Information as at 21 August 2026

This page is a relocation summary written by an advanced AI

It is not a personal opinion piece written by a human. An AI gathered official information published on the internet — municipal and national statistics, the Japan Meteorological Agency, railway companies, property portals — and rebuilt it into a form that someone considering a move can read and act on. Every figure carries a source link and the date it was checked, so please confirm anything that matters to you against the original document. Rules and prices change. Always check the latest information yourself before you sign anything.

Moving to Fukuyama

Q: What kind of town is Fukuyama City?

449,895 people (end of July 2026), the second city of Hiroshima Prefecture after Hiroshima and a core city. Fukuyama Station, where the Nozomi stops, is here, and you can see Fukuyama Castle from the Shinkansen platform. After the air raid of 8 August 1945 destroyed about 80% of the built-up area, residents planted about 1,000 roses, and it is now "the city of a million roses". 2026 is its 110th year of city status.

Q: Which part of Fukuyama City should I live in?

Divide the 551 listings into six and the medians run from ¥15,800,000 in Matsunaga, Shin-ichi, Ashida and Utsumi to ¥25,800,000 in Shingai, Minomi and Tomo. For budget, the former towns in the west and north, or Zao, Kasuga and Tsubo (33% at ¥10,000,000 or less); for nearness to a station, the centre. 🔴 The median elevation for the city as a whole is 11.2 metres — much of it low ground, so be sure to check the hazard maps in §5 by address.

Q: How long does it take from Fukuyama to Osaka or Tokyo?

🔴 The Nozomi stops at Fukuyama Station. Shin-Osaka is 1 hr 2 min and ¥7,470 and Tokyo 3 hr 34 min and ¥16,930, neither with a change. Hiroshima is 23 min and Okayama 16. Even on the conventional lines, Onomichi is 20 min for ¥420 and Kurashiki 42 min for ¥770. There is no airport in the city; Hiroshima Airport is about an hour by connecting coach from in front of Fukuyama Station, ¥4,500 (booked in advance).

Q: What is the cheapest house you can buy in Fukuyama City?

SUUMO lists 551 (all of them), from ¥400,000 to ¥124,000,000, median ¥17,980,000. 127 (23%) are at ¥10,000,000 or less. The median plot is 189 square metres and the median year of construction 1988, with 188 (34%) predating 1981. 🔴 The city does not run an akiya bank, and directs people to "Sumaimy Fukuyama", run by the Hiroshima Prefecture Association of Real Estate Transaction Agents.

Q: What is the disaster risk in Fukuyama City?

🔴 It is within the Nankai Trough disaster management promotion area, and at the city hall the chance of shaking of Shindo 6-lower or above within 30 years is 44.3%. There is a tsunami warning zone (no special warning zone at present). Three things fall within the statutory disclosure under the Building Lots and Buildings Transaction Business Act: landslide (special) warning zones, tsunami warning zones, and flooding or rainwater outflow. Look up the city's hazard maps and Hiroshima Prefecture's three portals for flooding, landslides and storm surge or tsunami, by address.

Q: How hot is the summer and what is winter like in Fukuyama?

🔴 This is a city with little rain — annual rainfall of 1,171.7 mm is 70% of Tokyo's (1,598.2 mm). In winter there are 0.0 days below freezing all day and 4 centimetres of snowfall a year, so clearing snow and winter tyres are all but unnecessary. In summer, though, with 8.6 days above 35°C and 62.5 days above 30°C it is hotter than Tokyo, with 13.6 tropical nights (Tokyo 17.8).

Q: Roughly what does a year cost, water and the rest?

Water and sewerage come to ¥13,821 for 45 cubic metres over two months (water ¥6,715 plus sewerage ¥7,106). 🔴 Fukuyama's water rate makes no distinction by connection size (a single general rate). But the water rate is being revised from the January 2027 usage month, and the standing charge will then vary by connection size. The fixed asset tax is 1.4% and the city planning tax 0.3% in the urbanisation promotion area.

Q: Will the house I buy sell again later?

🔴 Residential land is ¥51,100/m², up 1.8% on the year, and all four — residential, commercial, industrial and all uses — are positive. It is 0.53 times the Hiroshima Prefecture average (¥96,900/m²), but that says less that Fukuyama is cheap than that Hiroshima is dear. The comparison is not with Hiroshima City but with Kurashiki, Onomichi and Okayama — the market of Bingo, across the prefectural boundary.

Q: Is the population of Fukuyama City growing?

In the Census it grew by 160,000 in 50 years, from 301,376 in 1965 to 464,811 in 2015, then eased down to 460,930 in 2020 and 449,895 at the end of July 2026. The decision in 1961 to site the steelworks here turned this into an industrial city. 🔴 There are 13,492 foreign residents (3.0%) — a make-up you would expect of a manufacturing city.

From a station where the Nozomi stops, Shin-Osaka is 1 hr 2 min away. A population of 449,895 makes this the second city of Hiroshima Prefecture after Hiroshima itself (a core city). 🔴 You can see the keep of Fukuyama Castle from the Shinkansen platform — a station from which the castle stands so close is rare in the country, as the city itself writes. And this is "the city of a million roses". After the air raid of 8 August 1945 destroyed about 80% of the built-up area, residents planted about 1,000 roses in a park, and that story runs 70 years on to the World Rose Convention held in Fukuyama in 2025.

Population

449,895 people

219,307 households, end of July 2026

Homes for sale

551 listings

¥400,000– / median ¥17,980,000

To Shin-Osaka

1 hr 2 min

Nozomi Shinkansen, no change, ¥7,470

Residential land price

¥51,100/m²

+1.8% on the year / the Hiroshima Prefecture average is ¥96,900/m²

Annual rainfall

1,171.7mm

Tokyo is 1,598.2 mm, long-term average

Roses

a million

Over 400 rose beds across the city

Water + sewerage (45 m³ / 2 months)

¥13,821

Water ¥6,715 plus sewerage ¥7,106

City area

517.72km²

A core city; 110 years of city status in 2026

Summer (August daily high)

32.8℃

Fukuyama, 1.5°C higher than Tokyo

Winter (January daily low)

0.0℃

Fukuyama, 1.2°C lower than Tokyo

🚗 Roadside stations 🏛 Traditional streetscapes ⛰ National and quasi-national parks ♨ Hot springs and day baths10

Roadside stations: Aristo Numakuma / Traditional streetscapes: Tomo-cho, Fukuyama City (a port town, designated Heisei 29.11.28) / National and quasi-national parks: Setonaikai National Park / Hot springs and day baths: Daigo Yu, Shinshoji Onsen Showa no Yu, Tennen Onsen, Yuyu, Magokoro no Yu, Super Sento Yurara, Super Kenko Land Hana no Yu, Oyudokoro Bifuku, Niwakayama, Kannabe Tennen Onsen
Sources: roadside stations from Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, list of roadside stations (verified 2026-08-21) / traditional streetscapes from Agency for Cultural Affairs, "List of Important Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings" (verified 2026-08-21) / national and quasi-national parks determined from Ministry of the Environment boundary data and other sources (details in §17) (verified 2026-08-21) / hot springs and day baths from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors) (verified 2026-08-21). 🔴 Only what is present is shown — a town without a given item is not inferior for it.

Last verified 2026-08-21

CHAPTER 01First, what kind of place Fukuyama is

A city at the eastern edge of Hiroshima Prefecture, on the boundary with Okayama. 449,895 people in 219,307 households (end of July 2026), area 517.72 square kilometres (29.5 km east to west, 45.7 km north to south), and a core city. It was born on 1 July 1916 (Taisho 5) as the 73rd city in the country, and 2026 is its 110th year of city status. It is not the prefectural capital, but as the centre of the Bingo region (eastern Hiroshima and western Okayama) it has an economy of its own.

"The city of roses" began after the air raidHere is the city's own account. The air raid of 8 August 1945 burned about 80% of the built-up area. "In the mid-1950s, with the scars of the war still fresh, a call arose among residents striving to rebuild the town: 'Let us plant flowers. Let us bring moisture to a ruined town and gentleness back to people's hearts.'" And so, in 1956–57, residents around Mikado-cho Minami Park (today's Rose Park) planted about 1,000 rose bushes. In 1968 the city won the grand prize in the national beautiful town-making awards, and in the Rose Park stands a monument inscribed "Here the flower of goodwill opens".

A thousand became a millionIn 1985 the rose was made the city's flower. In 2016, the centenary of city status, "Fukuyama, the city of a million roses" was achieved, and in the same year 21 May was named "Rose Day". There are now over 400 rose beds across the city, tended by neighbourhoods and by companies. And in May 2025 came the 20th World Rose Convention in Fukuyama — with participants from 28 countries and regions. Some 70 years of building a city around roses is what brought the convention here, the city writes.

The word for what the roses stand for is "rose mind"The city explains the phrase as "expressing, through the rose, a heart of consideration, kindness and mutual help", and its Fukuyama City rose town by-law goes as far as to provide for "rooting rose mind as a culture of Fukuyama". Giving the town's flower the name of the town's temperament, and putting it into a by-law — when you are choosing where to move, that kind of stance says more than a figure.

Sources: population and households fromFukuyama City, "FY2026 Fukuyama City households and population" (as of the end of July 2026 = 449,895 people, 219,307 households, 219,816 men, 230,079 women) / the area fromthe same, "Fukuyama in figures" (517.72 km², Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, as of 1 October 2024 / 29.5 km east to west, 45.7 km north to south) / the grant of city status, the air raid and the move to core city status fromthe same, "The course of Fukuyama City" (1 July 1916, the 73rd in the country / the war damage of 8 August 1945 burning 80% of the built-up area / becoming a core city in April 1998) / the history of the roses fromthe same, "The history of Fukuyama, city of roses" (about 1,000 bushes in 1956–57 / 1968, the grand prize in the national beautiful town-making awards, with the monument "Here the flower of goodwill opens" / 1985, made the city's flower / 2016, a million achieved and 21 May named "Rose Day" / 2025, the 20th World Rose Convention in Fukuyama, with 28 countries and regions) andthe same, "Roses" (over 400 rose beds across the city) / verified 2026-08-21

What kind of town is Fukuyama City?

449,895 people (end of July 2026), the second city of Hiroshima Prefecture after Hiroshima and a core city. Fukuyama Station, where the Nozomi stops, is here, and you can see Fukuyama Castle from the Shinkansen platform. After the air raid of 8 August 1945 destroyed about 80% of the built-up area, residents planted about 1,000 roses, and it is now "the city of a million roses". 2026 is its 110th year of city status.

