3.52/5
910 reviews
Photo by Pichai Sodsai via Unsplash

Osaka

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great

food

nomad

tourist

visa

tokyo

english

stay

transportation

country

friendly

public

This city offers a safe, well-connected base for digital nomads and travelers, with efficient public transportation and a friendly atmosphere. It’s well-positioned for exploring Japan and has a solid infrastructure including food options, onsens, and reliable transit. There's a sizable international community, especially of English teachers, which can be helpful for newcomers.

The food scene is strong, with a wide range of options, and the city hosts many cultural events like cherry blossom festivals. While not as exciting as Tokyo or Kyoto for some, it still offers ample entertainment opportunities including live music. Speaking Japanese helps, but English is spoken reasonably well by Japanese standards.

On the downside, the cost of living is high compared to other regions. The work culture can be intense, with long hours and a visible drinking culture, particularly among office workers. Public transit can be overcrowded and there are concerns related to socially inappropriate behavior. Mental health services are reportedly lacking, and visitors should be aware of the country's strict laws regarding substances. Tourist visas are short, but quick trips to nearby countries, like South Korea, are used to reset them.

Overall, it’s a practical and comfortable place to stay, particularly for short to medium-term digital nomad use.

AI-generated summary of reviews
8 months ago

Solid, but not as interesting as Tokyo, or even Kyoto for that matter. English decent by Japan standards.

1 year ago

Stay 3 months. Great stay with everything you need. Great food and transportation like any japanese city. I think it's better positioned than Tokyo to visit the highlights of the country. Has everything a digital nomad needs and more. I'm not much of partier but their is a scene with all music genres. People are very friendly but of course helps if you can speak Japanese. Don't have any cons. Would definitely recommend.

2 years ago

Pros: Friendly people, safe, stable government, efficient and fast public transportation, established foreigner (gaijin) population due many English teachers, many great food options, many festivals (cherry blossom fest), onsens!

Cons: Expensive, work til you die at your desk mentality, drunken businessman culture, groping on packed public transit, lack of mental health services so be cautious around the destitute, over sexualization of underage females, high risk if caught with illegal substances, short tourist visa but just pop over to South Korea and return to renew another 3 months.

4 years ago

its very possible to be a digital nomad in japan - 3 months tourist visa on arrival.
free wifi at starbucks. who's stopping you?
lovely people, amazing food, and the worlds richest culture.
just say you're a tourist. its not as if you are an immigrant.

6 years ago

It's impossible to be a digital nomad in Japan - no visa allows it, and the country is extremely strict on immigration.

6 years ago

✅ Very safe

✅ Fast public transportation

✅ Friendly people

✅ Great food

✅ Established expat community

✅ Many cultural festivals

✅ Fast internet

✅ Warm in the spring

✅ Good air quality on average

✅ Nomads.com members liked going here

✅ Many Nomads.com members here all year round

✅ Very easy to do business

✅ High quality of education

✅ Great hospitals

✅ Roads are very safe

✅ Freedom of speech

✅ Democratic

✅ Safe for women

✅ Family friendly

✅ Very friendly to LGBTQ+

❌ Expensive

❌ Overworked culture

❌ Issues with public transit behavior

❌ Short tourist visa

❌ Limited mental health services

❌ Not much to do

❌ Cold now

❌ Gets cold in the winter

❌ Very damp now

❌ Feels crowded

❌ 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)

745°
cold

948°
cold

1559°
cool

1966°
mild

2272°
mild

2882°
warm

38100°
hot

3086°
warm

2577°
warm

1763°
cool

1050°
cold

Real (median)

846°
cold

1050°
cold

1558°
cool

1864°
cool

2272°
mild

2679°
warm

3086°
very warm

2781°
warm

2577°
warm

1763°
cool

1050°
cold

Humidity

nice
58%

nice
60%

nice
63%

nice
58%

nice
76%

sweaty
82%

sweaty
83%

sweaty
76%

nice
70%

nice
63%

nice
64%

Most common

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

☀️ Clear

Rain

rainy
67mm

rainy
65mm

rainy
124mm

rainy
121mm

rainy
143mm

rainy
170mm

rainy
208mm

rainy
116mm

rainy
155mm

rainy
62mm

rainy
81mm

rainy
65mm

Cloud

pockets
31%

pockets
32%

pockets
40%

pockets
38%

cloudy
55%

cloudy
56%

pockets
47%

cloudy
54%

cloudy
53%

pockets
31%

pockets
33%

pockets
31%

Air quality

clean
41 US AQI

okay
54 US AQI

okay
53 US AQI

okay
52 US AQI

clean
42 US AQI

clean
45 US AQI

clean
44 US AQI

clean
36 US AQI

clean
49 US AQI

clean
45 US AQI

Sun

seek shade
3 UVI

seek shade
4 UVI

seek shade
5 UVI

avoid sun
6 UVI

seek shade
5 UVI

seek shade
3 UVI

safe
2 UVI

Remote workers

3,508 people

4,309 people

7,250 people

6,280 people

5,200 people

4,582 people

2,920 people

2,640 people

4,662 people

5,329 people

5,250 people

4,400 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 Osaka's cost of living, here's selected remote jobs that would cover your costs:

