Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Amagasaki and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Amagasaki: $1,196 a month against $1,835 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $7,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Amagasaki
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Amagasaki Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Amagasaki

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,196

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,835

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Amagasaki and in Nosara

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Amagasaki and in Nosara actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,196 in Amagasaki versus $1,835 in Nosara.

Amagasaki $1,196
Nosara $1,835

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,898 in Amagasaki versus $2,825 in Nosara.

Amagasaki $1,898
Nosara $2,825

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,600 in Amagasaki versus $3,814 in Nosara.

Amagasaki $2,600
Nosara $3,814

Living in Amagasaki costs roughly 35% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Amagasaki is 12% below, Nosara is 35% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.12 ¥967

$12.34 ₡5,535

-50.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.29 ¥4,944

$61.3 ₡27.5K

-48.97%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.18 ¥819

$7.76 ₡3,481

-33.25%

Cappuccino

$3.09 ¥488

$4.44 ₡1,992

-30.41%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.23 ¥195

$1.79 ₡803

-31.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 ¥127

$1.29 ₡580

-37.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.66 ¥420

$3.24 ₡1,451

-17.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.07 ¥484

$4.43 ₡1,985

-30.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.46 ¥231

$1.55 ₡696

-5.81%

White Bread (500g)

$1.62 ¥256

$3.08 ₡1,380

-47.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.08 ¥645

$2.53 ₡1,133

61.26%

Eggs

$2.09 ¥330

$3.45 ₡1,546

-39.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.32 ¥1,630

$7.32 ₡3,284

40.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.73 ¥1,064

$10.24 ₡4,594

-34.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.78 ¥2,651

$14.10 ₡6,326

19.01%

Apples (1kg)

$3.77 ¥595

$2.29 ₡1,027

64.63%

Banana (1kg)

$2.30 ¥363

$1.64 ₡737

40.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.92 ¥461

$4.79 ₡2,149

-39.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.19 ¥662

$1.64 ₡735

155.49%

Potato (1kg)

$2.43 ¥384

$3.85 ₡1,727

-36.88%

Onion (1kg)

$2.50 ¥395

$3.75 ₡1,681

-33.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.24 ¥196

$1.09 ₡488

13.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.80 ¥127

$2.59 ₡1,160

-69.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.84 ¥607

$5.12 ₡2,295

-25.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.75 ¥1,066

$19.92 ₡8,931

-66.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.85 ¥293

$2.80 ₡1,255

-33.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.16 ¥342

$3.52 ₡1,580

-38.64%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.51 ¥239

$1.22 ₡549

23.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.1 ¥8,384

$73.9 ₡33.1K

-28.19%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.17 ¥500

$2.17 ₡973

46.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.92 ¥462

$1.56 ₡698

87.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.76 ¥2,964

$8.67 ₡3,886

116.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.11 ¥175

$1.55 ₡697

-28.39%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$21.3K ¥3.4M

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-38.47%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$15.0K ¥2.4M

$38.7K ₡17.4M

-61.31%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$136 ¥21.5K

$94.8 ₡42.5K

43.49%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$23.70 ¥3,745

$36.15 ₡16.2K

-34.44%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.82 ¥4,870

$53.1 ₡23.8K

-41.91%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.0 ¥8,378

$73.8 ₡33.1K

-28.12%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$35.63 ₡16.0K

Cinema Ticket

$12.12 ¥1,915

$7.91 ₡3,548

53.22%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$510 ¥80.5K

$490 ₡219.9K

3.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.4K ¥2.0M

$11.9K ₡5.3M

4.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.84 ¥7,875

$54.8 ₡24.6K

-9.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.38 ¥4,957

$55.9 ₡25.1K

-43.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$62.0 ¥9,798

$80.4 ₡36.0K

-22.82%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.3 ¥13.9K

$77.9 ₡34.9K

13.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$530 ¥83.8K

$801 ₡359.1K

-33.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$329 ¥51.9K

$790 ₡354.1K

-58.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,124 ¥177.6K

$4,005 ₡1.8M

-71.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$751 ¥118.6K

$1,409 ₡632.0K

-46.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,292 ¥678.0K

$7,064 ₡3.2M

-39.24%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,754 ¥277.1K

$1,236 ₡554.3K

41.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,008 ¥475.2K

$887 ₡397.6K

239.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.21

8.62

-74.36%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Amagasaki: October 18, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Amagasaki

$329 27.5%

Nosara

$790 43% 140% $461

Groceries & Markets

Amagasaki

$290 24.2%

Nosara

$350 19.1% 20.7% $60

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Amagasaki

$191 15.9%

Nosara

$184 10% 3.4% $6.6

Eating Out

Amagasaki

$129 10.8%

Nosara

$213 11.6% 64.6% $83

Clothing & Footwear

Amagasaki

$104 8.7%

Nosara

$121 6.6% 16.2% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Amagasaki

$77 6.5%

Nosara

$90 4.9% 16% $12

Getting Around

Amagasaki

$77 6.4%

Nosara

$89 4.8% 15.4% $12

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $530 in Amagasaki and $801 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Amagasaki pays 239% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $31.00 in Amagasaki vs $61.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $290 vs $350 per month, with Amagasaki cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Amagasaki

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

13:07 1:07 PM

22:07 10:07 PM

15 h behind Amagasaki

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

459,593

4,912

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to JPY – Japanese Yen Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇵 Japanese Yen (¥)

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to JPY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Amagasaki Nosara 13,430 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Amagasaki
Nosara

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Amagasaki vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Amagasaki and Nosara differ by about 53% in total monthly costs ($1,196 vs $1,835 including rent). Amagasaki is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 239% higher in Amagasaki, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $530 in Amagasaki versus $801 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 21% higher in Nosara. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Amagasaki – a meal for two runs $31.00 versus $61.0 in Nosara. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,196 in Amagasaki versus $1,835 in Nosara, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Amagasaki but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Amagasaki the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Amagasaki and Nosara are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Amagasaki gentler on the wallet – expenses run 53% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.