Kyoto/Osaka vs. Tokyo?
Hi everyone, I am fortunate enough to be able to travel to Japan for 6 weeks this summer. It will be following a trip to a different country, and I will be flying into Osaka near the end of June. I have plans to stay in a sharehouse in Uji for the majority of the trip, and near the end I will spend 5 or so days in Tokyo. I mostly chose to stay near Kyoto due to how much history and culture there is in the area, as well as easy access to plenty of natural landscapes, gardens, museums, etc. It will be a calm, nice break since my life gets very stressful at home, but I do intend to balance it with some livelier days in Osaka since I also love shopping, fashion, anime, and street food. Uji as a location is of particular interest to me because I have loved matcha for years, and some of the highest quality green tea in the world is found there.
However, the more I read about tourism in Japan, the more I second-guess my decision to stay in Uji. Kyoto and Osaka seem much more crowded and filled with disrespectful tourists. Even though I'm also a tourist, I want to treat the country I'm visiting as respectfully as possible (people live there!), and I would like to avoid overcrowded areas and tourist traps. From what I hear, Tokyo is very, very large, and it's harder to get "bored" there than Kyoto or Osaka. It's also easier to avoid crowded places sometimes because there is just so much to do. I'm wondering if I should try to find a sharehouse in Tokyo instead, or if I should stick with my current plan and make the best of it since I'm staying in Tokyo for a few days at the end of the trip anyway. Any advice? Also, suggestions on things to do in Kyoto, Osaka, Uji, or in the general area would be greatly appreciated! If you don't want to share them here, my messages are open.