2.79/5
236 reviews
Photo by Alexander Schimmeck via Unsplash

Fukuoka

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work

coffee

lovely

spaces

coworking

livable

english

affordable

feeling

stores

rest

major

cities

pretty

million

incredibly

Fukuoka stands out as one of the most livable cities in Japan, particularly for remote workers and travelers seeking a more laid-back experience. It offers a mellow atmosphere that's quite different from the busier capitals like Tokyo. The city balances the best of both worlds—with a population of about 1.5 million, it still feels calm and manageable. Areas like Tenjin offer coworking spaces, boutique hotels, artisanal coffee shops, fashion spots, and easy access to services in English.

The cost of living is relatively low, especially compared to major cities like Tokyo or New York. Coworking options are flexible, and coffee shops are not only great in quality but also serve well as working spaces. It's convenient for travelers due to its proximity to an international airport and well-organized public transport. Fukuoka also feels safe, even for solo female travelers, and offers quiet yet accessible accommodation options.

On the downside, summers can be brutally hot and humid, while winters are cold, though snow is rare. Language may pose a challenge for non-Japanese speakers, but signage and essential services in English make it manageable. Overall, it's a great place for both short stays and extended visits.

AI-generated summary of reviews
57 years ago

I work in Fukuoka and all I can say is that it's a fantastic city. As a disclaimer I happen to be close to fluent in Japanese, and as the metrics here would indicate speaking next to no Japanese might be somewhat difficult, but it's certainly still livable (tons of signage is in English, and there is information on places to go and see in English as well). Also it feels a tad more unexposed in comparison to some of the more major cities, though Fukuoka has a pretty large population at about 1.6 million inhabitants. I find it incredibly affordable (but I hail from NYC), and there is a lot of green space in close proximity to urban areas, which gives the city this really organic feeling to it- the perfect mix of big and small city. Food is without a doubt exceptional. Incredibly rich culinary history and culture here. Coffee is also terrific (may I recommend ManuCoffee? I used to work in a coffee start up and I still think Manucoffee makes one of the best blends I've had the pleasure to drink in a while). As another reviewer stated, these low key coffee places are often optimal for getting work done/studying/etc. and I often frequent them for this reason. I would say of the major Japanese cities is certainly one of the most livable, and with an airport 15 minutes away from the city center by subway it's very accessible and you can quite easily get around to different parts of the country from there.

As for cons summers here are quite tough. Brutally humid and hot. Winters then get quite cold, but there's rarely snow.

I remember the first time I came here I was visiting as a tourist but even as I work from here the same mellow, free feeling predominates. Lovely, lovely, lovely city.

4 years ago

Solo female travelers can find safe and affordable accommodations with quiet work spaces included. It's a great taste of Japan with shopping and canals. English is spoken enough to assist at stores and supermarkets. You may want to have some things translated if you're looking for a specific item. It's a convenient location for those traveling throughout Asia and want to rest for a month or two in Japan.

6 years ago

Hipster capital of Japan. Fukuoka is a lovely city with a super mellow feeling to it. There's 1.5 million people living here but you wouldn't think so when walking here. It feels a lot like Utrecht, a kinda relaxed artistic hipster city than's more livable than the busy capital Tokyo.

And unlike Tokyo, there is lots of short-term coworking spaces, artisinal coffee places, affordable boutique hotels and even coliving spaces with hotel and coworking mixed.

Fukuoka is just very different than the rest of Japan. In the rest of Japan it's hard to come by good coffee places to work (mostly bad coffee chains), accommodation is crazy expensive (you'll end up sleeping in capsules) and coworking spaces look more like offices and require 1 or 2 year minimum subscriptions!

The best area to stay is Tenjin, it has coworking spaces, fashion stores, vintage stores, boutique hotels and startups.

Fukuoka is absolutely lovely. And I wouldn't mind living here for longer times. And this comes from someone who's been pretty critical at Japan for how unlivable it usually is for remote workers. Fukuoka is a great exception.