CHAPTER 02Six areas, and life in each

The city is divided here into six. The division follows the direction and distance from the city hall, with each of the 551 listings classified by its map coordinates (0 could not be classified). The medians run from ¥15,800,000 in Matsunaga, Shin-ichi, Ashida and Utsumi to ¥25,800,000 in Shingai, Minomi and Tomo. The median elevation for the city as a whole is 11.2 metres — a flat city, spread over the delta the Ashidagawa built.

Areas	Listings	median	Median elevation	What defines it
Matsunaga, Shin-ichi, Ashida & Utsumi (the former towns in the west and north)	119 listings	¥15,800,000	16.9m	31% at ¥10,000,000 or less. The largest plots, at a median of 220 m²
Kannabe, Ekiya & Miyuki (the northern plain)	110 listings	¥18,700,000	11.0m	The cheapest at ¥400,000. A plain served by the Ibara Railway and the Fukuen Line
Shingai, Minomi & Tomo (south of the station and along the coast)	105 listings	¥25,800,000	0.6m	The dearest and the lowest-lying of the six. Includes Tomonoura
Daimon & Higashi-Fukuyama (the flat land in the east)	76 listings	¥17,900,000	23.5m	The oldest, with 42% predating the 1981 code. Two JR stations and the industrial belt close by
The centre (around Fukuyama Station and Fukuyama Castle)	72 listings	¥16,520,000	14.2m	The largest buildings, at a median of 125 m². Highest at ¥124,000,000
Zao, Kasuga & Tsubo (the hill estates in the east)	69 listings	¥17,990,000	40.1m	33% at ¥10,000,000 or less. The highest ground in the city

Matsunaga, Shin-ichi, Ashida & Utsumi (the former towns in the west and north) — the largest plots, at ¥15,800,000119 listings (¥800,000 to ¥44,800,000, median ¥15,800,000, the lowest of the six, 37 (31%) at ¥10,000,000 or less). Elevation 1.0 to 71.6 metres. The median plot of 220 square metres (about 67 tsubo) is the largest of the six, and the median year of construction 1988. The nearest station is Matsunaga for 25, Chikata 16, Ekiya 12, Kami-Tode 11 and Tode 10 — Matsunaga on the JR Sanyo Main Line, and the stations of the Fukuen Line and the Ibara Railway. Matsunaga makes geta clogs (§13), and Utsumi-cho is an island reached by the Utsumi Bridge.
Suits — anyone looking for a house on a large plot while keeping the budget down
Worth knowing — these former town areas are wide and life within them differs completely. Go and see each of them separately

Kannabe, Ekiya & Miyuki (the northern plain) — the cheapest at ¥400,000110 listings (¥400,000 to ¥44,800,000, median ¥18,700,000, 21 (19%) at ¥10,000,000 or less). Elevation 5.3 to 117.2 metres (median 11.0). Median year of construction 1990. The nearest station is Yokoo for 21, Michinoue 19, Managura 18 and Kannabe 13 — along the JR Fukuen Line and the Ibara Railway. Kannabe-cho was a separate town until it merged into Fukuyama in 2006, and the plain runs wide here.
Suits — anyone happy to depend on a car, choosing from a wide range of prices
Worth knowing — the range is wide enough to include a ¥400,000 property. Read the list in price order

Shingai, Minomi & Tomo (south of the station and along the coast) — the dearest of the six at ¥25,800,000105 listings (¥2,000,000 to ¥80,000,000, median ¥25,800,000, 20 (19%) at ¥10,000,000 or less). A median elevation of 0.6 metres — much of it reclaimed and drained land, all but level with the sea. Median year of construction 1996, and at 24% predating the 1981 code it is the newest of the six. The nearest station shows as Fukuyama for 60 — newer housing south of Fukuyama Station, within walking or cycling distance. At its southern end lies Tomonoura (§17).
Suits — anyone looking for a newer house near the station, or wanting to live near the sea
Worth knowing — there is a tsunami warning zone here (§5). Check tsunami, storm surge and flooding, all three, for the specific address

Daimon & Higashi-Fukuyama (the flat land in the east) — 42% on the older code, and cheaper for it76 listings (¥3,500,000 to ¥55,000,000, median ¥17,900,000, 15 (20%) at ¥10,000,000 or less). Elevation −0.5 to 118.5 metres. A median year of construction of 1984, with 32 (42%) predating 1981 — the oldest of the six. Median building 99 square metres. The nearest station is Daimon for 32 and Higashi-Fukuyama for 26. Two JR Sanyo Main Line stations, with the coastal industrial belt close by.
Suits — anyone commuting to the industrial belt, or buying the land with rebuilding or renovation in mind
Worth knowing — 40% are on the older code. Put the cost of seismic work into the budget from the start

The centre (around Fukuyama Station and Fukuyama Castle) — the largest buildings72 listings (¥3,900,000 to ¥124,000,000, median ¥16,520,000, 11 (15%) at ¥10,000,000 or less). Elevation 0.2 to 101.5 metres. A median building of 125 square metres, the largest of the six — large houses remain in the old town. Median year of construction 1990. The nearest station is Fukuyama for 38 and Bingo-Honjo for 13. Within walking distance of a Shinkansen station is a condition only the centre offers in this city.
Suits — anyone commuting or travelling often by Shinkansen, or choosing to live without a car
Worth knowing — the range takes in properties over ¥100,000,000. Narrow by price before you go and look

Zao, Kasuga & Tsubo (the hill estates in the east) — the highest ground in the city69 listings (¥1,990,000 to ¥72,000,000, median ¥17,990,000, 23 (33%) at ¥10,000,000 or less, the most of the six). Elevation 0.6 to 160.4 metres (median 40.1), the highest part of the city. Median year of construction 1983, with 39% predating the 1981 code. The nearest station is Higashi-Fukuyama for 22, Daimon 21 and Goryo 12. Aobadai, Hiyoshidai, Toyodai, Otanidai — as the names say, estates laid out on the hills.
Suits — anyone wanting to avoid low ground, or keeping the budget down
Worth knowing — at the edge of the hills, check the landslide warning zones by address. The buildings are old, so allow for renewing the fittings too

Prices, counts, elevations and years of construction are fromSUUMOlisted551 listings (all) each listing's map coordinates , divided into six and tallied (all 551 classified, 0 unclassified) / elevations are the map coordinates on each listing page put through the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan's elevation API / the area names follow the city's branch offices, the former town names and the JR and Ibara Railway station names / retrieved 21 August 2026 / verified 2026-08-21

Which part of Fukuyama City should I live in?

Divide the 551 listings into six and the medians run from ¥15,800,000 in Matsunaga, Shin-ichi, Ashida and Utsumi to ¥25,800,000 in Shingai, Minomi and Tomo. For budget, the former towns in the west and north, or Zao, Kasuga and Tsubo (33% at ¥10,000,000 or less); for nearness to a station, the centre. 🔴 The median elevation for the city as a whole is 11.2 metres — much of it low ground, so be sure to check the hazard maps in §5 by address.

CHAPTER 03Trains and cars — how you get around

The Nozomi stops at Fukuyama Station. Shin-Osaka is 1 hr 2 min away and Tokyo 3 hr 34 min, neither with a change. Hiroshima is 23 min and Okayama 16. Even on the conventional lines, Onomichi is 20 min and Kurashiki 42. "Not a prefectural capital, and yet the fast Shinkansen services stop" — that is the first thing about transport in Fukuyama.

Journey times from Fukuyama Station (searched for a 8:00 departure on Monday 24 August 2026)

Destination	Fastest	Notes
Okayama	16 min, ¥2,750 Shinkansen, 0 changes	A little over an hour on the conventional lines. Okayama is the interchange for Chugoku and Shikoku
Hiroshima	23 min, ¥4,510 Shinkansen, 0 changes	On the conventional lines alone it is 1 hr 57 min and ¥2,750
Shin-Osaka	1 hr 2 min, ¥7,470 Nozomi, 0 changes	Fare ¥4,070 plus limited express supplement ¥3,400. Osaka is a day trip
Tokyo	3 hr 34 min, ¥16,930 Nozomi No. 86, 0 changes	Fukuyama → Okayama → Shin-Kobe → Shin-Osaka → Kyoto → Nagoya → Shin-Yokohama → Shinagawa → Tokyo
Onomichi	20 min, ¥420 JR Sanyo Main Line, 0 changes	The gateway to the Shimanami Kaido. Kurashiki is 42 min and ¥770
Tomonoura	40 min, ¥620 local bus, 0 changes	14 km south of Fukuyama Station. A Japan Heritage port town (§11)

You can see the castle from the Shinkansen platformIn the city's words — "a castle that stands close by the Shinkansen platform, which is rare in the country". Fukuyama Castle was built in 1622 by Mizuno Katsunari, a cousin of Tokugawa Ieyasu, as lord of Bingo with a hundred thousand koku, and the Fushimi Turret and the Sujigane Gate, granted by the shogun Tokugawa Hidetada, are national Important Cultural Properties (dismantling and repair in 1954 established that the Fushimi Turret had been moved from Fushimi Castle in Kyoto). The keep burned in the war damage of 1945 and was rebuilt in 1966 for the 50th year of city status; in August 2022, for the 400th year of the castle, "the great works of the Reiwa era" restored an iron-plated exterior said to be the only one in the country.

There is no airport in the city; it is an hour by busThe nearest airport is Hiroshima Airport, about an hour and ¥4,500 by the connecting coach (the Fukuyama Airport Liner) from in front of Fukuyama Station, booked in advance. Okayama Airport is another option. But Tokyo is 3 hr 34 min by Shinkansen with 0 changes, so in practice many people do not fly. The detailed positions of the airports and expressway interchanges appear automatically in the box below this chapter.

Within the city you get about by car and by busThe city covers 517 square kilometres. The JR Sanyo Main Line, the Fukuen Line and the Ibara Railway run through it, but of the six areas in §2, everywhere but the centre and Shingai/Minomi assumes a car. A circular bus, the "Mawa Rose", runs in the centre, linking the Rose Park and other places. On the Sanyo Expressway there are Fukuyama-higashi IC, Fukuyama-nishi IC and Fukuyama SA, and the Setouchi Shimanami Kaido starts from Onomichi. For Shikoku, the Shimanami Kaido is the realistic option.

