I like Fukuoka because it’s a big, exciting city but it’s not as crowded and hectic as Tokyo. We already have an actual house that is within driving distance of Fukuoka, so we visit there often. It’s an even quicker trip by shinkansen but that isn’t practical when we want to go to Costco.
I don’t think I can live outside of Tokyo anymore. Just too convenient and entertaining
I can’t imagine myself living outside Osaka city, it has everything I need without feeling too much crowded or hectic like Tokyo. But if I have to leave Osaka, I think I want to try living in Okinawa, heard that you can have quite laid back life there, plus I love the sea and the weather.
I do live in my own apartment in central Tokyo, and will be here forever. I love the convenience of being able to get whatever I want. I love being able to use public transportation. And I love the safety and consideration that people have all over Japan.
Being in central Tokyo is also great when I do want to fly abroad, it’s so easy to get to the airport.
I have traveled all over Japan for vacations, but there’s nowhere else I would rather live
Not sure, honestly. I like Tokyo, but I wouldn’t want to live there. Osaka is interesting, but I don’t like it. Takamatsu was a nice experience but there’s not much going on in the immediate area. Sendai perhaps. Or Yokohama. Maybe Sasebo, though that might be because I’ve visited it often enough since my in laws live there.
Guess I just like port cities that aren’t TOO hectic
Right next to komazawa park, because my life is built around there and I love it.
Unfortunately you need to be a mafia boss to afford it.
hokkaido. but i already do 😀
Fukuoka or else the countryside, but by the time remote work became a thing I had already bought a house and had kids in daycare, so suburban Kawasaki it is.
Kansai. Simply better than anywhere else for me.
Shiga. That lake water is gonna be valuable in the future.
I’ve only lived in the inaka of Ibaraki for almost a year now for my Japan life. I don’t really know what Japan life is like outside of that. I’ve visited the big three before I moved here and they seem like what I expected Japan to be more like being super convenient and modern. Inaka life is kind of the same as back home just with super narrow streets and no place to get a good burger and fries. Osaka seems to be more of my thing then Tokyo but I need get more experience first I guess.
Hokkaido or Nagoya.
Both cities are very modern and clean.
I live inaka on a mountain. Bought land and had a house built on it. It’s inaka enough that there is seemingly fuck-all in the immediate vicinity to be passively entertained by on a daily basis (though many hidden away local restaurants run by great people), yet still civilized enough that I have a fiber internet connection. I’m about 40mins drive away from the closest ‘big city’.
If you’re a person who loves nature, growing stuff, enjoys the luxury of excess space and are somewhat emotionally self reliant, then it’s heaven on earth.
It has that rural feel but with the urban convenience. We have an outlet mall and a CostCo as well. There’s a couple of rivers, a cycling road to other cities, lots of huge parks, and even a hot spring bathhouse.
Everything is walkable, we’ve never needed a car in our 10 years here.
I have earthquakes so Okinawa is the place for me.
Hokkaido
Where I currently do, Yokohama, a big enough city that it’s always entertaining and feels lively, but not always feeling swarmed like some other cities (Tokyo/Osaka).
Also, its within reasonable distance of the coast, mountains, Haneda and Tokyo👍
Hokkaido…hate summer.
Shiga, especially the quieter side of the lake where the beaches are. Get a little chunk of land, enjoy a tsunami free life in the inaka. Though the lilacs in Sapporo are tempting.
I think I’m the opposite to everyone…
I HATE Big cities, hell even kanazawa is too busy for me.
People are cold, rude, mean, busy, self centered… Etc
And driving? Jesus…. I swear most drivers would kill me if it meant they could save half a second even though we’re all stuck in the same shitty city traffic.
To answer the question.
A nice quiet medium sized place.
Yokohama: easy access to Tokyo for work, has its own identity as well as its own vibe going in the city center, lots of neighborhoods that don’t feel as cramped as Tokyo where you can put up a spacious house at a reasonable price, easy access to Hakone and various beaches for weekend getaways.
