Osaka is often dubbed Japan’s “second city” and is unlikely ever to be number one. It lacks Tokyo’s distinguished position as Japan’s capital city, and Osaka’s population of 2.7 million inhabitants poses no threat to Tokyo’s enormous population of 13.5 million people. Osaka’s image is also grittier and more chaotic than that of the systematic, refined capital. But I’ll let you in on a secret: Osaka is the best place to live in Japan and even better than Tokyo.
This fact is obvious to people who live in Osaka or the Kansai region, particularly to those who have lived in Tokyo before. Yet those who have only resided in or around Tokyo and nowhere else remain blissfully ignorant of it. But besides its residents’ opinions, there is plenty of evidence in Osaka’s favor. From its food scene to its cost of living, here’s what makes Osaka the best place to live in Japan.
Osaka City Rankings
Umeda Sky Building in the distance
Despite being Japan’s third-largest city behind Yokohama, Osaka is dubbed Japan’s “second city” due to its more prominent reputation on the world stage. It is a cosmopolitan and multicultural city that is outranked in economic power only by Tokyo among Japanese cities but often outranks Tokyo in other metrics, such as livability.
In its 2024 report, the EIU Liveability Index ranked Osaka the 9th most liveable city in the world, five spots ahead of Tokyo at #14. In fact, Osaka has consistently outranked Tokyo in the EIU’s annual index every year since 2018.
Osaka ranked 37th in the world on the Global Power City Index report.
Osaka hosted the World Expo in 1970 and in 1990 and will host it again in 2025.
Natives of Osaka ranked it third in a survey in which respondents indicated whether they wanted to move back to their home prefecture after living elsewhere. This is an interesting result since Osaka is more often considered a city people from other places tend to move to.
Affordable Housing
One important factor that is left out of such metrics is the cost of living, a factor in which Osaka definitely beats Tokyo. Here is the average rent for different apartment sizes in Osaka compared with Tokyo.
Cost of Living
Osaka is much cheaper than Tokyo and many other cities in Japan for food and other expenses, too. According to 2023 data from the Japanese government, food costs and overall expenses in Tokyo are the highest in Japan, whereas Osaka was ranked the 25th most expensive city for food and 16th for overall expenses. Salaries are, on average higher in Tokyo, but the cost of utilities, food and other expenses make Tokyo a more expensive place to live.
Food Scene
The home of takoyaki, kushikatsu and more
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