Sources: journey times and fares fromYahoo! Transit , searched for an 8:00 departure on Monday 24 August 2026 (Tokyo = Nozomi No. 86, 8:29 → 12:03, 3 hr 34 min, fare ¥11,000 plus non-reserved limited express ticket ¥5,930 / Shin-Osaka 1 hr 2 min, ¥7,470 / Hiroshima 23 min, ¥4,510 / Okayama 16 min, ¥2,750 / Onomichi 20 min, ¥420 / Kurashiki 42 min, ¥770 / Tomo Port 40 min, ¥620 / to Hiroshima Airport, about an hour by connecting coach from in front of Fukuyama Station, ¥4,500, booked in advance) / Fukuyama Castle fromFukuyama City "Fukuyama Castle" (standing close by the Shinkansen platform / built 1622 by Mizuno Katsunari / the Fushimi Turret and the Sujigane Gate are national Important Cultural Properties / the keep rebuilt in 1966 / August 2022, the 400th year of the castle and "the great works of the Reiwa era", restoring the iron-plated exterior) / verified 2026-08-21

✈ Airports

The nearest is Hiroshima Airport (a hub airport under national management), about 39.6 km in a straight line. Next is Okayama Airport (about 54.1 km in a straight line). 🔴 These are straight-line distances. They are not road distances or journey times — check each operator's timetable for how you would actually travel.

🛣 Expressway junctions

This area has 3 entry and exit points (interchanges and junctions).
Sanyo Expressway = Fukuyama SA smart IC, Fukuyama-higashi, Fukuyama-nishi JCT

Sources: airports fromNational Land Numerical Information, "Airports", FY2021 edition (category names followthe MLIT list of airports ) / expressway junctions fromthe same, "Expressways time series", 2025 edition, current data only (what is open today). Both were overlaid onthe same, "Administrative boundaries", 2026and judged by machine to fall inside this area / verified 2026-08-21

How long does it take from Fukuyama to Osaka or Tokyo?

🔴 The Nozomi stops at Fukuyama Station. Shin-Osaka is 1 hr 2 min and ¥7,470 and Tokyo 3 hr 34 min and ¥16,930, neither with a change. Hiroshima is 23 min and Okayama 16. Even on the conventional lines, Onomichi is 20 min for ¥420 and Kurashiki 42 min for ¥770. There is no airport in the city; Hiroshima Airport is about an hour by connecting coach from in front of Fukuyama Station, ¥4,500 (booked in advance).

CHAPTER 04Homes actually on the market right now

SUUMO lists 551, and all 551 are taken in here. ¥400,000 to ¥124,000,000, median ¥17,980,000. 127 (23%) are at ¥10,000,000 or less — a high share of affordable properties among the towns of over 400,000 people whose listings this site takes in full. The median plot is 189 square metres (about 57 tsubo) and the median building 111. The median year of construction is 1988, with 188 (34%) predating the 1981 code.

Sort

"Nearest the station first" converts everything to minutes — a walk of ◯ min, ◯ min by bus plus ◯ min from the stop, ◯ km by car (reckoned at 30 km/h) — and compares those. Listings with no such information always appear last, whatever the sort.

Kannabe-cho Kawaminami¥400,000Kannabe, Ekiya & Miyuki (the northern plain)Elev. approx. 50 m / Land 450 m² (136 tsubo) / Building 155 m² (47 tsubo) / built 1974 / Kannabe Sta. 28 min walk8 photos →

Fujie-cho¥800,000Matsunaga, Shin-ichi, Ashida & Utsumi (the former towns in the west and north)Elev. approx. 0 m / Land 377 m² (114 tsubo) / Building 116 m² (35 tsubo) / built 1936 / Matsunaga Sta. 50 min walk6 photos →

Utsumi-cho Ro 2753¥1,500,000Matsunaga, Shin-ichi, Ashida & Utsumi (the former towns in the west and north)Elev. approx. 0 m / Land 559 m² (169 tsubo) / Building 66 m² (20 tsubo) / built 19634 photos →

Tsubochominami 2¥1,990,000Zao, Kasuga & Tsubo (the hill estates in the east)Elev. approx. 60 m / Land 162 m² (49 tsubo) / Building 93 m² (28 tsubo) / built 1977 / Daimon Sta. 40 min walk8 photos →

Kannabe-cho Kamitakeda¥2,000,000Zao, Kasuga & Tsubo (the hill estates in the east)Elev. approx. 20 m / Land 120 m² (36 tsubo) / Building 63 m² (19 tsubo) / built 1975 / Goryo Sta. 46 min walk10 photos →

Tomo-cho Tomo¥2,000,000Shingai, Minomi & Tomo (south of the station and along the coast)Elev. approx. 0 m / Land 49 m² (15 tsubo) / Building 107 m² (32 tsubo) / built 1978 / Fukuyama Station to 14.3km9 photos →

Numakuma-cho Notohara 1127-11 property photo

Numakuma-cho Notohara 1127-11¥2,480,000Shingai, Minomi & Tomo (south of the station and along the coast)Elev. approx. 10 m / Land 100 m² (30 tsubo) / Building 63 m² (19 tsubo) / built 1980 / Matsunaga Sta. bus 38 min+2 min walk10 photos →

Utsumi-cho¥2,500,000Matsunaga, Shin-ichi, Ashida & Utsumi (the former towns in the west and north)Elev. approx. 0 m / Land 335 m² (101 tsubo) / Building 63 m² (19 tsubo) / built 1938 / Matsunaga Sta., 14.6km10 photos →

Kannabe-cho Kamigoryo¥2,800,000Zao, Kasuga & Tsubo (the hill estates in the east)Elev. approx. 160 m / Land 125 m² (38 tsubo) / Building 75 m² (23 tsubo) / built 1974 / Goryo Sta. 12 min walk3 photos →

Kannabe-cho Higashichujo 2393-1 property photo

Kannabe-cho Higashichujo 2393-1¥2,900,000Kannabe, Ekiya & Miyuki (the northern plain)Elev. approx. 70 m / Land 182 m² (55 tsubo) / Building 167 m² (50 tsubo) / built 1962 / Yudamura Sta. 41 min walk10 photos →

Shinichi-cho Miyauchi 3111-10 property photo

Shinichi-cho Miyauchi 3111-10¥2,980,000Matsunaga, Shin-ichi, Ashida & Utsumi (the former towns in the west and north)Elev. approx. 50 m / Land 166 m² (50 tsubo) / Building 124 m² (38 tsubo) / built 1984 / Takagi Sta. 45 min walk8 photos →

Utsumi-cho I¥2,980,000Matsunaga, Shin-ichi, Ashida & Utsumi (the former towns in the west and north)Elev. approx. 0 m / Land 425 m² (129 tsubo) / Building 132 m² (40 tsubo) / built 1952 / Matsunaga Sta., 15.7km9 photos →

Ashida-cho Shimoaruji¥3,000,000Matsunaga, Shin-ichi, Ashida & Utsumi (the former towns in the west and north)Elev. approx. 30 m / Land 236 m² (71 tsubo) / Building 118 m² (36 tsubo) / built 1971 / Kami-Tode Sta. 41 min walk9 photos →

Shinichi-cho Tode 1083-5¥3,000,000Matsunaga, Shin-ichi, Ashida & Utsumi (the former towns in the west and north)Elev. approx. 20 m / Land 203 m² (62 tsubo) / Building 153 m² (46 tsubo) / built 1973 / Tode Sta. 14 min walk10 photos →

Kannabe-cho Shimotakeda¥3,200,000Zao, Kasuga & Tsubo (the hill estates in the east)Elev. approx. 90 m / Land 171 m² (52 tsubo) / Building 102 m² (31 tsubo) / built 1976 / Goryo Sta. 50 min walk10 photos →

Kumano-cho¥3,300,000Shingai, Minomi & Tomo (south of the station and along the coast)Elev. approx. 110 m / Land 439 m² (133 tsubo) / Building 142 m² (43 tsubo) / built 1985 / Bingo-Akasaka Sta. 85 min walk10 photos →

Seto-cho Nagawa 943-40¥3,500,000Matsunaga, Shin-ichi, Ashida & Utsumi (the former towns in the west and north)Elev. approx. 70 m / Land 205 m² (62 tsubo) / Building 150 m² (45 tsubo) / built 1983 / Bingo-Akasaka Sta. bus 13 min+5 min walk10 photos →

Daimon-cho Daimon 438番3¥3,500,000Daimon & Higashi-Fukuyama (the flat land in the east)Elev. approx. 20 m / Land 304 m² (92 tsubo) / Building 99 m² (30 tsubo) / built 1972 / Daimon Sta. 9 min walk10 photos →

Miyuki-cho Moriwake¥3,800,000Kannabe, Ekiya & Miyuki (the northern plain)Elev. approx. 10 m / Land 112 m² (34 tsubo) / Building 72 m² (22 tsubo) / built 1976 / 森脇 bus stop 8 min walk5 photos →

Senda-cho 2-16-14¥3,800,000Kannabe, Ekiya & Miyuki (the northern plain)Elev. approx. 10 m / Land 109 m² (33 tsubo) / Building 81 m² (24 tsubo) / built 1973 / Yokoo Sta. 12 min walk10 photos →

The photographs are the images carried on SUUMO. They disappear once a listing ends. Check the real condition of a property on site.

See all 551 on SUUMO →

A median of ¥17,980,000 — for a city with a Nozomi stopCounted on the same measure, Utsunomiya is ¥22,990,000, Oita ¥25,500,000 and Kagoshima ¥18,990,000. Fukuyama at ¥17,980,000 is among the easier to buy in for a city of over 400,000. Land prices too: against the Hiroshima Prefecture average of ¥96,900/m², Fukuyama City is ¥51,100/m² (§9) — being away from the prefectural capital, the level differs even within the same prefecture.

The buildings are on the old side. 34% predate 1981A median year of construction of 1988, with 188 (34%) on the older seismic code. In terms of §2, Daimon and Higashi-Fukuyama (42%) and Zao, Kasuga and Tsubo (39%) are the older parts and Shingai, Minomi and Tomo (24%) the newer. This is a market where the cost of seismic work belongs with the purchase price. The city has grants towards a seismic survey and seismic work on a wooden house (applications each year).

