. Sadly, they are also quite spoiled. I get irritated with that sort of behaviour very quickly. That’s why, personally, I would not even consider dating one, unless she is the rare exception of humble and wealthy. Then again, I’m pretty sure this type doesn’t even exist in Japan.
The High-Achiever
These are the women you want to date. They are smart and usually, they come from an upper-middle-class family. What sets them apart from rich daddies girls is they are hard-working. High-achiever girls aspire to be self-made, even if they come from money.
Some of the wealthy families encourage their daughters to pursue this path, others don’t. In my experience, these highly driven Osaka women come from comfortable families that are still not outrageously rich.
The high-achiever is probably in university or working in a well-paying competitive field like tech or business. The biggest challenge with her is getting your schedules synched. This is much easier in Osaka. Even the biggest nerds here are not as busy as Tokyo nerds.
The high-achiever will consider dating a non-millionaire. However, she is still looking for a man with a steady career or at least a good plan for his future. That is why some of them steer clear of foreigners. As an expat, the most popular job is teaching English. That is hardly enough to support a family. And yes, this is something that Japanese women consider.
The Sugar Baby
Arguably, some of the most attractive women in Osaka fall in this category. They are after money, much like the Wealthy Daughter. Unlike her, the Sugar Baby does not come from money. She’s not particularly good at academics, either. Maybe it’s because she is genuinely not smart or hard-working enough. Maybe she never applied herself.
Either way, the Osaka sugar baby is pretty much what you’d expect. Beautiful but very superficial.
Fun fact:
15% of all Japanese women have appeared in porn. I am pretty sure a large portion of that number comes from aspiring sugar babies and gold-diggers.
If you have money to spend, dating a girl like this could be fun. These Osaka women are not as stuck up as wealthy girls. They are all about making their partner happy. Unfortunately, their motives are not exactly pure.
The Modest Working Girl
Not that type of working girl. I mean the women who work in convenience stores, gas stations, restaurants, some of the girls in low-paying office jobs, etc. They are the least noticeable. Neither their beauty nor their smarts will set them apart.
This type of girl is easy to pick up… If you speak Japanese, that is. Unless she works at a touristic place, she will not speak a word of English. Thus, it will be pretty much impossible for the average Western guy to interact with her.
The one exception is in clubs, where people sometimes hook up without even speaking. Bear in mind this isn’t nearly as common in Japan as it is in the West.
I don’t know if you realized it yet… But Japan is pretty much the furthest away from the Western culture you can get. If this is your first time here, prepare for some good old culture shock.
Side note: a handy tip for handling culture shock is to create routines. At home, you have routines without even realizing it. You get coffee from the same joint on most days. Your commute to work rarely changes. Do the same if you feel overwhelmed abroad. I’ve heard that from expats and, honestly, it’s one of the best pieces of advice I ever received.
Here are the main do’s and don’t’s of Japanese dating culture:
Do
Take the lead. Japanese men are notoriously bad at this. They are as beta as it gets. You don’t want to be like that, even if it makes you stand out a little bit.
Let me give you an example:
A Jap girl has a crush on a dude in her office. Luckily (for both of them), he has a crush on her, too. Even luckier, there is no company policy against it. Actually, that’s how a lot of Japanese couples start – by meeting at their job. Anyway, does either of them ask the other one out? Nope, they go through months of awkward flirting.
Most Japanese men would not ask a woman out unless they are 100% sure she is into them. They take the fear of rejection to the extreme.
Anyway, a simple solution would be for the girl to ask a guy out. But that is not in Jap women’s character whatsoever.
Feminine means coy, sweet, and submissive in Osaka.
Well, not just in Osaka, in the whole of Japan.
Deep-down (and not so deep down), Jap girls want to be swept off their feet. Just look at the romantic movies and series that come from Japan. There is always a scene where the guy pushes his lover against the wall and professes his love for her.
They even have a word for it: kabe-don
Basically, if you’re wondering what Osaka women want, look no further than manga, anime, and TV series. They are looking for a masculine and assertive guy.
This extends to everything from choosing a date location, to ordering for her, etc.
That being said, consent is huge in Japan and we will talk about this in the dating don’t’s.
Don’t
It’s not hard to offend a Japanese girl. A joke gone too sexual is enough of a deal breaker. In general, Osaka women are more accepting of ‘improper behaviour’ but it’s still best to stick to the conservative rules.
I know it can feel cringy. In the West, we have a sort of unspoken consent. In Japan, getting an explicit ‘yes’ is a must.
Bear in mind that a Jap girl’s personal space bubble is larger than most cultures. Don’t invade it right away, although you do want to create some physical proximity as the date progresses.
