"Kevin Gowen" <kgowenNOSPAM@myfastmail.com> wrote in message news:<bbqocn$bch9p$1@ID-105084.news.dfncis.de>...
> alibaba wrote:
> > btw, i'm Chinese from Shanghai.  anyone who's been to China knows the
> > vast regional differences of the peoples there.  common stereotype of
> > Japan (both positive and negative) is in its homogeneity.  so hearing
> > otherwise, this is very interesting for me.
> 
> [snip]
> 
> > For this reason, I'm really interested in knowing more about the Osaka
> > region (the Japanese equivalent of what I like so much about the
> > Coastal Yangtse area?).  I would definitely pay a visit to Osaka this
> > winter when I visit Japan again.
> 
> You're from Shanghai, eh? I am friends with a number of students at SIFT
> (http://www.shift.edu.cn/). I think a good Chinese analogy would be Beijing
> is to Shanghai as Tokyo is to Osaka. I think Shanghai/Osaka's histories as
> merchant cities, the linguistics differences, mutual perceptions, and other
> factors make for a good analogy.

This is true just about anyplace.

John W.