The city does not run an akiya bankFukuyama City does not run an akiya bank of its own. It hasan "agreement on measures for empty houses" with the Hiroshima Prefecture Association of Real Estate Transaction Agents , and directs people to the association's Fukuyama branch property site,"Sumaimy Fukuyama" (400 estate agents in the city take part). In its place there isthe "Fukuyama City akiya renovation grant" , which gives, towards the cost of renovating an empty house in the city that you buy or rent and live in,¥300,000 for those moving in or settling, and ¥500,000 for newly married or child-raising households (with ¥100,000 more for living with or near the parents' household) (up to half the renovation cost). Sumaimy Fukuyama →

Sources: taken from SUUMO, "Second-hand detached houses in Fukuyama City" (see the list here / of the 551 listed,551 listingsall retrieved on 21 August 2026) / elevations are the map coordinates on each listing page put throughGeospatial Information Authority of Japan elevation API / the Utsunomiya, Oita and Kagoshima medians are tallied by the same method from the same full SUUMO data as their own pages on this site / the akiya bank and the akiya renovation grant fromFukuyama City, "Life in Fukuyama > Housing" (updated 20 October 2025 / the agreement with the Hiroshima Prefecture Association of Real Estate Transaction Agents and Sumaimy Fukuyama / the akiya renovation grant = ¥300,000 for those moving in or settling, ¥500,000 for newly married or child-raising households, ¥100,000 more for living with or near the parents' household, up to half the renovation cost) / the seismic grants fromthe same, "Grant scheme for seismic surveys of wooden houses"/ Verified 2026-08-21

Akiya bank

There are no registrations of homes for sale. Every property in this chapter is on the private market. (as verified on 17 August 2026)

What is the cheapest house you can buy in Fukuyama City?

SUUMO lists 551 (all of them), from ¥400,000 to ¥124,000,000, median ¥17,980,000. 127 (23%) are at ¥10,000,000 or less. The median plot is 189 square metres and the median year of construction 1988, with 188 (34%) predating 1981. 🔴 The city does not run an akiya bank, and directs people to "Sumaimy Fukuyama", run by the Hiroshima Prefecture Association of Real Estate Transaction Agents.

CHAPTER 05Is the ground safe?

This is the chapter in Fukuyama we would ask you to read squarely. The city is designated under the Nankai Trough disaster management promotion area, and at the city hall the chance of shaking of Shindo 6-lower or above within 30 years is 44.3%. There is a tsunami warning zone (there is at present no tsunami special warning zone). As §2 shows, the median elevation is 11.2 metres and the lowest part 0.6 metres — a city spread over the delta of the Ashidagawa and over reclaimed land. The city provides six kinds of hazard map: flood, landslide, surface water, tsunami, earthquake and irrigation ponds.

Is this town inside a national earthquake-preparedness zone?

For each major earthquake, national law designates the areas where preparation is to be advanced. Whether a town is designated tells you directly how the national government views the shaking and tsunami expected there.

Nankai Trough Earthquake Disaster Prevention Promotion Area	Designated
Tokyo Inland Earthquake Emergency Measures Area	Not applicable (the whole of Hiroshima Prefecture is outside this scheme)
Japan Trench / Kuril Trench Earthquake Disaster Prevention Promotion Area	Not applicable (the whole of Hiroshima Prefecture is outside this scheme)
Shaking of intensity 6-lower or above within 30 years	44.3% (9.0% for Shindo 6-upper or above) At Fukuyama City Hall. Surface ground AVS30 208 m/s, delta or coastal lowland

This probability is for the single 250-metre grid square the city hall stands in. The Fukuyama City town hall stands ondelta and coastal lowland (AVS30 208 m/s), and the 44.3% above is the figure for that point. Within Fukuyama itself it varies a great deal between the low ground along the rivers and the terraces. When a listing interests you, look it up by its street address.Enter an address on the J-SHIS map and it shows the probability and the ground for that 250-metre mesh.

Look up an address on J-SHIS → Designations from the Cabinet Office list of designated municipalities (Nankai Trough Earthquake Disaster Prevention Promotion Area／Tokyo Inland Earthquake Emergency Measures Area／Japan Trench / Kuril Trench Earthquake Disaster Prevention Promotion Area ) / probability and surface ground from theNational Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience, J-SHIS earthquake hazard information API (2024 edition, average case, all earthquakes), queried at the city hall coordinates / verified 2026-08-21

Three of these appear in the statutory disclosure under the Building Lots and Buildings Transaction Business ActThe city sets out in a table the "hazard information that must be disclosed on a property transaction". In Fukuyama City the ones marked "present" are three: 1. landslide (special) warning zones; 2. tsunami warning zones; 3. flooding and rainwater outflow (surface water) under the Flood Control Act. For storm surge there is no designation under the Flood Control Act, but there is a projected storm-surge inundation map. In other words, there are three items in this city that will always be explained to you at the signing. Do not wait for the explanation: look at the maps yourself first.

The current zones can be seen on the prefecture's portalsBesides the city's hazard maps, Hiroshima Prefecture publishes three portals — Flood Portal Hiroshima (River Division), Landslide Portal Hiroshima (Sabo Division) and Storm Surge and Tsunami Disaster Portal Hiroshima (Ports, Fishing Ports and Development Division). The city says "for the current zones and exact positions, go here" and directs people to each of the prefecture's portals. Put in the address and look at all three — that is the first step when house-hunting in Fukuyama.

Being flat cuts both waysFlat land with a median elevation of 11.2 metres brings the daily advantages of no hills, getting about by bicycle, and regular street blocks. The centre, Shingai and Kannabe in §2 are all terrain you can live in by bicycle. At the same time it is terrain where water gathers. The city, the state and the prefecture continue flood countermeasures in the Ashidagawa basin, and the city keeps a page on them. Take "flat and easy to live in" and "watch the water" as two sides of the same terrain.

Source:Fukuyama City, "Hazard maps (tsunami and landslide, flood, earthquake, irrigation ponds)" (updated 31 March 2026 / hazard information that must be disclosed on a property transaction = landslide (special) warning zones "present", tsunami warning zones "present" (no tsunami special warning zone at present), flooding under the Flood Control Act "present", rainwater outflow "present", storm surge "absent" (a projected storm-surge inundation map not made under the Flood Control Act does exist) / for the current zones, Flood Portal Hiroshima, Landslide Portal Hiroshima and Storm Surge and Tsunami Disaster Portal Hiroshima) / the flood countermeasures fromthe same, "On flood countermeasures within Fukuyama City" / the earthquake probability and the national designations from the sources given in the box above (NIED J-SHIS and the Cabinet Office) / verified 2026-08-21

What is the disaster risk in Fukuyama City?

🔴 It is within the Nankai Trough disaster management promotion area, and at the city hall the chance of shaking of Shindo 6-lower or above within 30 years is 44.3%. There is a tsunami warning zone (no special warning zone at present). Three things fall within the statutory disclosure under the Building Lots and Buildings Transaction Business Act: landslide (special) warning zones, tsunami warning zones, and flooding or rainwater outflow. Look up the city's hazard maps and Hiroshima Prefecture's three portals for flooding, landslides and storm surge or tsunami, by address.

CHAPTER 06What summer and winter are like

This is a city with little rain. Annual rainfall is 1,171.7 mm — 70% of Tokyo's (1,598.2 mm) and less than half Kagoshima City's (2,434.7 mm). The clear skies of the Setouchi climate show plainly in the figures. In winter there are 0.0 days below freezing all day, 4 centimetres of snowfall a year and a maximum snow depth of 2 centimetres, so snow is hardly a concern. In summer, though, there are 8.6 days above 35°C and 62.5 days above 30°C — the daytime heat is real.

Winter: a January daily low of 0.0°C. Snow scarcely fallsThe January daily high is 9.8°C and the daily low 0.0°C; frost days (a morning below 0°C) come to 45.3 a year and days below freezing all day to 0.0. Annual snowfall totals 4 centimetres and the maximum depth 2 centimetres — less than Tokyo's (8 and 6). Clearing snow, winter tyres and frozen pipes all but disappear from life. Against Utsunomiya (72.9 frost days, 18 centimetres of snowfall), the weight of winter is quite different even within Honshu.

Summer: 8.6 days above 35°C. The days are hotThe August daily high is 32.8°C (Tokyo 31.3), with 8.6 days above 35°C (Tokyo 4.8) and 62.5 days above 30°C (Tokyo 52.1) — hotter by day than Tokyo. The nights are a little easier, with 13.6 tropical nights (Tokyo 17.8). With little rain the sun is strong, so allow for shading the south-facing windows and for watering the garden.

Rain: its scarcity tells in the farming too1,171.7 mm a year. The symbol mark for the city's branded produce, "Fukuyama SUN", is explained by the city as "an image of produce that has taken in the sun's bounty in Fukuyama, where the hours of sunshine are long" (§13). But little rain does not mean it never falls hard. July, at 198.0 mm, is the wettest month of the year — read the heavy rain at the end of the rainy season together with the delta terrain of §5.

Sources: the temperatures, rainfall, snow and the counts of days in each class all fromJMA, "Fukuyama long-term averages (1991–2020)" (August daily high 32.8°C, daily low 23.9°C / January daily high 9.8°C, daily low 0.0°C / July rainfall 198.0 mm / annual rainfall 1,171.7 mm /days by class = 13.6 tropical nights, 62.5 days above 30°C, 8.6 days above 35°C, 45.3 frost days, 0.0 days below freezing all day /snow = 4 cm of snowfall in total, maximum depth 2 cm) / the Tokyo figures fromJMA, "Tokyo long-term averages" (17.8 tropical nights, 4.8 days above 35°C, 52.1 days above 30°C, 15.2 frost days, annual rainfall 1,598.2 mm, 8 cm of snowfall, maximum depth 6 cm) / the Utsunomiya and Kagoshima figures are the same JMA long-term averages as their own pages on this site / verified 2026-08-21

How hot is the summer and what is winter like in Fukuyama?

🔴 This is a city with little rain — annual rainfall of 1,171.7 mm is 70% of Tokyo's (1,598.2 mm). In winter there are 0.0 days below freezing all day and 4 centimetres of snowfall a year, so clearing snow and winter tyres are all but unnecessary. In summer, though, with 8.6 days above 35°C and 62.5 days above 30°C it is hotter than Tokyo, with 13.6 tropical nights (Tokyo 17.8).

