---
title: "Living in Kobe as a digital nomad: cost, safety, visa, internet"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/kobe
description: "Cosmopolitan port squeezed between mountains and sea"
dataset: 2026.09.4 (2026-09-26)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Kobe, Japan

Kobe scores 65.1/100 for digital nomads under balanced weights, ranking 98 of 309 cities. Expect about $2,700 per month (country-level estimate), a nomad visa (Status of Residence of “Designated Activities” (for Digital Nomad / Spouse or child of Digital Nomad)), and a measured median download speed of 81.6 Mbps.

Kobe is a long, narrow port city between the Rokko mountains and the sea, historically Japan's most international. Osaka is 20 minutes away and Kyoto under an hour, with hiking straight from the city.

Known for: Kobe beef, Mountain hiking from town, Osaka 20 min, International history.

## Scores (balanced weights, 0–100)

| Factor | Score |
| --- | --- |
| Overall | 65.1 |
| Cost of living | 24 |
| Safety | 98 |
| Healthcare | 92 |
| Internet | 85 |
| Visa ease | 61 |
| Getting there & around | 45 |
| Climate | 17 |
| Air quality | 91 |
| Quality of life | 74 |

## The numbers behind the scores

| Metric | Value | Level | As of | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly cost, one person | $2,700 | country | 2026-09 | [^2] |
| Central 1-bedroom rent | — | city | 2026-09 | [^3] |
| Outskirts 1-bedroom rent (basis of the monthly total) | — | city | 2026-09 | [^3] |
| Homicide rate (per 100k) | 0.2 | country | 2021 | [^4] |
| Political stability (0–100) | 85.3 | country | 2024 | [^5] |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 86 | country | 2023 | [^6] |
| Life expectancy (years) | 84.5 | country | 2021 | [^7] |
| Median download (Mbps) | 81.6 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Median upload (Mbps) | 78.4 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Nomad visa | Status of Residence of “Designated Activities” (for Digital Nomad / Spouse or child of Digital Nomad) (min $5,169/mo) | country | 2026-07 | [^9] |
| Visa-free days US / EU / UK | 90 days / 90 days / 90 days | editorial | 2026-02 | [^10] |
| Non-stop destinations (UKB/KIX) | 69 | city | 2026-09 | [^11] |
| Walkability / transit (1–5) | 4 / 5 | editorial | 2026-09 | [^12] |
| Comfortable months | 2 of 12 | city | 2001–2020 | [^13] |
| Annual mean PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 9.1 | city | 2023 | [^14] |
| Human Development Index | 0.925 | country | 2023 | [^15] |
| English proficiency band | low | country | 2024 | [^16] |

## Climate (2001–2020 normals)

| Month | Mean °C | Rain mm | Humidity % | Comfortable |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jan | 6.5 | 56 | 77 | no |
| Feb | 7.2 | 71 | 76 | no |
| Mar | 9.7 | 101 | 75 | no |
| Apr | 14 | 112 | 76 | no |
| May | 18.3 | 138 | 79 | yes |
| Jun | 22 | 191 | 83 | no |
| Jul | 25.9 | 204 | 86 | no |
| Aug | 27.2 | 148 | 83 | yes |
| Sep | 24.4 | 194 | 80 | no |
| Oct | 19.4 | 159 | 77 | no |
| Nov | 14.2 | 80 | 76 | no |
| Dec | 8.9 | 72 | 76 | no |

## Airports and nonstop flights

| Airport | IATA | Nonstop destinations | International | From US airports |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Kobe Airport | UKB | 15 | 3 | 0 |
| Kansai International Airport | KIX | 62 | 46 | 4 |

Unique destinations across all airports: 69, of which 47 international (Wikipedia, 2026-09).