Yokohama probably. Large city, close to Tokyo. Used to live in Sapporo (best food in Japan IMHO), and I loved it, but too cold for me.
As close to Tokyo as possible. Done with the inaka.
Oof, so many Tokyo-lovers here. Sorry, not for me. You guys enjoy. I love visiting Tokyo, (my wife’s hometown) but we don’t want to live inside that overcrowded wall of people.
I already live permanently in Kobe. I can walk to three different train lines in about five minutes, plus the subway and the Port Liner. There are three supermarkets within the same radius. My doctors’ clinic and dentist are only a couple minutes walk, too. Dozens of restaurants of all types, and some very good bakeries, too. (I love good French bread, not that ubersoft ‘shokupan’ shit.)
And, BTW, who wants to own a house again? Certainly not us. We have a nice comfortably sized apartment (well, a ‘mansion’), just the right size to keep clean without too much effort. If a big earthquake or other disaster wrecks the building, we just move away and any repair or replacement is the owner’s problem. They handle maintenance and cleaning, too. I don’t ever need to do ‘housework’ when I’m not working. Good. I always hated ‘working outdoors’ and doing all that useless crap.
I can get to Osaka in 20 minutes, Kyoto in less than an hour. Shin-kobe has a Shinkansen station, just a few minutes away by subway. Direct buses to Kansai International Airport leave from right next to the train station. I’ve traveled to Tokyo in the morning, done an afternoon seminar, and come back home the same evening without any problem.
Partner wants to go soon so potentially leaving central Tokyo (Roppongi) for something a bit south maybe between atami and yokohama area. Chiba also on their mind but I’m afraid of quakes.
I think leaving the lonely, concrete jungle, convenience dependency for some more natural open spaced living will be good for me mentally and physically and still being still 30 minutes to Yokohama and an hour to Tokyo.
Though I have some health conditions, so the only irk is that i dont really like to be too far away from the hospital and clinics i sadly frequent.
For retirement? Nagano prefecture. Its air, water, sunshine, vast land, nature, rich soil and quietness.
For now , Tokyo. Earning bread
Tokyo. I’m always a city guy. Even now I actually spend most of my time in hk bc more exciting
Yokohama area, quieter than Tokyo but east access to Tokyo. Scenery is nice here
Miyagi, i love it there
Osaka(Either Kobe or Kyoto would work too), Fukuoka and Okinawa(Naha). I currently live in Sendai which is a horrible city.Will probably move to Osaka after my 就職活動 is done.
As much as I love and appreciate all the conveniences of Tokyo, I would truly love to live in Okinawa again if there were any decent-paying jobs. People are so friendly, the lifestyle is chill and wonderful and the island (all of them, really) is beautiful.
Being foreign, Tokyo is the best for me or basically big cities with convenient international port access.. So that leaves me with well, Tokyo.
Nishinomiya city. It was the first city I lived at and it was so incredibly convenient. Situated right between Kobe and Umeda, but also suburban enough to raise a medium-sized family. Restaurants and department stores nearby, with good schools and various extracurricular lessons. Plus if you live in Koshien, the sea is nearby. The downside to some is that Koshien stadium gets so crowded due to the baseball games, but I didn’t mind.
Tokyo or Kanagawa
For now, I still prefer living in Tokyo. Post retirement, probably Okinawa.
my hometown… Ehime-ken.
One of the small islands of Okinawa. I can 100% do without cities or people and love nature more than anything. As much as I do love my quiet corner of Fukuoka prefecture, I’m ready for a change.
I would love to live in Kyoto. It’s a pretty big city, but not quite as overwhelming as Tokyo. It’s close to other cities like Osaka, Kobe, and Okayama, and it’s not even too difficult to get to Tokyo. I love the more traditional style of the city and the feeling of はんなり it has. It just seems so gorgeous
40 comments
I like Fukuoka because it’s a big, exciting city but it’s not as crowded and hectic as Tokyo. We already have an actual house that is within driving distance of Fukuoka, so we visit there often. It’s an even quicker trip by shinkansen but that isn’t practical when we want to go to Costco.