CHAPTER 07Shops, hospitals, schools

With 440,000 people and the concentration of a core city, and as the centre of the Bingo region (eastern Hiroshima plus western Okayama), shopping, medicine and schooling are all available within the city. Children's medical costs run from age 0 to year 3 of lower secondary school, with no income limit since 1 October 2023. At the counter you pay ¥500 per medical institution per day (up to 4 outpatient days and 14 inpatient days a month; beyond that it is free at the same institution for the rest of the month), and prescriptions filled at a pharmacy outside the hospital are free. There are 69 municipal primary schools and 30 municipal lower secondary schools, plus compulsory education schools.

Children's medical costs: "to year 3 of lower secondary, ¥500 a day, no income limit"It covers from age 0 to the first 31 March after turning 15. The income limit was removed on 1 October 2023. You pay ¥500 per medical institution per day (or less if the charge is under ¥500), and beyond 4 outpatient days or 14 inpatient days in a month it is free at the same institution for the rest of that month. Prescriptions at an outside pharmacy, and therapeutic appliances, are free. Compared across this site, Utsunomiya covers to the end of the school year at 18 with, as a rule, nothing to pay at the counter; Oita covers to upper secondary age at ¥500 a day; Kagoshima to year 3 of lower secondary with a monthly cap of ¥2,000 — the shape of the scheme differs from town to town.

The schools are being reorganisedCounted from the city's lists there are 69 municipal primary schools and 30 municipal lower secondary schools (the lists were updated on 1 April 2023 for primary and 1 April 2024 for lower secondary). There are also compulsory education schools such as Tomonoura Gakuen and Sosei Gakuen. In June 2026 the city adopted its "basic policy on the school education environment in Fukuyama City", setting out a course of reorganising schools and developing compulsory education schools. It also runs community schools in every lower secondary catchment. If you are choosing a house by catchment, be sure to check the reorganisation plans with the city's school reorganisation office.

The strength of being the centre of BingoThe city has Fukuyama City Hospital and is the medical centre of the east of the prefecture. Shopping is the concentration around Fukuyama Station and the roadside stores in the suburbs. With Onomichi 20 min, Kurashiki 42, Okayama 16 and Hiroshima 23 (§3), "what is not in the city can be added by train" is the position this town occupies. For upper secondary schools and universities, both Fukuyama itself and Okayama and Hiroshima are within commuting range.

Sources: children's medical costs fromFukuyama City, "An outline of the children's medical cost subsidy scheme" (from age 0 to year 3 of lower secondary school = the first 31 March after turning 15 / no income limit from 1 October 2023 / ¥500 per medical institution per day, up to 4 outpatient days and 14 inpatient days a month / prescriptions at an outside pharmacy and therapeutic appliances are free) / the school numbers fromthe same, "List of primary schools"(2023-04-01updated) andthe same, "List of lower secondary schools" (updated 1 April 2024), tallied mechanically by this site / the school reorganisation fromthe same, "Basic policy on the school education environment in Fukuyama City" (adopted June 2026 / reorganising schools, developing compulsory education schools, community schools in every lower secondary catchment) / the Utsunomiya, Oita and Kagoshima schemes are from the same sources as their own pages on this site / verified 2026-08-21

Will I be short of hospitals, shops or schools?

With 440,000 people and the concentration of a core city, as the centre of the Bingo region it all comes together within the city. Children's medical costs run from age 0 to year 3 of lower secondary school, with no income limit since October 2023, and at the counter you pay ¥500 per medical institution per day (beyond 4 outpatient days or 14 inpatient days in a month it is free for the rest of that month; prescriptions at an outside pharmacy are free). There are 69 municipal primary and 30 municipal lower secondary schools. 🔴 The city is reorganising its schools, so if you are deciding by catchment, check the latest plans with the city.

CHAPTER 08What it costs you every year after you buy

Fukuyama's water rate makes no distinction by connection size. There is a single "general" rate, read and billed every two months. For 45 cubic metres over two months it is ¥6,715 for water plus ¥7,106 for sewerage = ¥13,821 (including tax). But the water rate is being revised from the January 2027 usage month, and the standing charge will change to one that varies by connection size at that point. The fixed asset tax is 1.4% and the city planning tax 0.3% in the urbanisation promotion area.

Water rate and sewerage charge (two months, general rate, including tax)

Volume used (two months)	Water	Sewerage	Total
0 cubic metres the standing charge alone	¥1,584	¥1,738	¥3,322
20 cubic metres	¥2,024	¥2,178	¥4,202
45 cubic metres a guide for a household of 2 to 3	¥6,715	¥7,106	¥13,821
70 cubic metres	¥14,173	¥15,174	¥29,347

The water rate goes up from the January 2027 usage monthIn the city's words — much of the water infrastructure was built intensively during the population surge from the 1960s onwards, and is coming up for renewal one after another / as things stand the outlook is a shortfall of funds in FY2029 and a deficit in FY2032. The council passed the amending by-law in June 2026. On the city's own example (a 13 mm connection, 44 cubic metres over two months), it goes from ¥6,476 to ¥7,299 (¥823 more). The new rate applies from January 2027, with billing from the April or May billing run depending on the reading month. At the same time the standing charge becomes one that varies by connection size (13 mm ¥1,540, 20 mm ¥1,740 and so on, per two months, before tax). Even so the city says "even after the revision it will be the fourth lowest in the prefecture".

The taxes are 1.4% and 0.3%The fixed asset tax is the taxable base × 1.4%, and the city planning tax 0.3% on land and buildings within the urbanisation promotion area. The exemption thresholds are ¥300,000 for land, ¥200,000 for buildings and ¥1,500,000 for depreciable assets. As §4 shows, 34% of the houses here are on the older seismic code, so it pays to read through the reductions for new-build housing, seismic work, energy-efficiency work, long-life quality housing and accessibility work before you buy.

The relocation grant, and the akiya renovation grantThe relocation grant for moving from the Greater Tokyo area is ¥600,000 for a single person and ¥1,000,000 for a household of two or more, with ¥1,000,000 added per child under 18. The conditions include taking a job listed on Hiroshima Prefecture's matching site "Hiroshima Works", and it is first come, first served, closing when the budget ceiling is reached. On top of that there is the akiya renovation grant (§4) — ¥300,000 for those moving in or settling, ¥500,000 for newly married or child-raising households. Check the requirements for both at the city's desk before you buy.

Sources: the water rate and sewerage charge fromFukuyama City Water and Sewerage Bureau, "Water rate and sewerage charge (general, public bathhouse, temporary)" (the general rate makes no distinction by connection size; billed every two months) andthe same, "Water rate ready reckoner [10% version]" (PDF) (45 m³ over two months = water ¥6,715 plus sewerage ¥7,106 = ¥13,821) / the revision fromthe same, "[From the April 2027 billing run] Notice of the water rate revision" (updated 24 June 2026 / the new rate from January 2027 / the standing charge to vary by connection size / the city's example = a 13 mm connection, 44 m³ over two months, ¥6,476 → ¥7,299 / even after the revision the fourth lowest in the prefecture / an outlook of a shortfall of funds in FY2029 and a deficit in FY2032) / the tax rates fromthe same, "Who pays the fixed asset tax and how it is calculated"(1.4%) andthe same, "On the city planning tax" (0.3%, the urbanisation promotion area) / the relocation grant fromthe same, "A guide to the FY2026 relocation grant scheme" (¥600,000 for a single person, ¥1,000,000 for a household of two or more, ¥1,000,000 added per child under 18, first come first served, closing at the budget ceiling) / verified 2026-08-21

Roughly what does a year cost, water and the rest?

Water and sewerage come to ¥13,821 for 45 cubic metres over two months (water ¥6,715 plus sewerage ¥7,106). 🔴 Fukuyama's water rate makes no distinction by connection size (a single general rate). But the water rate is being revised from the January 2027 usage month, and the standing charge will then vary by connection size. The fixed asset tax is 1.4% and the city planning tax 0.3% in the urbanisation promotion area.

CHAPTER 09What happens when you want to sell

Fukuyama is a city "cheaper than the prefectural average and rising faster than it". Residential land is ¥51,100/m², up 1.8% on the year. That is 0.53 times the Hiroshima Prefecture average (¥96,900/m², +1.5%) — the prefectural capital, Hiroshima, pulls the average up, so the level differs completely even within the same prefecture. Commercial land, meanwhile, is up 4.5%, and all four — residential, commercial, industrial and all uses — are positive.

Use	Fukuyama City	Year on year	Hiroshima Average	Against the prefectural average
Residential	¥51,100/m²	+1.8%	¥96,900/m² (+1.5%)	0.53×
Commercial	¥147,700/m²	+4.5%	¥430,600/m² (+3.1%)	0.34×
Industrial	¥37,100/m²	+2.3%	¥65,000/m² (+2.6%)	0.57×
All uses	¥70,800/m²	+2.4%	¥178,100/m² (+2.0%)	0.40×

The position of "the second city, cheaper than the prefecture"On other pages of this site the prefectural capital's land price usually far exceeds the prefectural average (Utsunomiya is 1.86 times the Tochigi average). Fukuyama is the other way round, at 0.53 times. That says less that Fukuyama is cheap than that Hiroshima is dear. It works in your favour when buying, and it means that when you sell, this is not a market compared with Hiroshima City. The comparison is with Kurashiki, Onomichi and Okayama — the market of Bingo and Bicchu, across the prefectural boundary.

What the +4.5% on commercial land showsOf the four uses, commercial land has risen most (+4.5%). In front of Fukuyama Station, the North Exit Square was completed in March 2022, and together with the castle's 400th year the view from the station changed (§12). Residential land at +1.8% is also above the prefectural average (+1.5%). This is not a falling market.

At the exit, the terrain tellsAs §5 shows, this city has tsunami warning zones, landslide warning zones and projected flood and surface-water inundation among the matters requiring statutory disclosure. What is explained to you when you buy will be explained again when you sell. The gap between the district medians in §2 (¥15,800,000 to ¥25,800,000) and these terrain conditions become the gap at the exit. Check by address before you buy — in the end that is the surest thing.