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86pts

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57pts

38pts

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29pts

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8pts

6pts

5pts

4pts

3pts

Kobe

Japan

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🙂 Okay

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked great

👮 Safety great

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 12° 54° 12° 53° AQI 33

🚕49min

$2,696 / mo

28 Mbps

Nara

Japan

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety great

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 12° 54° 13° 55°

🚕1h

$2,195 / mo

41 Mbps

Kyoto

Japan

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked great

👮 Safety great

Tap to open

🌦 Feels 12° 54° 12° 53° AQI 34

🚕2h

$3,777 / mo

28 Mbps

Kamiyama

Japan

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🙂 Okay

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety great

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 10° 50° 10° 50°

✈️10min

$2,775 / mo

27 Mbps

Nagoya

Japan

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🙂 Okay

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety great

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 9° 48° 9° 48° AQI 63 😷

✈️11min

$2,859 / mo

27 Mbps

Okayama

Japan

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌦 Feels 11° 52° 11° 52°

✈️13min

$2,194 / mo

28 Mbps

Hamamatsu

Japan

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety great

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 8° 46° 9° 49° AQI 29

✈️15min

$3,704 / mo

28 Mbps

Kanazawa

Japan

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety great

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 6° 43° 7° 44° AQI 26

✈️19min

$1,765 / mo

20 Mbps

Hiroshima

Japan

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked great

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌦 Feels 12° 54° 12° 54° AQI 32

✈️23min

$2,352 / mo

28 Mbps

Yokohama

Japan

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety great

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 6° 43° 8° 46° AQI 18

✈️31min

$2,462 / mo

22 Mbps

Tokyo

Japan

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety great

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 7° 45° 8° 46° AQI 46

✈️32min

$3,301 / mo

27 Mbps

Ube

Japan

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🙂 Okay

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌦 Feels 14° 57° 14° 57°

✈️32min

$2,778 / mo

28 Mbps

Tokyo

Japan

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety great

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 7° 45° 8° 46° AQI 46

✈️32min

$3,301 / mo

27 Mbps

Bangkok

Thailand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 46° 115° 35° 94° 🥵 AQI 69 😷

✈️6h

$1,599 / mo

24 Mbps

Barcelona

Spain

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌤 Feels 15° 59° 15° 58° AQI 53 😷

✈️14h

$4,654 / mo

34 Mbps

Taipei

Taiwan

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 16° 61° 16° 61° AQI 80 😷

✈️2h

$2,172 / mo

23 Mbps

London

United Kingdom

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌫 Feels 12° 54° 12° 53° AQI 73 😷

✈️13h

$5,644 / mo

23 Mbps

San Francisco, CA

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 17° 63° 16° 61°

✈️12h

$5,620 / mo

84 Mbps

Seoul

South Korea

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌫 Feels 9° 48° 9° 47° AQI 26

✈️1h

$2,475 / mo

33 Mbps

New York City, NY

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels -2° 28° 0° 32°

✈️15h

$7,114 / mo

29 Mbps

Singapore

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety great

Tap to open

🌩 Feels 38° 100° 30° 86° 🥵

✈️7h

$4,377 / mo

152 Mbps

Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌩 Feels 43° 109° 32° 89° 🥵

✈️7h

$1,611 / mo

19 Mbps

Amsterdam

Netherlands

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 10° 50° 11° 52° AQI 38

✈️12h

$6,430 / mo

21 Mbps

Detroit, MI

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

☀️ Feels -3° 27° 0° 31°

✈️14h

$4,868 / mo

39 Mbps

Kyoto

Japan

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked great

👮 Safety great

Tap to open

🌦 Feels 12° 54° 12° 53° AQI 34

🚕2h

$3,777 / mo

🌇 Also went here498 people

Tokyo

Japan

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety great

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 7° 45° 8° 46° AQI 46

✈️32min

$3,301 / mo

🌇 Also went here733 people

Seoul

South Korea

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌫 Feels 9° 48° 9° 47° AQI 26

✈️1h

$2,475 / mo

🌇 Also went here410 people

Ho Chi Minh City

Vietnam

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked bad

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 42° 108° 32° 90° 🥵 AQI 53 😷

✈️5h

$1,043 / mo

🌇 Also went here291 people

Chiang Mai

Thailand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 36° 97° 32° 89° 🥵 AQI 88 😷

✈️5h

$1,271 / mo

🌇 Also went here385 people

Bangkok

Thailand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 46° 115° 35° 94° 🥵 AQI 69 😷

