VacationSelector
The red five-storey pagoda of Tocho-ji, Fukuoka
FukuokaThe red five-storey pagoda of Tocho-ji
Swayambhunath with its prayer flags, Kathmandu
KathmanduSwayambhunath with its prayer flags

Photos: Fukuoka by Nick-D, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped; Kathmandu by Nabin K. Sapkota, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped.

Fukuoka or Kathmandu?

Our verdict in twelve categories, each scored against the same fixed benchmark cities, and the climate month by month, so you can choose for your trip.

Choose Fukuoka for

  • families
  • getting around
  • beaches

What lies behind each score is written up on Fukuoka’s own page.

Choose Kathmandu for

  • prices
  • culture and sights
  • nature and the outdoors

What lies behind each score is written up on Kathmandu’s own page.

Scoreboard

Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.

Beaches & swimming. Fukuoka 50, Kathmandu 4: Fukuoka leads by 46 points.
Food & drink. Fukuoka 82, Kathmandu 55: Fukuoka leads by 27 points.
Culture & sights. Fukuoka 50, Kathmandu 82: Kathmandu leads by 32 points.
Nightlife. Fukuoka 60, Kathmandu 36: Fukuoka leads by 24 points.
Nature & outdoors. Fukuoka 62, Kathmandu 70: Kathmandu leads by 8 points.
Day trips. Fukuoka 84, Kathmandu 56: Fukuoka leads by 28 points.
Good for families. Fukuoka 78, Kathmandu 20: Fukuoka leads by 58 points.
Getting around. Fukuoka 82, Kathmandu 25: Fukuoka leads by 57 points.
Shopping & style. Fukuoka 65, Kathmandu 55: Fukuoka leads by 10 points.
Affordability. Fukuoka 58, Kathmandu 97: Kathmandu leads by 39 points.
Live music & performing arts. Fukuoka 45, Kathmandu 28: Fukuoka leads by 17 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Fukuoka 60, Kathmandu 45: Fukuoka leads by 15 points.
0255075100

What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Fukuoka and Kathmandu.

Your match

Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.

Fukuoka
Best match
65match

Wins on families and getting around with your weighting.

Kathmandu
48match

Wins on prices and culture and sights with your weighting.

What matters to you?

When should you go?

Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.

Fukuoka in July

31 °Cdaytime high
25 °Cnight-time low
301 mmrain in the month
5 hsunshine a day
24 °Csea
14 hdaylight a day

Kathmandu in July

29 °Cdaytime high
20 °Cnight-time low
384 mmrain in the month
4 hsunshine a day
No seasea
14 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°10°20°30°40°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

0100200300400JFMAMJJASOND
FukuokaKathmandu

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Fukuoka: 1991-2020 normals, Fukuoka (1.9 km from centre). Kathmandu: 1991-2020 normals, Kathmandu Airport (4.7 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureFukuokaKathmandu
Official languageJapaneseNepali
CurrencyYen (JPY)Nepalese Rupee (NPR)
SocketsAB100 V, 50 and 60 Hz depending on the regionCM230 V, 50 Hz
Driving sideLeftLeft
Time zoneUTC+9UTC+5:45
Emergency numberPolice 110, fire 119Police 100, ambulance 102, fire 101
Elevation8 m1,300 m
Main airportFukuoka Airport (FUK)5 km from centre46 non-stop destinationsTribhuvan International Airport (KTM)4 km from centre38 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year16 days-

By the numbers

MeasureFukuokaKathmandu
City population1,603,043845,767
People per km²4,71517,121
Museums within 10 km239
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km21
Swim season, months above 21 °C4 months-

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Fukuoka or Kathmandu somewhere new.

Browse every destination

Sources

Structured data from Wikidata (CC0). Weather data by Meteostat. Meteorological data provided by NOAA, DWD and others. Rainfall where no rain gauge is within 25 km is from the TerraClimate 1991-2020 climatology (Abatzoglou et al. 2018, Scientific Data), read at the city. Sea surface temperature from NOAA OISST v2.1, NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Airport data from OurAirports (public domain). Public holidays from Nager.Date (MIT). Exchange rates via Frankfurter, based on European Central Bank reference rates. Non-stop route lists from the "Airlines and destinations" tables on English Wikipedia airport articles, by Wikipedia contributors, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Currency from the ISO 4217 register maintained by SIX, cross-checked against country data from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Price level from World Bank open data (PPP conversion factor for private consumption and official exchange rate), CC BY 4.0. Time zones from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0); clock offsets computed from the IANA time zone database. Daylight hours computed from each destination's latitude using the NOAA solar position algorithm.

Category scores are our editorial verdict under rubric v3, each placed against the same fixed benchmark cities; the climate figures are measured. How the scores are set. Snapshot generated 2026-11-01. Daily budgets are estimates from country price levels.