Sources: land prices fromLand Information Center , "[Official land prices] (Reiwa 8) average prices and year-on-year average change by prefecture, municipality and use" (prepared 27 April Reiwa 8), the Fukuyama City and Hiroshima Prefecture rows (Fukuyama City = residential ¥51,100/m² +1.8%, commercial ¥147,700/m² +4.5%, industrial ¥37,100/m² +2.3%, all uses ¥70,800/m² +2.4% / Hiroshima Prefecture = residential ¥96,900/m² +1.5%, commercial ¥430,600/m² +3.1%, industrial ¥65,000/m² +2.6%, all uses ¥178,100/m² +2.0%) / the second-hand market as in §4, the 551 SUUMO listings / the Utsunomiya comparison with its prefectural average is from the same source as the Utsunomiya page on this site / verified 2026-08-21

Will the house I buy sell again later?

🔴 Residential land is ¥51,100/m², up 1.8% on the year, and all four — residential, commercial, industrial and all uses — are positive. It is 0.53 times the Hiroshima Prefecture average (¥96,900/m²), but that says less that Fukuyama is cheap than that Hiroshima is dear. The comparison is not with Hiroshima City but with Kurashiki, Onomichi and Okayama — the market of Bingo, across the prefectural boundary.

CHAPTER 10Who lives here, and how many

A population of 449,895 in 219,307 households (end of July 2026). 219,816 men and 230,079 women. 2.05 people per household. In the Census the peak was 464,811 in 2015, and it has eased down since. 13,492 foreign residents (3.0%) — a make-up you would expect of a manufacturing city.

Census year	Population	Under 15	Aged 65 and over
1965	301,376 people	—	—
1990	444,539 people	87,820 people (19.8%)	53,506 people (12.0%)
2015 the population peak	464,811 people	64,496 people (14.0%)	123,441 people (26.9%)
2020	460,930 people	60,655 people (13.4%)	132,167 people (29.2%)

A city that grew by 160,000 in the 50 years from 1965 to 20151965, 301,376 → 2015, 464,811. The decision in 1961 to site the Nippon Kokan Fukuyama steelworks (today JFE Steel's West Japan Works, Fukuyama district) here, and its start-up in 1966, turned this into "an industrial city led by heavy industry" (the city's words). That 50 years of growth shaped the town and the housing as they now stand. That 34% of the properties in §4 predate 1981 is the other side of houses having gone up all at once in that period.

Foreign residents at 3.0%At the end of July 2026 there were 13,492 (7,307 men, 6,185 women), about 3.0% of the population. The city issues its refuse collection calendar in other languages and publishes a table of population by nationality every month. The shape of a city held up by its workshops shows plainly in the statistics. In the schools too, a multicultural setting is taken for granted.

The fall at present is gentleEnd of April 2026, 450,369 → end of July, 449,895. 474 fewer in 4 months, which is not a steep decline. Those aged 65 and over were 29.2% in 2020. That is much the same pace as the country as a whole, but at a scale of 440,000 people and in its position as the centre of Bingo, it is hard to imagine daily convenience thinning out suddenly.

Sources: the monthly population, households and foreign residents fromFukuyama City, "FY2026 Fukuyama City households and population" (end of July 2026 = 449,895 people, 219,307 households, 219,816 men, 230,079 women / 13,492 foreign residents / end of April 2026 = 450,369) / the Census series and the three age bands fromthe same, "Fukuyama in figures" (1965, 301,376; 2015, 464,811; 2020, 460,930 / in 2020, 60,655 aged 0–14 at 13.4% and 132,167 aged 65 and over at 29.2% / in 1990, 87,820 aged 0–14 at 19.8%, 303,213 aged 15–64 and 53,506 aged 65 and over at 12.0%, totalling 444,539. The population figures cover the present city area, and the age figures exclude those of unknown age) / the siting of the steelworks fromthe same, "The course of Fukuyama City" (sited in 1961, in operation from 1966) / people per household and the share of foreign residents are calculated by this site / verified 2026-08-21

Share of foreign residents

2.86%national average 3.26%

Of the 451,867 people living in Fukuyama City, 12,931 are foreign residents. That is below the national average of 3.26%.
Nationally, foreign residents make up 3.26% of the total population (4,031,159 out of 123,767,642). There are 34 municipalities in the country where the share is over 10%.

Source: calculated by this site from the municipality-level tables of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, "Population, population change and households based on the Basic Resident Register" (as of 1 January Reiwa 8, published 2026-07-29). The ministry's publication page / verified 2026-08-17

Is the population of Fukuyama City growing?

In the Census it grew by 160,000 in 50 years, from 301,376 in 1965 to 464,811 in 2015, then eased down to 460,930 in 2020 and 449,895 at the end of July 2026. The decision in 1961 to site the steelworks here turned this into an industrial city. 🔴 There are 13,492 foreign residents (3.0%) — a make-up you would expect of a manufacturing city.

CHAPTER 11Community life and the year's events

The centre of spring is the "Fukuyama Rose Festival" — held every year in mid-May at the Rose Park, Midorimachi Park, Chuo Park, the shopping streets of the centre, Fukuyama Castle Park and elsewhere, drawing about 400,000 people over two days as the city's largest event. There is a rose parade, a cut-rose competition and street performance. Admission is free (some events are ticketed). In summer, the Fukuyama Summer Festival runs for three days, 13 to 15 August.

Tending the roses is community life itselfThere are over 400 rose beds across the city, tended day by day by neighbourhoods and by companies (the city's words). Every year the Fukuyama Bright Town-Making Council holds a "rose bed competition", and the winners in each class are recognised as "model rose beds". The city also runs a rose seedling distribution scheme every year. "The way a newcomer gets into the neighbourhood is by tending a flower bed" — that is a shape you rarely find elsewhere.

The Fukuyama Summer Festival runs three days, and each day is different13 August = the "Nianbari Odori" (an intangible folk cultural property of Hiroshima Prefecture), danced to clacking bamboo clappers in a rhythm of its own, dignified and a little plaintive. The 14th = "Irohamaru YOSAKOI" (in the central shopping streets and Chuo Park, with night stalls). The 15th = the "Ashidagawa fireworks" (upstream of the Ashidagawa Bridge, with both banks as the viewing area). The 13th and 14th are 5 min on foot from JR Fukuyama Station. A festival that takes place entirely in front of the station, so it is easy to join even in your first year here.

Tomonoura — the only place in the country to hold three recognitions at onceOf Tomonoura, 14 kilometres south of Fukuyama Station, the city writes: "Tomonoura is the only place in the country where one area has received three recognitions — a national Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings, UNESCO's Memory of the World, and Japan Heritage." (The third is the Japan Heritage designation of May 2018, "The finest early-modern port town in the country, wrapped in the evening calm of the Seto".) It long prospered as a harbour where ships waited for the tide, is sung of in the Manyoshu, and was called at by the Korean envoys in the Edo period. Of the view from the Taichoro hall of Fukuzenji, the envoy Yi Bang-eon praised it as "the finest scenery east of Japan". The city's promotional film is built entirely around "the rites and festivals held almost every month", so thick is the calendar of observance here.

Autumn brings chrysanthemums, and three different ways of belongingAutumn brings the Fukuyama Chrysanthemum Exhibition — the chrysanthemum is the city's other flower, taken on from Shin-ichi Town in the merger of 2003 (the Kanemaru area is known as "the home of the chrysanthemum"). The centre of the city (the Rose Festival and the Summer Festival), the port town of Tomo (its calendar of rites), and the former town areas (neighbourhood associations and collections) — Fukuyama has three different ways of belonging. Choosing where to live in §2 is also choosing between them.

Sources: the Fukuyama Rose Festival fromFukuyama City, "The Fukuyama Rose Festival" (every year in mid-May / about 400,000 people over the two days / the Rose Park, Midorimachi Park, Chuo Park, Hanazono Park, the central shopping streets, the area around Fukuyama Station, Fukuyama Castle Park and across the city / free, with some ticketed events) / the Fukuyama Summer Festival fromthe same, "The Fukuyama Summer Festival" (every year 13 to 15 August / the 13th, the Nianbari Odori, an intangible folk cultural property of Hiroshima Prefecture / the 14th, Irohamaru YOSAKOI / the 15th, the Ashidagawa fireworks) / the rose beds, the competition and the seedling distribution fromthe same, "Roses"andthe same, "The rose bed competition" / Tomonoura fromthe same, "Tomonoura" (recognised as Japan Heritage in May 2018, "The finest early-modern port town in the country, wrapped in the evening calm of the Seto" / Tomonoura is the only place in the country where one area has received three recognitions, together with the Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings and UNESCO's Memory of the World / 14 km south of Fukuyama Station / a harbour where ships waited for the tide, the Manyoshu, the Korean envoys, the Taichoro hall of Fukuzenji and Yi Bang-eon's "the finest scenery east of Japan") / the city flower, the chrysanthemum, fromthe same, "The flower and tree of Fukuyama City" (adopted in Shin-ichi Town in 1985 and added as a city flower on the merger of 2003) / verified 2026-08-21

What are the neighbourhood associations and the neighbouring like?

🔴 This is a city where tending the roses is community life itself. There are over 400 rose beds across the city, tended day by day by neighbourhoods and by companies (with a rose bed competition and recognition as model rose beds). In spring there is the Fukuyama Rose Festival (mid-May, about 400,000 people over two days) and in summer the Fukuyama Summer Festival, 13 to 15 August — both at venues within walking distance of the station.

CHAPTER 12Things nearby that move land prices

What holds up land prices here is three things: 1. a Shinkansen station where the Nozomi stops; 2. the manufacturing jobs built around the steelworks; and 3. its position at the centre of Bingo (eastern Hiroshima plus western Okayama). As §9 shows, commercial land is up 4.5%. The North Exit Square at Fukuyama Station was completed in March 2022, and that August the castle marked 400 years, so the view from the station has changed outright.

The moment you leave the station you see "the city of roses" and the castleThe city describes the North Exit Square at Fukuyama Station as laid out to be "a space where you feel 'the city of roses' the moment you step out of Fukuyama Station", and it was completed in March 2022. From the square you can look across to Fukuyama Castle in its 400th year. A castle and a square in front of a Shinkansen station — that tells directly on tourism and on the shops around the station. The +4.5% on commercial land in §9 is also the result of a decade of investment in the station area.

The depth of manufacturing holds up the jobsThe city turned to heavy industry with the decision in 1961 to site the Nippon Kokan Fukuyama steelworks here, and was designated a Bingo special industrial development area in 1964. It still produces about 80% of the country's denim (§13), as a district holding the whole chain — spinning, dyeing, weaving, finishing, sewing and washing. The 3.0% foreign residents of §10 rest on that industrial structure too. Having many kinds of workplace is, for a two-income household, choice itself.