✈️6h

$1,599 / mo

🌇 Also went here566 people

Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌩 Feels 43° 109° 32° 89° 🥵

✈️7h

$1,611 / mo

🌇 Also went here360 people

Singapore

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety great

Tap to open

🌩 Feels 38° 100° 30° 86° 🥵

✈️7h

$4,377 / mo

🌇 Also went here390 people

Berlin

Germany

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 13° 55° 13° 55° AQI 80 😷

✈️12h

$4,051 / mo

🌇 Also went here308 people

Amsterdam

Netherlands

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 10° 50° 11° 52° AQI 38

✈️12h

$6,430 / mo

🌇 Also went here343 people

London

United Kingdom

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌫 Feels 12° 54° 12° 53° AQI 73 😷

✈️13h

$5,644 / mo

🌇 Also went here407 people

Paris

France

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 15° 59° 15° 59° AQI 58 😷

✈️13h

$5,338 / mo

🌇 Also went here365 people

Barcelona

Spain

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌤 Feels 15° 59° 15° 58° AQI 53 😷

✈️14h

$4,654 / mo

🌇 Also went here369 people

Lisbon

Portugal

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked bad

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 18° 64° 18° 64° AQI 59 😷

✈️15h

$3,864 / mo

🌇 Also went here354 people

New York City, NY

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels -2° 28° 0° 32°

✈️15h

$7,114 / mo

🌇 Also went here342 people

3,000 remote workers in Osaka now, of which 4+ members checked in (some members are set to private)

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.

🎒 Nomad Score™	3.52/5 (Rank #73) 910 reviews
❤️ Liked by members	👍13 liked it 👎2 disliked it
👍 Quality of life score	Good
👶 Family score	Okay
🎒 Community score	Okay
🤯 Overcrowding score	0% is nomad here
💵 Cost	😙 Affordable: $2,346 / mo
📡 Internet	😡 Slow: 25 Mbps (avg)
😝 Fun	Okay
⛅️ Temperature (now)	🥶 Too cold: 12°C53°F (feels 12°C54°F)
💦 Humidity (now)	💦 Damp: 94%
❄️ % of buildings with AC	😍 Very high: 91%
💨 Air quality (now)	🌱 Good: 30 US AQI
💨 Air quality (annual)	🌱 Great: 43 US AQI
👌 Safety	Great
👩 Safe for women	Okay
🌈 Safe for LGBTQ+	Good
🤮 Food safety*	Great
👮‍♀️ Lack of crime*	Great
🤝 Lack of racism*	Bad
🎓 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: 6k ppl/km² (1 per 13x13m)
🚶 Walkability	Great
🚦 Traffic safety*	Okay
✈️ Airline scores*	Good
🧳 Lost luggage*	Great
🏥 Hospitals	Great
😄 Happiness*	Okay
🍸 Nightlife	Okay
📶 Free WiFi in city	Bad
🖥 Places to work from	Great
❄️ A/C or heating	Great
😁 Friendly to foreigners	Okay
🗯 Freedom of speech*	Good
🎅 Startup Score	Bad

🌍 Continent	Asia
🚩 Country	Japan
🗓️ Average trip length	5 days
📡 Internet speed (avg)	25 Mbps
⛅️ Weather (now)	🌧 12°C 53°F + 💦 Damp (94%) = feels 12°C 54°F
💨 Air quality (now)	👍 30 US AQI 🍃 OK
💨 Air quality (annual avg)	👍 43 US AQI
🔌 Power	115V 60Hz
🚕 Best taxi app*	Line Taxi
🚑 Travel medical insurance	Safetywing
💸 1,000 JPY in USD	USD 6.34
🏧 Suggested ATM take out:	JPY 10,000 = USD 63
💸 Tipping	No
💳 Cashless	💳 Yes, cards OK almost everywhere
💻 Best coworking space	Osakan Space
💻 Best alt. coworking space	Juso Coworking
☕️ Best coffee place	Tully's Coffee
🚰 Tap water	👌 Yes, safe to drink
♻️ Return rate	👍14% of visitors return
📸 Visitors per year	6,133,100 visitors
📸 Tourists now	117,541 tourists
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Population	2,700,000 people
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 GDP per capita*	$38,640 / year
😤 Population density	🤨 busy: 13x13m (169m²) per person
👫 Gender ratio (population)	👨 46% 👱‍♀️ 54%
👫 Gender ratio (young adults)	👨 55% 👱‍♀️ 45%
👫 Gender ratio (nomads)	👨 84% 👱‍♀️ 16%
🏞 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
🏥 Best hospital	Osaka University Hospital

💵 Cost of living for nomad	$2,346 / month
💵 Cost of living for expat	$1,333 / month
💵 Cost of living for family	$2,570 / month
💵 Cost of living for local	$734 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$1,378 / month
🏡 Airbnb (median price)	$2,150 / month
🏠 1br studio rent in center	$494 / month
🏠 Median home price	$266,091
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$65 / night
🏠 Airbnb (median price)	$70 / night
🏢 Coworking hot desk	$387 / month
🍛 Dinner	$6
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L)	$1
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L)	$3
☕️ Coffee in cafe	$3
👩‍🏫 International school	$9,368 / year
📱 Mobile data (~10GB)	$17 / month
🚕 Taxi price (avg trip ~3km/2mi)	$9 / trip