## Similar cities

- [Kyoto](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/kyoto) (64.4) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/kobe-vs-kyoto)
- [Sapporo](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/sapporo) (63.2) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/kobe-vs-sapporo)
- [Nagoya](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/nagoya) (62.5) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/kobe-vs-nagoya)
- [Tokyo](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/tokyo) (64.7) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/kobe-vs-tokyo)
- [Fukuoka](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/fukuoka) (65.9) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/fukuoka-vs-kobe)

## FAQ

### How much does it cost to live in Kobe as a digital nomad?

A single person typically spends about $2,700 per month in Kobe (a country-level estimate for Japan). That is a 24/100 cost score, where 100 is the cheapest city in the dataset.

### Is Kobe safe for digital nomads?

Kobe scores 98/100 on safety. Japan records 0.2 homicides per 100,000 people per year (WHO, 2021) and a political-stability score of 85.3/100 (World Bank WGI). Both figures are national, so neighbourhood-level risk can differ.

### Does Japan have a digital nomad visa?

Yes. Japan offers the Status of Residence of “Designated Activities” (for Digital Nomad / Spouse or child of Digital Nomad) with a minimum income of about $5,169 per month. Verify current rules with the issuing authority before applying.

### How fast is the internet in Kobe?

Measured median download speed in Kobe was 81.6 Mbps (upload 78.4 Mbps) across 35,452 M-Lab tests in 2024. Measured speeds run below advertised plan speeds everywhere, so compare cities rather than reading the number as a plan.

### Which airports serve Kobe and how many nonstop flights are there?

Kobe is served by Kobe Airport (UKB) with 15 nonstop destinations and Kansai International Airport (KIX) with 62 nonstop destinations, 69 unique destinations across all of them, of which 47 are international. 4 US airports have a nonstop link. Source: Wikipedia, 2026-09.

### When is the best time of year to be in Kobe?

The most comfortable months are May, Aug. Mean temperatures range from 44°F (7°C) in Jan to 81°F (27°C) in Aug (NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology).

### Kobe or Kyoto: which is better for digital nomads?

Kyoto is the city with the closest factor profile to Kobe in this dataset. Which one wins depends on your weights; the comparison page puts every factor side by side with the numbers behind them.

## Sources

[^1]: City population (latest census or official estimate), Wikipedia (citing national statistics offices). CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^2]: 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level), WhereNext. CC BY 4.0. https://getwherenext.com/data/cost-of-living-2026 (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^3]: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows), WhereToEmigrate. CC BY 4.0. https://github.com/0brien18/global-emigration-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^4]: Estimates of rates of homicides per 100 000 population, World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/estimates-of-rates-of-homicides-per-100-000-population (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^5]: Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100), World Bank. CC BY 4.0. https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^6]: UHC service coverage index, World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/uhc-index-of-service-coverage (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^7]: Life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes, World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/life-expectancy-at-birth-(years) (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^8]: M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024), Measurement Lab. CC0 1.0. https://statistics.measurementlab.net/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^9]: Digital Nomad Visas 2026, WhereToEmigrate. CC BY 4.0. https://github.com/0brien18/global-emigration-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^10]: Passport Index dataset (visa requirements, 199 passports × 199 destinations), Ilya Ilyankou (compiled from passportindex.org). MIT. https://github.com/ilyankou/passport-index-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^11]: Airport destinations (Wikipedia airline and destination tables), Wikipedia contributors; countries via Wikidata. CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/ (retrieved 2026-09-24)
[^12]: Walkability and transit ratings (editorial), Navoy. CC BY 4.0. https://nostos.navoy.io/methodology (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^13]: NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means), NASA Langley Research Center. Public domain (US Government). https://power.larc.nasa.gov/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^14]: SatPM2.5 satellite-derived annual PM2.5 (V6.GL.02.04), Atmospheric Composition Analysis Group, Washington University in St. Louis. CC BY 4.0. https://sites.wustl.edu/acag/surface-pm2-5/ (retrieved 2026-09-26)
[^15]: Human Development Index (HDR 2025, HDI 2023), United Nations Development Programme. CC BY 3.0 IGO. https://hdr.undp.org/data-center/documentation-and-downloads (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^16]: EF English Proficiency Index 2024 (band), EF Education First. Proprietary; band cited as a fact with attribution. https://www.ef.com/epi/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)

HTML page: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/kobe