2.77/5
805 reviews
Photo by Pichai Sodsai via Unsplash

Osaka

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great

food

nomad

tourist

visa

tokyo

english

stay

transportation

country

friendly

public

Japan is a great place for digital nomads, though immigration rules make long-term stays difficult. The 3-month tourist visa is an option, and some simply renew it by briefly leaving and returning. The country is extremely safe, has friendly people, and excellent public transportation. There’s also a well-established foreigner community, especially with English teachers. Food options are diverse and high quality, and cultural experiences like festivals and onsens are easily accessible.

It can be expensive, especially in major cities, and the work culture is intense. Public transit is efficient but can be overcrowded, with some concerns about inappropriate behavior. The country is also very strict on illegal substances. While the level of English varies, it’s enough to get by in most tourist-friendly areas.

Overall, Japan is a solid choice with everything a digital nomad needs, but the visa situation means most will only be able to stay short-term. Some cities may be better suited than others depending on preferences, but it remains a top destination for those looking for a safe and culturally rich experience.

AI-generated summary of reviews

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

1 month 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.

12 months 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.

3 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.

5 years ago

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

5 years ago

✅ Very safe

✅ Friendly people

✅ Fast and efficient public transportation

✅ Great food options

✅ Established foreigner population

✅ Many festivals and cultural experiences

✅ Fast internet

✅ Warm now

✅ Warm in the spring

✅ Perfect humidity now

✅ Good air quality usually

✅ 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

❌ Short tourist visa

❌ Work culture can be intense

❌ Issues with packed public transport

❌ Not much to do

❌ Gets cold in the winter

❌ Feels crowded

❌ Very difficult to make friends

❌ People don't speak English well

❌ Many people smoke tobacco

❌ Marijuana is illegal

Jan

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Feels

457°
cold

489°
cold

5915°
cool

6619°
mild

7222°
mild

7926°
warm

8630°
warm

8127°
warm

7725°
warm

6317°
cool

5010°
cold

Real

468°
cold

5010°
cold

5815°
cool

6418°
cool

7222°
mild

7926°
warm

8630°
very warm

8127°
warm

7725°
warm

6317°
cool

5010°
cold

Humidity

too dry
29%

too dry
30%

nice
32%

too dry
29%

nice
38%

nice
41%

nice
42%

nice
38%

nice
35%

nice
32%

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

1,183 people

1,360 people

2,327 people

1,800 people

1,529 people

1,400 people

938 people

707 people

1,338 people

1,482 people

1,691 people

1,418 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. Not all nomads are on Nomads.com, and not all Nomads.com members log their trips. So the data is only indicative.

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

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✈️32min

$2,902 / mo

28Mbps

Kyoto

Japan

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked great

👮 Safety great

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 21° 70° 20° 68°AQI 74😷

🚕2h

$3,796 / mo

🌇 Also went here426 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. Not all 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.

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⭐️ Total score	2.77/5 (Rank #160) 805 reviews
❤️ Liked by members	👍10 liked it 👎2 disliked it
👍 Quality of life score	Good
👶 Family score	Okay
🎒 Community score	Good
💵 Cost	🙂 Okay: $2,966 / mo
📡 Internet	🙂 Good: 25Mbps (avg)
😝 Fun	Okay
⛅️ Temperature (now)	🌞 Perfect: 20°C69°F (feels 21°C70°F)
💦 Humidity (now)	😊 Comfy: 59%
💨 Air quality (now)	😐 Moderate: 95 US AQI
💨 Air quality (annual)	🌱 Great: 43 US AQI
👌 Safety	Great
🤮 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
👩 Female friendly	Okay
🌈 LGBTQ+ friendly	Good
🎅 Startup Score	Bad

🌍 Continent	Asia
🚩 Country	Japan
🗓️ Average trip length	6 days
📡 Internet speed (avg)	25 Mbps
⛅️ Weather (now)	☀️ 20°C 69°F + 😊 Comfy (59%) = feels 21°C 70°F
💨 Air quality (now)	👎😷 95 US AQI = 🚬 / day
💨 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 6.67
🏧 Suggested ATM take out:	JPY 10,000 = USD 67
💸 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	👍13% 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)	👨 83% 👱‍♀️ 17%
🏞 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	$2,966 / month
💵 Cost of living for expat	$1,758 / month
💵 Cost of living for family	$2,702 / month
💵 Cost of living for local	$772 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$1,847 / month
🏡 Airbnb (median price)	$3,687 / month
🏠 1br studio rent in center	$520 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$87 / night
🏠 Airbnb (median price)	$121 / night
🏢 Coworking hot desk	$407 / month
🍛 Dinner	$6
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L)	$1
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L)	$3
☕️ Coffee in cafe	$3
👩‍🏫 International school	$9,851 / year
📱 Mobile data (~10GB)	$18 / month
🚕 Taxi price (avg trip ~3km/2mi)	$10 / trip