Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Atsugi and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Atsugi: $1,244 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $7,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

61

Cost of Living Index in Atsugi
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Atsugi Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Atsugi

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,244

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Atsugi 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 Atsugi and in Nosara actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,244 in Atsugi versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Atsugi $1,244
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,157 in Atsugi versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Atsugi $2,157
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,070 in Atsugi versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Atsugi $3,070
Nosara $3,818

Living in Atsugi costs roughly 32% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Atsugi is 8% below, Nosara is 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.93 ¥1,252

$12.35 ₡5,539

-35.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$25.65 ¥4,052

$61.2 ₡27.4K

-58.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.95 ¥782

$7.52 ₡3,373

-34.18%

Cappuccino

$1.90 ¥301

$4.41 ₡1,978

-56.92%

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

$0.93 ¥147

$1.74 ₡780

-46.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.68 ¥107

$1.31 ₡587

-48.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.72 ¥429

$3.28 ₡1,471

-17.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.07 ¥484

$4.47 ₡2,004

-31.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 ¥238

$1.56 ₡701

-3.21%

White Bread (500g)

$1.48 ¥233

$3.02 ₡1,355

-50.99%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.05 ¥640

$2.51 ₡1,125

61.35%

Eggs

$2.08 ¥328

$3.57 ₡1,603

-41.74%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.93 ¥2,517

$7.43 ₡3,333

114.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.48 ¥708

$10.52 ₡4,717

-57.41%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.30 ¥1,943

$13.97 ₡6,265

-11.95%

Apples (1kg)

$5.30 ¥838

$2.35 ₡1,052

125.53%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 ¥312

$1.61 ₡720

22.98%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.80 ¥601

$4.80 ₡2,152

-20.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.70 ¥426

$1.61 ₡724

67.70%

Potato (1kg)

$2.64 ¥417

$3.80 ₡1,703

-30.53%

Onion (1kg)

$1.92 ¥304

$3.69 ₡1,657

-47.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.16 ¥184

$1.13 ₡507

2.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 ¥142

$2.66 ₡1,191

-66.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.52 ¥557

$5.18 ₡2,321

-32.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.35 ¥1,477

$19.88 ₡8,916

-52.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ¥255

$2.90 ₡1,300

-44.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 ¥340

$3.63 ₡1,626

-40.77%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.61 ¥412

$1.12 ₡504

133.04%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$52.4 ¥8,275

$72.6 ₡32.6K

-27.89%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.11 ¥491

$2.14 ₡958

45.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.81 ¥445

$1.57 ₡703

78.98%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.62 ¥1,520

$8.52 ₡3,823

12.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.05 ¥166

$1.52 ₡682

-30.92%

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

$12.7K ¥2.0M

$21.6K ₡9.7M

-41.25%

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

$15.3K ¥2.4M

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-55.75%

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

$230 ¥36.3K

$96.3 ₡43.2K

138.55%

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

$14.11 ¥2,230

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-60.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.54 ¥4,825

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-43.01%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 ¥8,147

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-27.96%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.46 ¥1,179

$34.91 ₡15.7K

-78.63%

Cinema Ticket

$11.56 ¥1,827

$7.89 ₡3,539

46.51%

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

$321 ¥50.7K

$494 ₡221.6K

-35.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,085 ¥961.3K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

-48.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$40.67 ¥6,425

$53.9 ₡24.2K

-24.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.20 ¥3,824

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-56.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$53.4 ¥8,433

$77.9 ₡34.9K

-31.49%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$31.98 ¥5,053

$79.6 ₡35.7K

-59.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$523 ¥82.6K

$788 ₡353.4K

-33.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$334 ¥52.7K

$794 ₡356.2K

-57.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,090 ¥172.2K

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-72.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,260 ¥199.1K

$1,419 ₡636.5K

-11.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,945 ¥623.3K

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-42.92%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,794 ¥283.4K

$1,224 ₡549.0K

46.55%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,774 ¥596.3K

$864 ₡387.3K

337.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.02

8.62

-76.57%

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

Last update for Atsugi: October 11, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Atsugi

$334 26.8%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 138% $461

Groceries & Markets

Atsugi

$287 23.1%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 22.8% $65

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Atsugi

$274 22.1%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 32.3% $89

Eating Out

Atsugi

$127 10.2%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 66.5% $85

Getting Around

Atsugi

$80 6.4%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 8.9% $7.1

Sport & Entertainment

Atsugi

$75 6%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 17% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Atsugi

$68 5.4%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 77.6% $52

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $523 in Atsugi and $788 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Atsugi pays 337% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $26.00 in Atsugi vs $61.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $287 vs $352 per month, with Atsugi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Atsugi

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

12:58 12:58 PM

21:58 9:58 PM

15 h behind Atsugi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

223,705

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 19, 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 19, 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 →

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Atsugi Nosara 13,100 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Atsugi
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

Atsugi vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Atsugi and Nosara differ by about 48% in total monthly costs ($1,244 vs $1,839 including rent). Atsugi is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 337% higher in Atsugi, 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: $523 in Atsugi versus $788 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Atsugi – a meal for two runs $26.00 versus $61.0 in Nosara. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,244 per month in Atsugi versus $1,839 in Nosara – a 48% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,244 in Atsugi versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Atsugi but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Atsugi 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, Atsugi 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 Atsugi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 48% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.