Meet Osaka Women Online
The biggest challenge to meeting Osaka girls is the language barrier. It’s near impossible to meet an English speaker off the street. Maybe in some bars or if you hang around university campuses. The general public in Osaka, as friendly as they may be, only speak Japanese.
This is why online dating is so crucial.
Tinder In Osaka
Tinder is huge in Osaka (just like the rest of Japan). It’s not the very best talent but it has the most members. There is virtually no stigma around having a Tinder profile, these days.
The downside to using Tinder is hookup culture. The women on Tinder are hardly looking for anything serious. Osaka is super sexually liberated so… Yeah, you know what Tinde is for. You are not likely to meet the love of your life here.
Japan Cupid
Review here.
The polar opposite of Tinder. Japan Cupid is for foreigners seeking a local girl. It does not advertise as either a ‘marriage agency’ or a ‘hookup app’. They are relationship-focused, though. Using the site requires a larger time investment:
You are asked to fill out an extensive profile. It’s not just swiping, you search for members. Besides, there is a money investment. The monthly membership comes out cheaper than your daily coffee but it’s still money out of your pocket.
A huge perk of Japan Cupid (aside from better safety and more freedom on the site) is the quality of the profile. All the Osaka women I’ve personally seen on the site are 7.5’s and above. Oh, and most of them do speak English. If they did not, why would they be on an international dating site?
Pairs
An up-and-coming Asian dating app, Pairs is investing billions in marketing. As a result, they are now the most popular app of this type. You will have to pay for it, though.
The way it works is men pay and women don’t.
They are also very dedicated to safety and offer a great choice of beautiful Osaka women.
The perk of Pairs over Japan Cupid is the better mobile experience.
The downside is a lot of women won’t speak English. Unlike Japan Cupid, Pairs is mostly marketed to locals. As a foreigner on the app, you will be the exception, not the rule.
Day Game In Osaka: Look For The College Girls
What is better than your college girl fantasy? Combining it with the Japanese girl one!
No, jokes aside, university campuses are the single best day game location in Osaka. Osaka University is the most prestigious higher education institution. Their buildings are spread out across the city. You can meet girls in the cafés and bars nearby. Check out the Toyonaka, Suita, and Minoh campuses.
Another day game option would be taking it to the streets. Look for places with a lot of foot traffic. Unlike Tokyo, Osaka women are pretty open to strangers chatting them up. Obviously, you shouldn’t go for the ones that look like they are late for work. That disclaimer aside, usually Osaka girls are more than happy to stay and chat.
Finally, you could try out the shopping centres. This is where I found the least success, to be honest. If you go to malls with high-end stores, there will be some rich girls that look smoking hot and actually speak English. However, as previously discussed, they are the bitchiest. Only approach if you have unbreakable confidence.
Osaka Women: Must Visit Single Bars And Clubs
The Osaka nightlife scene is buzzing.
Walk around the Minami area and you’ll see nearly every bar, restaurant, and pub is full. Friday and Saturday nights are obviously the busiest. Check out the club agenda, though. Sometimes there are huge parties on… Say Wednesday! And people still show up so you should show up too.
Here are some recommendations, one Osaka women aficionado to another:
- Burlesque in the Kita neighbourhood (a rare exception to the ‘all nightlife is concentrated in Minami’ rule)
- Ghost Ultra Lounge is as gaijin-friendly (foreigner-friendly) as it gets. You can get discounts, simply for showing your passport and all of the staff speaks English. The cover fee is slightly higher for guys but that ensures a good female to male ratio. Ghost Ultra Lounge is easily the best place for an expat/traveller to hook up and also one of my favourite party spots in the city.
- Club Joule has been an Osaka nightlife staple for decades now. It’s one of those rare places you could check out on a Monday and still have a blast. Needless to say, the weekend parties in Joule are epic.
Clubs attract a younger crowd.
If your preferred age group is 30ish and above, check out the bars instead. Osaka has a very strong craft beer culture. There are multiple microbreweries around the city. Not only is the beer great, they are also a very relaxed and natural environment to meet Osaka women. On the less than positive side, a single bottle can set you back over 10-15$!
Osaka Women: Hook Up Vs Hitched
You can meet wife material in Osaka, and you could also just have casual sex. Obviously, it will be a different strategy. If you have no intention of a long-term relationship, focus on low-investment strategies like Tinder or picking up girls in shopping malls. It’s a numbers game but, in general, Osaka women are not too hard to seduce.
As for the search for a Japanese wife… My biggest tip is to take it slow. If a girl is serious about you, she will act a bit hard-to-get. Play the game but stand your ground. And don’t ask her out for drinks as a first date. If you see potential in the relationship, take her to watch the cherry blossoms or for a fried maple leaf and picnic at the Minoo National Park.
Either way, good luck and remember to come back with your stories and tips for dating Osaka women! I’ll be waiting in the comments below!