Bingo, a way of life that crosses the prefectural boundaryFukuyama is at the eastern edge of Hiroshima Prefecture, next to Kasaoka and Ibara in Okayama Prefecture. Shopping, commuting and schooling cross the boundary (Kurashiki 42 min and Okayama 16, as §3 shows). As set out in §9, the comparison is not with Hiroshima City but with Kurashiki, Onomichi and Okayama. Think "looking for a property in Bingo" rather than "looking for a property in Hiroshima Prefecture", and this market comes into focus.

Sources: the North Exit Square at Fukuyama Station and the castle's 400th year fromFukuyama City, "Roses" (completed March 2022, with a view of Fukuyama Castle from the square) andthe same, "Fukuyama Castle" (August 2022, the 400th year of the castle and "the great works of the Reiwa era") / the siting of the steelworks and the Bingo special industrial development area fromthe same, "The course of Fukuyama City" / denim fromthe same, "Denim" (about 80% of the national share, on the survey by the Japan Cotton and Staple Fibre Weavers' Association / a district holding the whole chain) / land prices as in §9 / verified 2026-08-21

What is likely to happen to land prices in Fukuyama?

What holds them up is three things: 1. a Shinkansen station where the Nozomi stops; 2. the manufacturing jobs built around the steelworks and denim; and 3. its position at the centre of Bingo (eastern Hiroshima plus western Okayama). The North Exit Square at Fukuyama Station was completed in March 2022, and that August the castle marked 400 years. As §9 shows, commercial land is up 4.5%, the largest rise of the four uses.

CHAPTER 13What this place makes

What a place earns its living from shows up both at your dinner table and in your work once you live there. The amount raised through the hometown tax scheme is a rough measure of how many products a place has that people all over Japan choose.

¥306,850,000

Hometown tax receipts for FY Reiwa 7 (8,918 donations).
811th of the 1,788 municipalities in the country, and 8th within Hiroshima Prefecture

What this town names as its own products

What the city recognises as "Fukuyama brand produce" comes to 15 items: 7 vegetables and 8 fruits. Set beside the local industries, they are — denim (about 80% of national production, in a district holding the whole chain from spinning to sewing and washing) · kuwai arrowhead (the largest production in the country; growing it began with the plants set in the moat of Fukuyama Castle) · the Fukuyama koto (designated a national traditional craft in 1985 and a regional collective trademark in 2006) · Bingo kasuri (one of the three great kasuri weaves of Japan; the weaving and indigo-dyeing skills that underlie the denim district) · Matsunaga geta (at their peak around 1955, 56,000,000 pairs a year, the largest production in the country) · Bingo tatami facing · spinach, asparagus, aubergine, kintoki carrots, spring onions and white gourd (the Fukuyama brand vegetables) · grapes, persimmons, kiwi fruit, apricots, plums, figs, peaches and blueberries (the Fukuyama brand fruits) · Bingo fish (the fish of the Seto Inland Sea) · uzumi (a local dish in which the ingredients are buried beneath the rice) · Bingo Fukuyama wine · homeishu and the other products of Tomonoura.

Source:Fukuyama City, "Fukuyama brand produce" (the list of 7 vegetables and 8 fruits with their seasons)／the same, "Denim" (about 80% of the national share, on the survey by the Japan Cotton and Staple Fibre Weavers' Association)／the same, "Kuwai" (the largest production in the country)／the same, "The Fukuyama koto" (a national traditional craft)／the same, "Matsunaga geta"/ Verified 2026-08-21

You can support a town without living there

Even if a move is still some way off, you can be involved from today through the hometown tax scheme. Your donation goes straight to the municipality, and you choose what it is spent on. A way to give something back to a place you got to know here.

Support Fukuyama City through the hometown tax scheme →

Source:Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, "Survey on the state of the hometown tax scheme (conducted FY Reiwa 8)", the table of amounts and numbers received (provisional FY Reiwa 7 settlement), tallied by this site. The rank is out of all 1,788 municipalities in that table / verified 2026-08-14

What does Fukuyama City earn its living from?

🔴 Denim, at about 80% of national production (a district holding the whole chain from spinning to sewing and washing). Kuwai arrowhead has the largest production in the country, and the Fukuyama koto is a national traditional craft. There are also Bingo kasuri, Matsunaga geta and Bingo tatami facing, along with the 15 items of Fukuyama brand produce the city recognises (7 vegetables and 8 fruits).

CHAPTER 14A message from Fukuyama City

The vision of the city to come, set in the fourth comprehensive plan, is "A lively city full of bustle and happiness — Fukuyama, the city of roses". The relocation portal is "Life in Fukuyama", arranged in six parts: about Fukuyama / working / housing / children and education / medicine and welfare / meeting people. The mayor is Edahiro Naoki (since September 2016).

What the city puts at the head of "housing"Quoted as it stands — "In Fukuyama City, rents and parking are cheaper than in Tokyo or Osaka, and the total floor area of homes tends to be larger, so you can live unhurried." As §4 showed, the median plot on the market is 189 square metres (about 57 tsubo) and the median price ¥17,980,000. What the city says and what the properties actually on the market show point the same way.

You can ask about moving here online tooThe city gathers this on itsthe "Fukuyama City relocation online community" and a relocation enquiry chat「Setouchi-Log」 . It also appears every year at Hiroshima Prefecture's"Hiroshima Setouchi and Satoyama Living Fair" . The relocation grant and the akiya renovation grant (§8) arefirst come, first served, within the budget , sobefore you set anything in motion, go to the desk first . The Planning and Policy Division (084-928-1012) and the Industry Promotion Division handle them. Life in Fukuyama →

Where this page standsThis site gathers the city's official information with its sources; it does not speak for the city. Schemes, prices and charges change — particularly the water rate in §8. Before you sign and before you move, always check the original and the latest information. In particular, check the hazard information in §5 on the city's and Hiroshima Prefecture's portals, by address.

Source:Fukuyama City, "Life in Fukuyama" (the relocation portal, the six ways in, the relocation online community and the relocation enquiry chat "Setouchi-Log") / the passage on "housing" fromthe same, "Housing" (updated 20 October 2025) / the vision of the city to come fromthe same, "The history of Fukuyama, city of roses" (the fourth Fukuyama City comprehensive plan) / the mayor fromthe same, "The mayor's profile" (Edahiro Naoki, mayor of Fukuyama City since September 2016) / verified 2026-08-21

What kind of town-making is Fukuyama City doing?

The vision of the city to come is "A lively city full of bustle and happiness — Fukuyama, the city of roses". In its rose town by-law the city goes as far as providing for rooting "rose mind" — a heart of consideration, kindness and mutual help — as a culture of Fukuyama. For moving here there is the relocation grant (¥600,000 for a single person, ¥1,000,000 for a household, plus ¥1,000,000 per child under 18) and the akiya renovation grant (¥300,000 or ¥500,000). 🔴 Both are first come, first served, within the budget.

CHAPTER 15A year in Fukuyama

The Setouchi year is light on rain, free of snow, and hot by day in summer — and across it fall the roses, twice. On the city's account the roses are at their best twice a year, early to late May and late October to early November.

Season	What there is
Winter (December to February)	A January daily low of 0.0°C, 0.0 days below freezing all day, and 4 centimetres of snowfall a year. A winter with all but no need to clear snow or fit winter tyres
Spring (May)	The roses at their best (early to late May) and the Fukuyama Rose Festival (mid-month, about 400,000 people over two days). 21 May is "Rose Day"
The rains (July)	July's 198.0 mm is the wettest of the year. The 1,171.7 mm a year is 70% of Tokyo's, but when it falls it falls hard (§5)
Summer (August)	The Fukuyama Summer Festival, 13 to 15 August (the Nianbari Odori, Irohamaru YOSAKOI, the Ashidagawa fireworks). There are 8.6 days a year above 35°C
Autumn (October–November)	The roses at their best a second time (late October to early November) and the Fukuyama Chrysanthemum Exhibition. The kuwai harvest starts in mid-November (§13)

Sources: the climate as in §6 (JMA long-term averages), the Rose Festival and the Summer Festival as in §11, the rose season and "Rose Day" fromFukuyama City, "Roses" (at their best early to late May and late October to early November) andthe same, "The history of Fukuyama, city of roses" (21 May named "Rose Day") / the kuwai season fromthe same, "Fukuyama brand produce" (mid-November to late December) / verified 2026-08-21

The information on this site is gathered by an AI that visits primary sources — municipalities, the Japan Meteorological Agency, national statistics — on a regular cycle, and it is updated with a source and a date of verification attached.

What is there to look forward to over the year in Fukuyama?

The roses are at their best twice a year — early to late May and late October to early November. Mid-May brings the Fukuyama Rose Festival, and 21 May is "Rose Day". Summer brings the Fukuyama Summer Festival on 13 to 15 August (the Nianbari Odori, Irohamaru YOSAKOI and the Ashidagawa fireworks), and autumn the Fukuyama Chrysanthemum Exhibition. In winter snow is hardly a concern.

CHAPTER 16The people who run this city

When you are thinking about moving, who is running this town and where they are taking it is, I think, something people about to move want to know even more than those already living there. This chapter sets out only what Fukuyama City publishes itself, with sources. 🔴 As of 22 August 2026, following the official site, I (the AI) could find 2 of the 6 items below. The mayor of Fukuyama City is Edahiro Naoki (confirmed on Fukuyama City's introduction page).

What is published	Published	What you can read
About the mayor	The mayor's office	Name, career, greeting
Policy address	Running the city	What they say they will do this year
List of council members	Could not find one	Who the members are, and their groupings
Council broadcasts and recordings	Could not find one	Whether you can watch the council in session
Searchable minutes	Could not find one	Whether you can search past debates by wording
Master plan	Could not find one	How many years ahead this town has decided

The mayor of Fukuyama CityEdahiro Naoki. The page carrying that name was last updated2016-09-20.
🔴 Age and gender have not been guessed from the name.Only what is published is reproduced here, as published.Fukuyama City introduction page →

How much of the council can you see?A list of members, live or recorded broadcasts of full sessions, and searchable minutes — where these three are published, you can read a town's debates for yourself before you ever move there.
🔴 The names, photographs and social media of individual council members are not carried on this site. We point you to where you can read them.
Once you have moved, when your own turn to decide comes round is something those three will tell you.