6 years ago

✅ Very livable

✅ Affordable cost of living

✅ Great coffee and food scene

✅ Good for remote work

✅ Safe for solo travelers

✅ English-friendly

✅ Convenient location

✅ Accessible public transport/airport

✅ Very safe

✅ Fast internet

✅ Lots of fun stuff to do

✅ Warm in the spring

✅ Perfect humidity now

✅ Good air quality on average

✅ Nomads.com members liked going here a lot

✅ Many Nomads.com members have been

✅ Spacious and not crowded

✅ Very easy to do business

✅ High quality of education

✅ Great hospitals

✅ Roads are very safe

✅ Freedom of speech

✅ Democratic

✅ Very safe for women

✅ Family friendly

✅ LGBTQ+ friendly

❌ Hot and humid summers

❌ Cold winters

❌ Very expensive

❌ Cold now

❌ Gets cold in the winter

❌ Not many Nomads.com members right now

❌ Very difficult to make friends

❌ People don't speak English well

❌ Many people smoke tobacco

❌ Marijuana is illegal

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Feels (median)

8°C / 46°F cold

6°C / 43°F cold

13°C / 55°F cool

19°C / 66°F mild

22°C / 72°F mild

28°C / 82°F warm

38°C / 100°F hot

36°C / 97°F hot

32°C / 90°F hot

23°C / 73°F mild

17°C / 63°F cool

9°C / 48°F cold

Real (median)

8°C / 46°F
cold

7°C / 44°F
cold

13°C / 55°F
cool

18°C / 64°F
cool

22°C / 72°F
mild

26°C / 79°F
warm

30°C / 86°F
very warm

29°C / 84°F
very warm

28°C / 82°F
very warm

23°C / 73°F
mild

16°C / 61°F
cool

9°C / 48°F
cold

Humidity

nice
62%

nice
60%

nice
68%

nice
60%

nice
73%

nice
77%

sweaty
83%

sweaty
89%

sweaty
81%

nice
67%

nice
63%

nice
59%

Most common

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

☀️ Clear

Rain

rainy
63mm

rainy
81mm

rainy
116mm

rainy
96mm

rainy
150mm

rainy
155mm

rainy
131mm

rainy
89mm

rainy
170mm

dry
34mm

rainy
89mm

rainy
54mm

Cloud

pockets
43%

pockets
37%

pockets
41%

pockets
39%

pockets
50%

cloudy
50%

cloudy
51%

cloudy
56%

pockets
49%

pockets
25%

pockets
43%

pockets
37%

Air quality

okay
59 US AQI

okay
63 US AQI

okay
67 US AQI

okay
65 US AQI

okay
68 US AQI

okay
61 US AQI

okay
55 US AQI

okay
52 US AQI

okay
51 US AQI

okay
61 US AQI

okay
58 US AQI

Sun

seek shade
3 UVI

seek shade
4 UVI

avoid sun
6 UVI

seek shade
5 UVI

avoid sun
6 UVI

seek shade
5 UVI

seek shade
3 UVI

Remote workers

400 people

425 people

1,022 people

650 people

700 people

489 people

400 people

560 people

711 people

1,600 people

533 people

371 people

Green is good. Red is bad. Values shown are the medians of all daily highs in a month based on past few years, not necessarily current numbers. Remote worker count is estimated based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members.

If you'd like to filter destinations based on their climate, try Nomads.com's Climate Finder

Based on Fukuoka's cost of living, here's selected remote jobs that would cover your costs:

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$5,807 / mo

25 Mbps

Hong Kong

💵 Cost 🙂 Okay

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌤 Feels 19° 66° 19° 66°

✈️3h

$2,779 / mo

🌇 Also went here92 people

Chiang Mai

Thailand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 25° 77° 25° 77° AQI 78 😷

✈️5h

$1,293 / mo

🌇 Also went here104 people

Bangkok

Thailand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌦 Feels 37° 99° 32° 89° 🥵 AQI 78 😷

✈️5h

$1,602 / mo

🌇 Also went here141 people

Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 30° 86° 26° 79° 🥵

✈️6h

$1,570 / mo

🌇 Also went here86 people

Singapore

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety great

Tap to open

🌦 Feels 30° 86° 27° 80°

✈️6h

$4,510 / mo

🌇 Also went here106 people

Berlin

Germany

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked bad

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 2° 36° 4° 39° AQI 70 😷

✈️12h

$4,106 / mo

🌇 Also went here85 people

Amsterdam

Netherlands

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 5° 41° 7° 44° AQI 52 😷

✈️12h

$5,887 / mo

🌇 Also went here86 people

Members who will be here soon

Members who have been here

Values shown are estimated visits by traveling remote workers based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members. Visits to a place are only counted once per year per user, even if they visit more in that year. Visits are also normalized by overall trips added per month on the site, so if site usage goes up or down it does not affect trends. Not all digital nomads are on Nomads.com, and not all Nomads.com members log their trips. So the data is only indicative.

