Nagoya, Japan | World’s Best Cities

Nagoya, Japan

Completely rebuilt after the bombings of the Second World War, today’s Nagoya boasts modern architectural marvels and opulent department stores, leaving no doubt that it ranks among Japan’s wealthiest cities. With its rich historical significance as the birthplace of the first Shogun, Minamoto Yoritomo, and the origins of the Three Unifiers—Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and the Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu—Nagoya ranks an impressive #8 in our overall Livability index, highlighted by its #3 ranking for Price-to-Income Ratio, #4 ranking for Tree Cover and #8 for Heat Stress. The city ranks Top 20 for its Museums, which speaks to the city’s obscure tourist bounty: three Toyota museums (the automotive giant launched here), the SCMaglev and Railway Park museum, which celebrated 150 years of rail travel in the country last year, and a science museum featuring one of the world’s largest planetariums. In 2022 the world’s inaugural Studio Ghibli theme park opened as a 200-acre, five-theme ode to several of the studio’s most beloved movies. Then, of course, there’s the food culture that’s among Japan’s best, characterized as comfort food that balances sweetness with spices. With its Top 20 Global 500 Companies ranking, along with its #23-ranked Labor Force Participation, Nagoya enjoys a high overall Prosperity ranking (#39).