I don’t think I can live outside of Tokyo anymore. Just too convenient and entertaining
I can’t imagine myself living outside Osaka city, it has everything I need without feeling too much crowded or hectic like Tokyo. But if I have to leave Osaka, I think I want to try living in Okinawa, heard that you can have quite laid back life there, plus I love the sea and the weather.
I do live in my own apartment in central Tokyo, and will be here forever. I love the convenience of being able to get whatever I want. I love being able to use public transportation. And I love the safety and consideration that people have all over Japan.
Being in central Tokyo is also great when I do want to fly abroad, it’s so easy to get to the airport.
I have traveled all over Japan for vacations, but there’s nowhere else I would rather live
Not sure, honestly. I like Tokyo, but I wouldn’t want to live there. Osaka is interesting, but I don’t like it. Takamatsu was a nice experience but there’s not much going on in the immediate area.
Sendai perhaps. Or Yokohama. Maybe Sasebo, though that might be because I’ve visited it often enough since my in laws live there.
Guess I just like port cities that aren’t TOO hectic
Right next to komazawa park, because my life is built around there and I love it.
Unfortunately you need to be a mafia boss to afford it.
hokkaido. but i already do 😀
Fukuoka or else the countryside, but by the time remote work became a thing I had already bought a house and had kids in daycare, so suburban Kawasaki it is.
Kansai. Simply better than anywhere else for me.
Shiga. That lake water is gonna be valuable in the future.
I’ve only lived in the inaka of Ibaraki for almost a year now for my Japan life. I don’t really know what Japan life is like outside of that. I’ve visited the big three before I moved here and they seem like what I expected Japan to be more like being super convenient and modern. Inaka life is kind of the same as back home just with super narrow streets and no place to get a good burger and fries. Osaka seems to be more of my thing then Tokyo but I need get more experience first I guess.
Hokkaido or Nagoya.
Both cities are very modern and clean.
I live inaka on a mountain. Bought land and had a house built on it. It’s inaka enough that there is seemingly fuck-all in the immediate vicinity to be passively entertained by on a daily basis (though many hidden away local restaurants run by great people), yet still civilized enough that I have a fiber internet connection. I’m about 40mins drive away from the closest ‘big city’.
If you’re a person who loves nature, growing stuff, enjoys the luxury of excess space and are somewhat emotionally self reliant, then it’s heaven on earth.
Probably Hokkaido if I could choose anywhere.
Sapporo
I live just half an hour from Tokyo.
My wife and I have decided to stay [in our small town here in Saitama](https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/rlrep4/i_live_in_a_neighborhood_in_japan_that_feels_like/).
It has that rural feel but with the urban convenience. We have an outlet mall and a CostCo as well. There’s a couple of rivers, a cycling road to other cities, lots of huge parks, and even a hot spring bathhouse.
Everything is walkable, we’ve never needed a car in our 10 years here.
[Our 40sqm apartment](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmateurRoomPorn/comments/u9xn7u/our_living_space_in_saitama_japan/) walking distance from the station is just $330 a month.
I have earthquakes so Okinawa is the place for me.
Hokkaido
Where I currently do, Yokohama, a big enough city that it’s always entertaining and feels lively, but not always feeling swarmed like some other cities (Tokyo/Osaka).
Also, its within reasonable distance of the coast, mountains, Haneda and Tokyo👍
Hokkaido…hate summer.
Shiga, especially the quieter side of the lake where the beaches are. Get a little chunk of land, enjoy a tsunami free life in the inaka. Though the lilacs in Sapporo are tempting.
I think I’m the opposite to everyone…
I HATE Big cities, hell even kanazawa is too busy for me.
People are cold, rude, mean, busy, self centered… Etc
And driving? Jesus…. I swear most drivers would kill me if it meant they could save half a second even though we’re all stuck in the same shitty city traffic.
To answer the question.
A nice quiet medium sized place.
