Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Hamamatsu and Melbourne

For one person, living is cheaper in Hamamatsu: $775 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $24,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

38

Cost of Living Index in Hamamatsu
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Hamamatsu Living Index
138

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index

Jump to prices

Hamamatsu

🇯🇵 Japan

$775

/mo nomad

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Hamamatsu and in Melbourne

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $775 in Hamamatsu versus $2,821 in Melbourne.

Hamamatsu $775
Melbourne $2,821

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,251 in Hamamatsu versus $4,235 in Melbourne.

Hamamatsu $1,251
Melbourne $4,235

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,727 in Hamamatsu versus $5,650 in Melbourne.

Hamamatsu $1,727
Melbourne $5,650

Living in Hamamatsu costs roughly 73% less than in Melbourne, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Hamamatsu is 43% below, Melbourne is 109% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.86 ¥610

$17.43 A$25.08

-77.85%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.71 ¥6,432

$84.6 A$122

-51.85%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.07 ¥801

$12.46 A$17.92

-59.31%

Cappuccino

$3.34 ¥528

$4.11 A$5.91

-18.73%

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

$1.04 ¥165

$3.06 A$4.40

-66.01%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.75 ¥118

$2.52 A$3.62

-70.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.49 ¥393

$9.80 A$14.10

-74.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.22 ¥508

$8.57 A$12.33

-62.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.01 ¥160

$1.48 A$2.14

-31.76%

White Bread (500g)

$1.64 ¥260

$2.94 A$4.23

-44.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.65 ¥577

$2.66 A$3.82

37.22%

Eggs

$1.60 ¥253

$5.54 A$7.97

-71.12%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.37 ¥1,638

$10.51 A$15.13

-1.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.92 ¥935

$9.65 A$13.89

-38.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.44 ¥2,282

$15.22 A$21.91

-5.12%

Apples (1kg)

$5.69 ¥899

$3.99 A$5.75

42.61%

Banana (1kg)

$2.80 ¥443

$3.02 A$4.34

-7.28%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.95 ¥467

$3.10 A$4.46

-4.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.14 ¥654

$4.82 A$6.93

-14.11%

Potato (1kg)

$2.63 ¥415

$3.03 A$4.36

-13.20%

Onion (1kg)

$2.54 ¥401

$2.44 A$3.52

4.10%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.24 ¥196

$2.46 A$3.54

-49.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.65 ¥102

$1.63 A$2.34

-60.12%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.86 ¥610

$44.07 A$63.4

-91.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.19 ¥977

$12.70 A$18.28

-51.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 ¥278

$5.54 A$7.97

-68.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 ¥333

$5.23 A$7.52

-59.66%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.8 ¥8,017

$138 A$198

-63.10%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.21 ¥507

$4.51 A$6.50

-28.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.74 ¥433

$1.36 A$1.96

101.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.75 ¥3,278

$30.45 A$43.81

-31.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.10 ¥173

$1.47 A$2.12

-25.17%

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

$21.0K ¥3.3M

$29.0K A$41.7K

-27.71%

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

$18.1K ¥2.9M

$26.5K A$38.1K

-31.82%

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

$131 ¥20.7K

$234 A$336

-44.01%

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

$8.51 ¥1,345

$27.93 A$40.19

-69.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.52 ¥5,137

$55.7 A$80.2

-41.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.81 ¥2,655

$21.48 A$30.91

-21.74%

Cinema Ticket

$12.81 ¥2,024

$15.09 A$21.72

-15.11%

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

$643 ¥101.5K

$2,371 A$3,412

-72.90%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.9K ¥2.4M

$30.2K A$43.5K

-50.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.5 ¥9,712

$80.0 A$115

-23.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.85 ¥5,822

$50.7 A$73.0

-27.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$61.0 ¥9,639

$121 A$174

-49.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 ¥16.1K

$130 A$188

-21.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,748 ¥1.2M

$6,926 A$9,967

11.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,222 ¥825.0K

$6,445 A$9,274

-18.97%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,580 ¥249.7K

$4,383 A$6,307

-63.94%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.64

5.9

-55.25%

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

Last update for Hamamatsu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Hamamatsu

$280 36.2%

Melbourne

$384 13.6% 36.9% $104

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Hamamatsu

$172 22.2%

Melbourne

$317 11.3% 84.6% $145

Clothing & Footwear

Hamamatsu

$118 15.2%

Melbourne

$172 6.1% 46% $54

Eating Out

Hamamatsu

$112 14.5%

Melbourne

$315 11.2% 180% $202

Getting Around

Hamamatsu

$68 * 8.7%

Melbourne

$164 5.8% 142% $96

Sport & Entertainment

Hamamatsu

$26 * 3.3%

Melbourne

$80 2.8% 211% $54

Accommodation & Living

Hamamatsu

- * 0%

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Melbourne pays 177% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $41.00 in Hamamatsu vs $85.0 in Melbourne for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $280 vs $384 per month, with Hamamatsu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Hamamatsu

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🕒 Local time

16:46 4:46 PM

18:46 6:46 PM

2 h ahead of Hamamatsu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

797,033

5,031,195

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AUD, 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).

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.695 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.618 EUR).

USD to JPY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Hamamatsu Melbourne 8,100 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Hamamatsu
Melbourne

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

Hamamatsu vs Melbourne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Hamamatsu and Melbourne differ by about 264% in total monthly costs ($775 vs $2,821 including rent). Hamamatsu is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 177% lower in Melbourne. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Supermarket bills run roughly 37% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Hamamatsu – a meal for two runs $41.00 versus $85.0 in Melbourne. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $775 in Hamamatsu versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Hamamatsu but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Hamamatsu 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, Hamamatsu and Melbourne 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 Hamamatsu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 264% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.