How Taipei and Tokyo compare on cost, visas, working hours, weather, internet and safety. Every figure comes from our city guides and tools, checked and dated there.
The short answer
Taipei Pick it for a lower visa income bar, easier UK working hours and more comfortable months.
Tokyo Doesn't win on any measure here. See who it suits, below.
Everyday costsEven
What we have checked of rent, a coworking desk, weekday lunches and getting around comes to $553 to $705 (£415 to £529) a month in Taipei, against $1,180 to $1,390 (£889 to £1,050) in Tokyo. Taipei has no checked figure for a desk, which would have to cost more than $478 a month to close the gap.
The visaTaipei
Taipei asks for less income. Taipei: Digital Nomad Visitor Visa, about $1,670 to $3,330 a month (USD 20,000 a year, depending on your age). Tokyo: Designated Activities (Digital Nomad), about $5,260 a month (JPY 10,000,000 a year).
A London 9 to 5Taipei
Taipei: 16:00 to 00:00, a late finish. In Tokyo it's 17:00 to 01:00, a finish after midnight.
A New York 9 to 5Even
A night shift in both: 21:00 to 05:00 in Taipei, 22:00 to 06:00 in Tokyo.
WeatherTaipei
Taipei has more comfortable months. Comfortable months on our best-time rule: 6 in Taipei, 1 in Tokyo. No month is comfortable in both.
InternetEven
Much the same. Typical download speed: 271 Mbps in Taipei, 255 Mbps in Tokyo, from each guide.
SafetyEven
The US State Department puts both countries at level 1. Watch for typhoons, earthquakes and drug and vape laws in Taipei; bar touts and drink spiking in Tokyo.
Side by side
Measure
Taipei
Tokyo
Country
Taiwan
Japan
Language
Mandarin. Taiwan has no legally designated official language: Mandarin, Taiwanese Hokkien, Hakka and Indigenous languages are all national languages
Japanese
Currency
New Taiwan dollar (TWD, written NT$)
Japanese yen (JPY, written ¥)
Plugs
Type A and B, 110V. Type A is more common
Type A and B, 100V
Time zone
UTC+8 today
UTC+9 today
A month's basics
$553 to $705 (£415 to £529), with a desk missing
$1,180 to $1,390 (£889 to £1,050)
Remote work visa
Digital Nomad Visitor Visa
Designated Activities (Digital Nomad)
Income needed
About $1,670 to $3,330 a month (USD 20,000 a year, depending on your age)
About $5,260 a month (JPY 10,000,000 a year)
Without a visa
British passports: 90 days, extendable to 180 (British Citizen passports only). American: 90 days, not extendable
British passports: 90 days, and you can apply for 90 more. American: under 90 days as a visitor, with no paid work
Tax residency
183 days or more in a calendar year, or a domicile in Taiwan where you habitually live
No day count: a base of life in Japan, or a year's continuous residence
Download speed
271 Mbps
255 Mbps
Comfortable months
January, February, March, April, November and December
May
US travel advice
Level 1: normal precautions
Level 1: normal precautions
Meetups
1 regular group still running
3 regular groups still running
Dollars and pounds at today's exchange rate. Download speeds are the typical figure from each guide, which says where it comes from: some are for the city, some for the whole country, so treat a small gap as no gap.
What a month costs
Rent, a coworking desk, a cheap lunch on each of 22 working days, and getting around: the same four costs our budget calculator uses. The rent figures aren't always the same kind of figure (some are furnished one-beds, some are averages across every size of flat), so read the note under each.