Yokohama: easy access to Tokyo for work, has its own identity as well as its own vibe going in the city center, lots of neighborhoods that don’t feel as cramped as Tokyo where you can put up a spacious house at a reasonable price, easy access to Hakone and various beaches for weekend getaways.
Yokohama probably. Large city, close to Tokyo. Used to live in Sapporo (best food in Japan IMHO), and I loved it, but too cold for me.
As close to Tokyo as possible. Done with the inaka.
Oof, so many Tokyo-lovers here. Sorry, not for me. You guys enjoy. I love visiting Tokyo, (my wife’s hometown) but we don’t want to live inside that overcrowded wall of people.
I already live permanently in Kobe. I can walk to three different train lines in about five minutes, plus the subway and the Port Liner. There are three supermarkets within the same radius. My doctors’ clinic and dentist are only a couple minutes walk, too. Dozens of restaurants of all types, and some very good bakeries, too. (I love good French bread, not that ubersoft ‘shokupan’ shit.)
And, BTW, who wants to own a house again? Certainly not us. We have a nice comfortably sized apartment (well, a ‘mansion’), just the right size to keep clean without too much effort. If a big earthquake or other disaster wrecks the building, we just move away and any repair or replacement is the owner’s problem. They handle maintenance and cleaning, too. I don’t ever need to do ‘housework’ when I’m not working. Good. I always hated ‘working outdoors’ and doing all that useless crap.
I can get to Osaka in 20 minutes, Kyoto in less than an hour. Shin-kobe has a Shinkansen station, just a few minutes away by subway. Direct buses to Kansai International Airport leave from right next to the train station. I’ve traveled to Tokyo in the morning, done an afternoon seminar, and come back home the same evening without any problem.
Partner wants to go soon so potentially leaving central Tokyo (Roppongi) for something a bit south maybe between atami and yokohama area. Chiba also on their mind but I’m afraid of quakes.
I think leaving the lonely, concrete jungle, convenience dependency for some more natural open spaced living will be good for me mentally and physically and still being still 30 minutes to Yokohama and an hour to Tokyo.
Though I have some health conditions, so the only irk is that i dont really like to be too far away from the hospital and clinics i sadly frequent.
For retirement? Nagano prefecture. Its air, water, sunshine, vast land, nature, rich soil and quietness.
For now , Tokyo. Earning bread
Tokyo. I’m always a city guy. Even now I actually spend most of my time in hk bc more exciting
Yokohama area, quieter than Tokyo but east access to Tokyo. Scenery is nice here
Miyagi, i love it there
Osaka(Either Kobe or Kyoto would work too), Fukuoka and Okinawa(Naha). I currently live in Sendai which is a horrible city.Will probably move to Osaka after my 就職活動 is done.
As much as I love and appreciate all the conveniences of Tokyo, I would truly love to live in Okinawa again if there were any decent-paying jobs. People are so friendly, the lifestyle is chill and wonderful and the island (all of them, really) is beautiful.
Being foreign, Tokyo is the best for me or basically big cities with convenient international port access.. So that leaves me with well, Tokyo.
Nishinomiya city. It was the first city I lived at and it was so incredibly convenient. Situated right between Kobe and Umeda, but also suburban enough to raise a medium-sized family. Restaurants and department stores nearby, with good schools and various extracurricular lessons. Plus if you live in Koshien, the sea is nearby. The downside to some is that Koshien stadium gets so crowded due to the baseball games, but I didn’t mind.
Tokyo or Kanagawa
For now, I still prefer living in Tokyo. Post retirement, probably Okinawa.
my hometown… Ehime-ken.
One of the small islands of Okinawa. I can 100% do without cities or people and love nature more than anything. As much as I do love my quiet corner of Fukuoka prefecture, I’m ready for a change.
I would love to live in Kyoto. It’s a pretty big city, but not quite as overwhelming as Tokyo. It’s close to other cities like Osaka, Kobe, and Okayama, and it’s not even too difficult to get to Tokyo. I love the more traditional style of the city and the feeling of はんなり it has. It just seems so gorgeous