The chart below shows visitors by nationality normalized for population size. This means we take all trips logged on Nomads.com, check which country of origin the user is from, then divide that total visit count by the country of origin's population. If we didn't, it'd just show the big countries like US, Brazil and India always on top. Instead, this shows which nationalities worldwide proportionally visit more or less, which is more useful.

⭐️ Total score	2.79/5 (Rank #131) 236 reviews
❤️ Liked by members	👍9 liked it 👎0 disliked it
👍 Quality of life score	Good
👶 Family score	Okay
🎒 Community score	Okay
💵 Cost	🧐 Pricey: $3,039 / mo
📡 Internet	😡 Slow: 28 Mbps (avg)
😝 Fun	Good
⛅️ Temperature (now)	🥶 Too cold: 7°C44°F (feels 6°C43°F)
💦 Humidity (now)	😊 Comfy: 54%
❄️ % of buildings with AC	😍 Very high: 91%
💨 Air quality (now)	🌱 Good: 28 US AQI
💨 Air quality (annual)	🌱 Good: 57 US AQI
👌 Safety	Great
👩 Safe for women	Good
🌈 Safe for LGBTQ+	Okay
🤮 Food safety*	Great
👮‍♀️ Lack of crime*	Great
🤝 Lack of racism*	Okay
🎓 Education level*	High
⚡️ Power grid	Great
🌊 Vulnerability to climate change	Bad
💰 Income level*	Very high: $3,220 / mo
🙊 English speaking*	Bad
😤 People density	🧘‍♀️ Low density: 4k ppl/km² (1 per 16x16m)
🚶 Walkability	Great
🚦 Traffic safety*	Okay
✈️ Airline scores*	Good
🧳 Lost luggage*	Great
🏥 Hospitals	Good
😄 Happiness*	Okay
🍸 Nightlife	Okay
📶 Free WiFi in city	Bad
🖥 Places to work from	Great
❄️ A/C or heating	Great
😁 Friendly to foreigners	Bad
🗯 Freedom of speech*	Good
🎅 Startup Score	Bad

🌍 Continent	Asia
🚩 Country	Japan
🗓️ Average trip length	6 days
📡 Internet speed (avg)	28 Mbps
⛅️ Weather (now)	🌦 7°C 44°F + 😊 Comfy (54%) = feels 6°C 43°F
💨 Air quality (now)	👍 28 US AQI 🍃 OK
💨 Air quality (annual avg)	👎😷 57 US AQI
🔌 Power	115V 60Hz
🧔 Best neighborhood to stay	Higashi
🚀 Upcoming neighborhood	Hakata Extended
🚕 Best taxi app*	Line Taxi
🚑 Travel medical insurance	Safetywing
💸 1,000 JPY in USD	USD 6.45
🏧 Suggested ATM take out:	JPY 10,000 = USD 64
💸 Tipping	No
💳 Cashless	💳 Yes, cards OK almost everywhere
💻 Best coworking space	Regus
☕️ Best coffee place	Red Coffee
🚰 Tap water	👌 Yes, safe to drink
♻️ Return rate	👍13% of visitors return
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Population	1,500,000 people
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 GDP per capita*	$38,640 / year
😤 Population density	🧘‍♀️ not busy: 16x16m (256m²) per person
👫 Gender ratio (population)	👨 44% 👱‍♀️ 56%
👫 Gender ratio (young adults)	👨 55% 👱‍♀️ 45%
👫 Gender ratio (nomads)	👨 85% 👱‍♀️ 15%
🏞 Foreign land ownership allowed	Yes
⛪️ Religious government	Non-religious
💻 Online electronics shop	Amazon
🏠 Apartment listings	Airbnb
✈️ Best short-haul air carrier	All Nippon Airlines
✈️ Best int'l air carrier	Japan Airlines

💵 Cost of living for nomad	$3,039 / month
💵 Cost of living for expat	$1,673 / month
💵 Cost of living for family	$2,507 / month
💵 Cost of living for local	$716 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$2,374 / month
🏡 Airbnb (median price)	$3,601 / month
🏠 1br studio rent in center	$471 / month
🏠 Median home price	$265,320
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$111 / night
🏠 Airbnb (median price)	$118 / night
🏢 Coworking hot desk	$393 / month
🍛 Dinner	$6
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L)	$1
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L)	$4
☕️ Coffee in cafe	$3
👩‍🏫 International school	$15,902 / year
📱 Mobile data (~10GB)	$25 / month
🚕 Taxi price (avg trip ~3km/2mi)	$13 / trip