Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ibaraki and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Ibaraki: $1,130 a month against $1,835 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $8,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

55

Cost of Living Index in Ibaraki
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Ibaraki Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Ibaraki

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,130

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,835

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,130 in Ibaraki versus $1,835 in Nosara.

Ibaraki $1,130
Nosara $1,835

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,756 in Ibaraki versus $2,825 in Nosara.

Ibaraki $1,756
Nosara $2,825

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,383 in Ibaraki versus $3,814 in Nosara.

Ibaraki $2,383
Nosara $3,814

Living in Ibaraki costs roughly 38% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ibaraki is 17% below, Nosara is 35% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.43 ¥1,016

$12.34 ₡5,535

-47.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.94 ¥4,888

$61.3 ₡27.5K

-49.54%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.95 ¥781

$7.76 ₡3,481

-36.21%

Cappuccino

$3.04 ¥480

$4.44 ₡1,992

-31.53%

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

$1.15 ¥182

$1.79 ₡803

-35.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.75 ¥119

$1.29 ₡580

-41.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.66 ¥421

$3.24 ₡1,451

-17.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.16 ¥499

$4.43 ₡1,985

-28.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.70 ¥427

$1.55 ₡696

74.19%

White Bread (500g)

$1.54 ¥244

$3.08 ₡1,380

-50.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.04 ¥638

$2.53 ₡1,133

59.68%

Eggs

$2.12 ¥334

$3.45 ₡1,546

-38.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.53 ¥1,663

$7.32 ₡3,284

43.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.66 ¥1,053

$10.24 ₡4,594

-34.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.42 ¥2,594

$14.10 ₡6,326

16.45%

Apples (1kg)

$3.79 ¥599

$2.29 ₡1,027

65.50%

Banana (1kg)

$2.26 ¥357

$1.64 ₡737

37.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.81 ¥443

$4.79 ₡2,149

-41.34%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.08 ¥645

$1.64 ₡735

148.78%

Potato (1kg)

$2.43 ¥384

$3.85 ₡1,727

-36.88%

Onion (1kg)

$2.56 ¥404

$3.75 ₡1,681

-31.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.24 ¥196

$1.09 ₡488

13.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.85 ¥134

$2.59 ₡1,160

-67.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.33 ¥526

$5.12 ₡2,295

-34.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.66 ¥1,052

$19.92 ₡8,931

-66.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 ¥282

$2.80 ₡1,255

-36.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 ¥340

$3.52 ₡1,580

-38.92%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.68 ¥266

$1.22 ₡549

37.70%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.3 ¥8,582

$73.9 ₡33.1K

-26.50%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.65 ¥735

$2.17 ₡973

114.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.81 ¥444

$1.56 ₡698

80.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.30 ¥2,890

$8.67 ₡3,886

111.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.13 ¥178

$1.55 ₡697

-27.10%

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

$21.4K ¥3.4M

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-38.18%

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

$15.1K ¥2.4M

$38.7K ₡17.4M

-60.92%

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

$136 ¥21.5K

$94.8 ₡42.5K

43.37%

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

$23.88 ¥3,773

$36.15 ₡16.2K

-33.94%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.10 ¥4,913

$53.1 ₡23.8K

-41.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 ¥8,140

$73.8 ₡33.1K

-30.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$35.63 ₡16.0K

Cinema Ticket

$12.95 ¥2,046

$7.91 ₡3,548

63.72%

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

$464 ¥73.3K

$490 ₡219.9K

-5.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.6K ¥2.1M

$11.9K ₡5.3M

14.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$26.48 ¥4,184

$54.8 ₡24.6K

-51.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.63 ¥4,997

$55.9 ₡25.1K

-43.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$67.2 ¥10.6K

$80.4 ₡36.0K

-16.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.9 ¥12.6K

$77.9 ₡34.9K

2.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$401 ¥63.4K

$801 ₡359.1K

-49.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$260 ¥41.1K

$790 ₡354.1K

-67.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,102 ¥174.2K

$4,005 ₡1.8M

-72.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$528 ¥83.3K

$1,409 ₡632.0K

-62.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,937 ¥622.0K

$7,064 ₡3.2M

-44.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,554 ¥245.6K

$1,236 ₡554.3K

25.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,553 ¥403.3K

$887 ₡397.6K

187.97%

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 Ibaraki: October 19, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Ibaraki

$300 26.5%

Nosara

$350 19.1% 16.8% $50

Accommodation & Living

Ibaraki

$260 23%

Nosara

$790 43% 204% $529

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ibaraki

$191 16.9%

Nosara

$184 10% 3.6% $6.9

Eating Out

Ibaraki

$130 11.5%

Nosara

$213 11.6% 63.6% $83

Clothing & Footwear

Ibaraki

$92 8.2%

Nosara

$121 6.6% 31.1% $29

Getting Around

Ibaraki

$80 7.1%

Nosara

$89 4.8% 11.3% $9

Sport & Entertainment

Ibaraki

$77 6.9%

Nosara

$90 4.9% 15.7% $12

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $401 in Ibaraki and $801 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ibaraki pays 188% 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 Ibaraki vs $61.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $300 vs $350 per month, with Ibaraki cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Ibaraki

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

07:24 7:24 AM

16:24 4:24 PM

15 h behind Ibaraki

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

287,730

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 20, 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 20, 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

Ibaraki Nosara 13,410 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Ibaraki
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

Ibaraki vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ibaraki and Nosara differ by about 62% in total monthly costs ($1,130 vs $1,835 including rent). Ibaraki is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 188% higher in Ibaraki, 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: $401 in Ibaraki versus $801 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 17% higher in Nosara. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Ibaraki – 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 $1,130 in Ibaraki versus $1,835 in Nosara, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Ibaraki but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Ibaraki 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, Ibaraki 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 Ibaraki gentler on the wallet – expenses run 62% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.