Taipei
$553 to $705£415 to £529 a month
Rent
$462 to $600Median studio rent, citywide up to Neihu, first half of 2026. Not known whether furnished. TWD 15,000 to 19,500
A desk
No checked figureNo monthly coworking price on an operator's own site: Regus and Spaces price only by the day, from NT$276 a day for unlimited access (on a 24-month contract at Regus), or NT$680 for a day pass
Weekday lunches
$54 to $68Biandang, the lunch box: a Taiwan Railway bento, January 2025, TWD 80 to 100 each, 22 working days
Getting around
$37TPASS commuter pass, 30 days of unlimited metro, buses, Taiwan Railway, highway buses, light rail and YouBike across Taipei, New Taipei and Taoyuan. TWD 1,200
About $1,670 to $3,330 a month (USD 20,000 a year, depending on your age); in pounds, about £1,250 to £2,500 a month
How long
Six months, extendable six months at a time to two years in all
What it leads to
Not shown to lead anywhere: it is a visitor visa. The National Development Council's FAQ says holders "can apply to convert to long-term residence" but gives no route. Permanent residence runs through the Employment Gold Card, after three years
Without a visa
British passports: 90 days, extendable to 180 (British Citizen passports only). American: 90 days, not extendable
The catch. The bar is USD 20,000 a year if you are 20 to 29 and USD 40,000 if you are 30 or over, and there is no income band for under-20s. Income alone is not enough: you also need a bank balance averaging USD 10,000 a month over the last six months. And it stops at two years, with no longer stay until the law changes.
About $5,260 a month (JPY 10,000,000 a year); in pounds, about £3,950 a month
How long
Six months, with no extension. Six months outside Japan before you apply again
What it leads to
Nowhere stated. Permanent residence is in principle ten years, citizenship ten in practice, both tightened in 2026
Without a visa
British passports: 90 days, and you can apply for 90 more. American: under 90 days as a visitor, with no paid work
The catch. Six months only, with no residence card and no public health insurance. Your passport must be on Japan's list, and freelancers must clear the bar in profit, not turnover.
The average high in °C each month, coloured by the rule on our best-time page: green is a high of 20 to 32°C with under 150mm of rain; red is a high of 38°C or more or under 12°C, 250mm of rain or more, or 33°C or more with 150mm of rain or more. Hover over a month for its rain.
The US level is for the whole country, as the State Department sets it, and some countries have stricter advice for particular regions.
Who each one suits
From each city guide, word for word.
Taipei
It suits
A remote employee or freelancer earning USD 40,000 or more (USD 20,000 if under 30) who has USD 10,000 sitting in the bank and wants up to two years somewhere with very low crime. The UK government calls crime "extremely low". Home fibre has a median of about 270 Mbps, and a NT$1,200 pass covers metro and buses across Taipei, New Taipei and Taoyuan. British passport holders in particular can try it for up to 180 days with no visa at all.
It doesn't suit
Anyone who wilts in heat: July averages a 35 degree daily high, and typhoons are possible from May to November. Anyone who vapes: e-cigarettes are banned. Anyone hoping the nomad visa leads somewhere: it is a visitor visa capped at two years, and the government itself says longer stays need a change in the law. Permanent residence runs through the Gold Card instead. And anyone wanting a cheap Asian base: a studio in the districts you would choose has a median of NT$18,000 to 19,500 a month, and the average in Xinyi is over NT$31,000.
Salaried remote employees, or freelancers with JPY 10 million a year in profit, who want one intense six-month stint and no plan to settle. You need private health insurance arranged before you go, and a passport on the eligible list: British and American passports are on it. For a shorter trial, British visitors get 90 days on arrival and can apply for 90 more without the nomad visa. Choose where to live by rail line: an unfurnished 1K in Koenji or Shimokitazawa averages JPY 86,800 to 101,000, but furnished monthly lets cost more.
It doesn't suit
Anyone below JPY 10 million, especially freelancers with high turnover but lower profit. Anyone who wants a base to build towards residence: the nomad visa cannot be extended, gives no residence card and leads nowhere stated. In 2026 citizenship moved to ten years in practice, and permanent residence gained income, pension and B1 Japanese tests. Anyone who needs English beyond stations and hotels. Anyone who cannot take heat and rain, because June to October is hard work. And anyone hoping for a cheap Asian base: listed single-flat rents in the 23 wards averaged JPY 135,764 in August 2026, up 15 per cent in a year.
