For me, the answer is yes. Fukuoka Prefecture is the best place to live in Japan. I’m not alone in offering my praises for Kyushu’s northernmost prefecture. According to several sources, Fukuoka has earned accolades inside and outside Japan. But, more than the rankings, the experience of living in Fukuoka Prefecture and Fukuoka City, in particular, makes me think this place is great. Curious to find out more? Keep reading for a few great reasons to live in Fukuoka.
Fukuoka Prefecture Rankings
Numbers don’t lie. Here are a few sources to explain why Fukuoka is the best place to live in Japan. Consider these recent rankings:
- In a survey by the Japanese rental agency eheya.net, Fukuoka was voted #4 best prefecture to live in (according to current residents) and #2 most desirable prefecture to live in (according to all respondents)
- Since 2008, London-based Monocle Magazine has featured Fukuoka City as one of its top 25 global cities in the annual Quality of Life Survey every year, except two times.
- According to a 2021 survey that asked whether respondents wanted to move back to their home prefectures now that they’re living elsewhere, natives of Fukuoka Prefecture came in at #1, with 33.5% replying positively
Affordable Housing
Compared to Osaka and Tokyo, Fukuoka Prefecture has low rental costs. Take a look at these average rents for a variety of apartment sizes:
Even if you’re a business owner looking to rent office space, Fukuoka City has you covered, too. In 2023, Fukuoka had much cheaper rents in its business district compared to Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya.
Low Cost of Living
Fukuoka Prefecture’s two largest cities, Fukuoka and Kitakyushu City, have low living costs for cities over 500,000. In 2022, Fukuoka City was ranked the cheapest for food and general amenities, while Kitakyushu City earned three and eight spots, respectively. If the national average for food and daily necessities is ¥100, people in Fukuoka City could expect to pay about ¥97.7 for each and Kitakyushu ¥98.2 and ¥99.8 for the two.
For a price comparison between Fukuoka City and Osaka, check out these typical goods and services:
Fukuoka Prefecture also has relatively low living standards and attracts many international and domestic businesses. Fukuoka City has the highest number of businesses opening for five years in a row as of 2022 and the lowest cost for renting office space for a major Japanese city.
Good Work-Life Balance
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- External Link
- https://gaijinpot.com/
18 Comments
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falseflagsteve
Would I prefer to live in Fukuoka over Osaka? No way Pedro!
You certainly ain’t getting prices in restaurants in Fukuoka as you do in Osaka. The subway system is pretty poor and people are nowhere near as friendly.
Place is alright but wouldn’t want to reside there, if not Osaka then Nagoya for me.
factchecker
No.
Aly Rustom
I've heard that for over 20 years from various Japanese people. I've never been there, but I am not a fan of major urban centres and prefer the rural rustic environment, so I doubt I would like living there.
zibala
Rent is considerably lower in Fukuoka than in Osaka and Tokyo, never mind comparing a kilogram of kimchi.
Joey Zen
I've heard a lot of good things about Fukuoka. I am definitely going to consider it.
Personally, I think I would miss being able to see Fuji-san every day, but perhaps there are other mountains and scenery to admire in Fukuoka. Here in Shizuoka, I am happy just being able to see Fuji-san and the Tokaido Shinkansen zooming past. These two things never fail to impress me and I never get tired of seeing them. It's also nice to be able to go fishing, hiking, camping and onsen-ing whenever I like. The proximity to Tokyo is also very convenient.
Maybe I need to visit Fukuoka again for a longer stay to see if it is a good place to live. Last time I went, I only stayed for one night and I only had time to eat one bowl of ramen and mentaiko gohan.
carpslidy
Am international Airport in the middle of the city is a definite plus
Sven Asai
It's correct, Fukuoka is a nice little paradise if you are only a short term visitor, or you are a woman and have quite some money. Lacking one or two of those criteria then Fukuoka is quite a bit boring when you are not a daily shopping addict or for men without much money it turns out even a bit hellish in the longer run as you cannot do anything there exempt of boring and uninteresting window shopping.
bass4funk
I have a home in Fukuoka and divide my time between there and Texas and after 24 years, I love it, it’s not THAT boring, the nightlife was at one time wild and crazy here, but the mayor clamped down on the noise pollution after receiving a lot of complaints from some of the elderly living near downtown and complaining about the noise emanating from the clubs, now they can’t really play music after 1am, they can only sell alcohol at that point, so in that sense it has lost a lot of its nightlife luster. When I first came here back in 2001 the nightlife was just out of control and went on until sunrise, not anymore to that degree.
