Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Hamamatsu and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Hamamatsu: $775 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $12,800 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
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Hamamatsu

🇯🇵 Japan

$775

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $775 in Hamamatsu versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Hamamatsu $775
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,251 in Hamamatsu versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Hamamatsu $1,251
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,727 in Hamamatsu versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Hamamatsu $1,727
Nosara $3,818

Living in Hamamatsu costs roughly 58% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Hamamatsu is 43% below, Nosara is 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.86 ¥610

$12.35 ₡5,539

-68.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.71 ¥6,432

$61.2 ₡27.4K

-33.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.07 ¥801

$7.52 ₡3,373

-32.58%

Cappuccino

$3.34 ¥528

$4.41 ₡1,978

-24.26%

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

$1.04 ¥165

$1.74 ₡780

-40.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.75 ¥118

$1.31 ₡587

-42.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.49 ¥393

$3.28 ₡1,471

-24.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.22 ¥508

$4.47 ₡2,004

-27.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.01 ¥160

$1.56 ₡701

-35.26%

White Bread (500g)

$1.64 ¥260

$3.02 ₡1,355

-45.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.65 ¥577

$2.51 ₡1,125

45.42%

Eggs

$1.60 ¥253

$3.57 ₡1,603

-55.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.37 ¥1,638

$7.43 ₡3,333

39.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.92 ¥935

$10.52 ₡4,717

-43.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.44 ¥2,282

$13.97 ₡6,265

3.36%

Apples (1kg)

$5.69 ¥899

$2.35 ₡1,052

142.13%

Banana (1kg)

$2.80 ¥443

$1.61 ₡720

73.91%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.95 ¥467

$4.80 ₡2,152

-38.54%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.14 ¥654

$1.61 ₡724

157.14%

Potato (1kg)

$2.63 ¥415

$3.80 ₡1,703

-30.79%

Onion (1kg)

$2.54 ¥401

$3.69 ₡1,657

-31.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.24 ¥196

$1.13 ₡507

9.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.65 ¥102

$2.66 ₡1,191

-75.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.86 ¥610

$5.18 ₡2,321

-25.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.19 ¥977

$19.88 ₡8,916

-68.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 ¥278

$2.90 ₡1,300

-39.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 ¥333

$3.63 ₡1,626

-41.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡504

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.8 ¥8,017

$72.6 ₡32.6K

-30.13%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.21 ¥507

$2.14 ₡958

50.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.74 ¥433

$1.57 ₡703

74.52%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.75 ¥3,278

$8.52 ₡3,823

143.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.10 ¥173

$1.52 ₡682

-27.63%

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

$21.0K ¥3.3M

$21.6K ₡9.7M

-2.98%

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

$18.1K ¥2.9M

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-47.71%

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

$131 ¥20.7K

$96.3 ₡43.2K

35.88%

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

$8.51 ¥1,345

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-76.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.52 ¥5,137

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-39.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.6 ₡32.1K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.81 ¥2,655

$34.91 ₡15.7K

-51.85%

Cinema Ticket

$12.81 ¥2,024

$7.89 ₡3,539

62.36%

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

$643 ¥101.5K

$494 ₡221.6K

30.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.9K ¥2.4M

$11.9K ₡5.3M

26.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.5 ¥9,712

$53.9 ₡24.2K

13.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.85 ¥5,822

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-33.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$61.0 ¥9,639

$77.9 ₡34.9K

-21.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 ¥16.1K

$79.6 ₡35.7K

28.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$788 ₡353.4K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$794 ₡356.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,939 ₡1.8M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,419 ₡636.5K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,748 ¥1.2M

$6,912 ₡3.1M

12.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,222 ¥825.0K

$1,224 ₡549.0K

326.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,580 ¥249.7K

$864 ₡387.3K

83.02%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.64

8.62

-69.37%

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

Last update for Hamamatsu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Hamamatsu

$280 36.2%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 25.6% $72

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Hamamatsu

$172 22.2%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 8.1% $14

Clothing & Footwear

Hamamatsu

$118 15.2%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 2.1% $2.5

Eating Out

Hamamatsu

$112 14.5%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 88.7% $100

Getting Around

Hamamatsu

$68 * 8.7%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 28.7% $19

Sport & Entertainment

Hamamatsu

$26 * 3.3%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 241% $62

Accommodation & Living

Hamamatsu

- * 0%

Nosara

$794 43.2%

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

Cost Breakdown

Hamamatsu pays 83% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $41.00 in Hamamatsu vs $61.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $280 vs $352 per month, with Hamamatsu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Hamamatsu

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

16:49 4:49 PM

01:49 1:49 AM

15 h behind Hamamatsu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

797,033

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 →

On the map

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Between locations

Hamamatsu Nosara 13,270 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Hamamatsu
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

Hamamatsu vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Hamamatsu and Nosara differ by about 137% in total monthly costs ($775 vs $1,839 including rent). Hamamatsu is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 83% higher in Hamamatsu, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Supermarket bills run roughly 26% higher in Nosara. 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 $61.0 in Nosara. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $775 in Hamamatsu versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Hamamatsu but tight or insufficient in Nosara. 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 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 Hamamatsu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 137% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.