In the 2025 overall rankings, the dominant performance of Japanese tourism cities was evident. Osaka surged from 3rd place in 2024 to 1st, and Kyoto maintained its top-tier position at 3rd. In the Asian continental rankings, Osaka and Kyoto secured 1st and 2nd place respectively, solidifying their status as the region's premier tourism cities. Developed jointly by Yanolja Research, Purdue University's CHRIBA Institute in the U.S., and Kyung Hee University's H&T Analytics Center in Seoul, Korea, the index evaluated the attractiveness of 191 tourism cities using global social media data in 14 languages, provided by Brandwatch in the UK. In the 2025 evaluation, Osaka, Japan was elected as the number 1 spot for the tourism city. This is due to its vibrant and lively atmosphere, food, history and people. The proximity with Kyoto helps Osaka to boost the reputation. The fact that Osaka is right next to Kyoto makes it easy to just hop on the train and spend a day visiting temples and hanging around traditional spots. These 2 cities are like win-win situations. EXPO is being held at the moment. I hear a lot of different languages on the street. I am sure these people are having a wonderful time here. I believe these people voted Osaka for the best city ranking. They felt Osaka first hand. I assume some of them even try to relocate to Osaka.
Osaka's strong performance demonstrates how dynamically the real estate market will make a significant progress.
The index consists of urban aesthetics/natural scenery, culture/history, experiential tourism contents and hospitality.

Koji Kitada
Licensed real estate agent