But when it comes to nature, food prices, peace and tranquility, you can’t beat it, I could never live in a madhouse like Tokyo or Osaka, I don’t like crowds, can’t stand them and I love the more subdued lifestyle of Fukuoka. I don’t have to worry about the concrete madness, I can fly my drones easily, the beaches are great, I can pull over and park, take a short rest without worrying about the cops trying to shuffle me off. Kyushu is great, South Korea is across the pound just 90 minutes away from Busan. If I had to leave this place and move somewhere else in Japan, Hokkaido, Hiroshima, or somewhere else in Kyushu.
Speed
Fukuoka used to be a pretty fun party town and the people are pretty nice. Used to often eat at the yatais there. It's got everything you need, a pro baseball team, sumo matches, pretty beaches, plenty of nature, shinkansen, still a pretty decent nightlife, SK really close by, good access to the rest of Kyushu, which is beautiful and, yes, everything is cheaper than Kanto and Kansai.
JRO
I have lived there for a short time, and definitely a nice place if you own a car. I did however feel people were a lot colder compared to Osaka and Tokyo, especially as a foreigner, I guess it's normal since people there are less used to non Asian foreigners.
bass4funk
Yes, you definitely need a car here that’s for sure, but if you like driving, you do feel a sense of freedom and there are many places where you can go drive and pull your car across the road and just taking all the nature and not worried about being bothered, that’s a good thing what I really like about Fukuoka.
See, I think the opposite I think people in Tokyo and Osaka are much colder than the people in the Fukuoka, everything is just so relaxed over here, but I guess it just depends on the person and the overall experiences.
JRO
I guess it depends on what kind of coldness we are talking about. Honestly now I would probably prefer what I experienced over there, they kind of just left you alone. In Osaka or Tokyo as quite a big foreign guy, for example on a night out it didn't take many seconds inside a bar before the first drunk male university student started feeling up your arms, or someone trying to talk to you in general. In Fukuoka I think I never had a conversation with someone that I didn't start myself. This was when I was younger and in more of a party mood, so wasn't favorable to me then, and it didn't help that they had those strict dance/noise curfew laws back then as well, (not sure if that's still a thing) so there were no real legal clubs.
Older now, so sounds a lot more appealing. especially nice with a car and a Motorcycle to drive over to Kumamoto or Oita with. Actually if I were to make that move I would probably choose Kumamoto or Kagoshima over Fukuoka.
rainyday
I lived in Fukuoka city for four years and I would definitely rate it the best city I've lived in here (20 plus years in Japan across four different cities).
It punches above its weight in terms of what it has. Its big enough to have lots of cool things to do. But at the same time its not so big that you feel trapped by the sprawl like in Tokyo/Nagoya/Osaka.
The part I liked best though was that it was a fun city to just hop on my bicycle and explore. Within a one hour ride from downtown you could be exploring beautiful islands like Nokonosima (fun 10 minute ferry ride) or Shikanoshima. Or hiking big mountains like Aburayama. Or pedalling around fascinating neighorhoods in the city with tons of shopping, nightlife and of course yatai. Or seeing the old shrines and temples in Dazaifu. Or having a picnic at Ohori Koen. Or watching a Hawks game at the Dome. Or exploring the little towns and villages in the surrounding region (like the mini 88 temple pilgrammage in Sasaguri).
There was just a never ending list of fun stuff you could do, all of it accessible (never owned a car there or felt I needed one), all of it cheap and all of it awesome. No city I've lived in before had that much going for it.
Laguna
Damn. I "liked" bass4funk's comment.
Gene Hennigh
Fukuoka would do for me. It's a great town. Beats anything in the US and competes with anything in Japan.
GuruMick
OK...I'm going ...the women are supposed to be especially beautiful.
Most of non urban Japan rocks my world actually.
My dream is to get an older model Toyota Crown and cruise from the top to the bottom...then over to the island area.
All good.
Aly Rustom
My bad.
Really? I heard that about women from Akita and Hakodate in Hokkaido. If I were single I'd go to Hakodate. From what I hear, that's where most single guys should go.