🔴 We could not find a master planFollowing the official site, we could not find a page for a master plan or basic vision (checked 2026-08-22).That does not mean there is none.🔴 To municipalities and local organisations — tell us the URL and we will put it here.Get in touch here →

🔴 What I will not do in this chapter1. I will not guess gender or age from a name. Only what is published appears here. 2. I will not write that anything is good or bad. Only what is being put forward, and where it comes from. 3. I will not compare election candidates.
🔴 And mayors change. This site always records the date it checked (2026-08-22), and reopens the original page each time to confirm by machine that the name is still there. If you notice something has nonetheless gone out of date, please let us know.

Source: allofficial site (Fukuyama City ), followed on 2026-08-22. What this site counted wasonly whether something is published or not ; the content has not been judged / verified 2026-08-22

Who runs Fukuyama City now?

The mayor of Fukuyama City is Edahiro Naoki (confirmed on 22 August 2026 on Fukuyama City's introduction page). What this site looks for is six things: the mayor's profile, the policy address, the list of council members, broadcasts of the council, a minutes search, and the comprehensive plan. 🔴 No judgement of good or bad is being made. Only whether each is published or not.

CHAPTER 17Where to go on a day off

It never shows up in the numbers you use to find a house, yet it bears directly on how satisfied you are once you live there: days off. This chapter counts, on the same measure for every area, the places you can go on a day off in Fukuyama and the places friends and family can stay when they visit. This is a town with Setonaikai National Park. The area currently has 10 hot spring and day bath facilities, 2 amusement parks, zoos or aquariums, and 1 roadside station. 🔴 All the counts are the number registered in the map data (OpenStreetMap) — in reality there may well be more.

What	Number counted, and names
⛰ National and quasi-national parks	Setonaikai National Park
♨ Hot springs and day baths	Daigo Yu, Shinshoji Onsen Showa no Yu, Tennen Onsen / Corona no Yu Fukuyama, Yuyu, Magokoro no Yu, Super Sento Yurara, Super Kenko Land Hana no Yu, Oyudokoro Bifuku and 10 in all
🏯 Castles and castle sites	Fukuyama Castle
🎡 Amusement parks, zoos and aquariums	Miroku no Sato and Fukuyama City Zoo (2 places)
🖼 Museums, galleries and memorial halls	The Fukuyama Museum of Calligraphy, the Nakagawa Museum of Art, the Kokusai Shuzokan (Kabuai), the Mirokunosato Museum of Art, the Fukuyama City Kannabe Museum of History and Folklore, the Fukuyama Automobile and Clock Museum, the Kan Chazan Memorial Museum and the Tomonotsu Museum and 19 in all
⛩ Shrines and temples	47 shrines and 38 temples. The ones with a Wikipedia entry are Hosenji, Myoenji, Kusado Inari Shrine, Myoo-in, Enpukuji, Fukuzenji, Ankokuji and Nunakuma Shrine
🚗 Roadside stations	Aristo Numakuma
🐕 Dog runs	Not found in the map data
🛣 Expressway service and parking areas	Imazu PA (northbound) (🍽 restaurant) / Fukuyama SA (northbound) (⛽ petrol station) / Fukuyama SA (southbound) (⛽ petrol station ☕ café)

Somewhere to stay — for family and friends, and for your own travels

What	Number counted
🏨 Hotels and ryokan	28
🏠 Guesthouses and hostels	2
⛺ Campsites and auto-campsites	Hongo Ikoi no Mori campsite and Yamano-kyo campsite (2 places)
🏕 Glamping	Not found among the campsite or hotel names
🚐 RV parks (overnight in your vehicle)	Not found in the map data

This table is the result of me (an AI) putting the same question to the map data for every area (areas are retrieved in batches, so the verification date on some pages is a day apart). Facilities not registered on the map are not counted. "Not found" does not mean "there are none" — nor that the town is any the lesser for it.

Sources: the counts and names of facilities fromOpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL) / RV parks fromJapan RV Association, list of certified "Kuruma-tabi" RV parks / roadside stations fromMinistry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, list of "michi-no-eki" roadside stations / the service and parking areas on the expressway, and the shops within them, also from OpenStreetMap (judged mechanically by whether they fall inside the site's outline) / national parks judged from the overlap of the Ministry of the Environment Biodiversity Center's boundary data with the National Land Numerical Information (administrative areas); for quasi-national parks the municipalities concerned were confirmed at the link on the park name / verified 2026-08-21

Are there places to go on a day off, and places to stay?

A town with Setonaikai National Park. Counting from the map data (OpenStreetMap) and the lists kept by the RV Association and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, there are 10 hot spring and day bath facilities, 2 amusement parks, zoos or aquariums, 1 roadside station and 28 hotels and inns. Anything not on the map is not counted, so in reality there may well be more (details in §17).

What I (an AI) was able to find on this town's official site

This site reads the official websites of every area it covers against the same 30 items, out of 100, measuring how quickly someone thinking of moving can reach the information they need. What was measured is the official website of Fukuyama City, and the total was 46 points (measured 21 August 2026).

"Not found" does not mean "there is none." It means I followed the official site and could not find it. Tell us the published page and the next measurement will reflect it.

Area	Score	What was found
Getting started with a move	11 / 20	There is a relocation and settlement page; a contact point (department, telephone, opening hours); support schemes state amounts and conditions
Housing	0 / 15	Not found
The money side of living here	7 / 15	Water and sewerage charges are readable from a rate table; child-raising support is specific about amounts and scope; there are explanations of national health insurance tax and fixed asset tax
Disaster information	10 / 20	Hazard maps are published by district, in a machine-readable form (a map system or text PDF), and there is more than one way of giving warning
Industry and local produce	8 / 10	A list of local speciality products is on the official site; hometown tax results are published year by year; there are support schemes for businesses and industry
Transport	6 / 10	There is a community bus timetable; fares are stated
Can an AI read it?	4 / 10	Every page carries an updated date; statistics are published as Excel or CSV

See all 30 items and the pages used to judge them

3 / 3　There is a relocation and settlement page
For those considering a U-turn or similar　Go and see → 0 / 3　There is a dedicated relocation site
Only pages within the official site 3 / 3　A contact point (department, telephone, opening hours)
3 of department, telephone and opening hours were stated　Go and see → 5 / 5　Support schemes state amounts and conditions
Both amounts and conditions　Go and see → 0 / 3　There is trial housing or a trial-stay scheme
Not found 0 / 3　Vacancies in trial housing are published
Not found 0 / 4　There is an akiya bank
Not found 0 / 4　Listings carry photographs, price, year built and floor area
There is no property data this site can take in 0 / 4　Completed deals are organised
As above 0 / 3　The conditions of use are stated
Not found 1 / 5　Water and sewerage charges are readable from a rate table
There is a water and sewerage page　Go and see → 3 / 5　Child-raising support is specific about amounts and scope
Grants are described　Go and see → 3 / 3　There are explanations of national health insurance tax and fixed asset tax
Both the rates and the amounts are stated　Go and see → 0 / 2　Tie-ups with banks for mortgages and the like
Not found 5 / 5　Hazard maps are published by district
36 documents by district　Go and see → 0 / 5　Flood, landslide and earthquake are all covered
Not found　Go and see → 0 / 3　The year the assumptions were last reviewed is stated
Not found　Go and see → 2 / 4　Is it machine-readable (a map system or a text PDF)?
It appears to be a scanned-image PDF　Go and see → 3 / 3　Disasters are announced through more than one channel
Disaster email / disaster app / social media　Go and see → 5 / 5　A list of local speciality products is on the official site
12 items (the city's official site)　Go and see → 1 / 3　Hometown tax results are published year by year
1 fiscal year is recorded　Go and see → 2 / 2　There are support schemes for businesses and industry
Commerce and industry　Go and see → 4 / 4　There is a community bus timetable
　Go and see → 2 / 3　Fares are stated
There is material on fares, but the amounts could not be read from the text of the page　Go and see → 0 / 3　The date of the last revision is given
Not found　Go and see → 3 / 3　Every page carries an updated date
17 of the 20 pages read　Go and see → 0 / 2　There is a sitemap.xml
Not found 0 / 2　Site search runs on the server side
It was a Google custom search　Go and see → 1 / 2　Statistics are published as Excel or CSV
There is a statistics page　Go and see → 0 / 1　Open data is published
Not found

Compare with other towns → 　For municipalities and local organisations (get in touch here) →

Measured by this site. The URL of each official site is taken from the municipal information published by Furusato Choice. The score is a score for publishing information, not a score for how good a place is to live / verified 2026-08-21

Compare with other areas

Every page has the same 17 chapters in the same order. Move between them and you can compare the same line.

Areas in Chugoku and Shikoku

Kochi (yosakoi, the Sunday market and the trams)Kochi City, Kochilistings823 listings / ¥1,000,000–Matsue (1 hour 25 minutes by air to Haneda; the castle town of Matsue Castle, a National Treasure, and Lake Shinji)Matsue City, Shimane Prefecturelistings158 listings / ¥500,000–Matsuyama (Dogo Onsen and the city of haiku; the largest city in Shikoku)Matsuyama City, Ehimelistings732 listings / ¥490,000–Tokushima (the Awa Odori and the Yoshinogawa; express coaches to Osaka)Tokushima City, Tokushimalistings75 listings / ¥400,000–

Places you could look at for a similar price

Ayabe (the Yuragawa and the villages at the headwaters)Ayabe City, Kyotolistings29 listings / ¥1,000,000–Kochi (yosakoi, the Sunday market and the trams)Kochi City, Kochilistings823 listings / ¥1,000,000–Sasebo (the Kujukushima islands and Huis Ten Bosch, 1 hr 46 min to Hakata)Sasebo City, Nagasakilistings65 listings / ¥1,000,000–Toyama (the Tateyama range and the Hokuriku Shinkansen)Toyama City, Toyamalistings301 listings / ¥1,000,000–

Compare areas by budget and region →

Is there a mistake on this page?

This page is made by an AI. A number transposed, a scheme that has since changed, a link that no longer works — if you find one, please tell us. No name and no email address are needed. Just what is wrong, and how.

Anything you report is checked by me (an AI) against the primary source before it is corrected. When it is corrected, the "Last verified" date on this page changes.

Report a mistake on this page →

Quoting and reuse|Privacy policy|Contact|CCN Machi-erabi home

CCN Machi-erabi is run by CCN CO., LTD. About us