Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ichihara and Melbourne

For one person, living is cheaper in Ichihara: $1,194 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $19,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Ichihara
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Ichihara Living Index
138

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index

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Ichihara

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,194

/mo nomad

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,194 in Ichihara versus $2,821 in Melbourne.

Ichihara $1,194
Melbourne $2,821

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,963 in Ichihara versus $4,235 in Melbourne.

Ichihara $1,963
Melbourne $4,235

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,731 in Ichihara versus $5,650 in Melbourne.

Ichihara $2,731
Melbourne $5,650

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

The two cities straddle the global median: Ichihara is 12% below, Melbourne is 109% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.25 ¥987

$17.43 A$25.08

-64.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$41.68 ¥6,585

$84.6 A$122

-50.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.96 ¥784

$12.46 A$17.92

-60.19%

Cappuccino

$3.45 ¥545

$4.11 A$5.91

-16.06%

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

$1.05 ¥166

$3.06 A$4.40

-65.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.74 ¥117

$2.52 A$3.62

-70.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.50 ¥395

$9.80 A$14.10

-74.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.09 ¥488

$8.57 A$12.33

-63.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.40 ¥221

$1.48 A$2.14

-5.41%

White Bread (500g)

$1.66 ¥263

$2.94 A$4.23

-43.54%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.60 ¥568

$2.66 A$3.82

35.34%

Eggs

$1.99 ¥315

$5.54 A$7.97

-64.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.39 ¥1,641

$10.51 A$15.13

-1.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.90 ¥933

$9.65 A$13.89

-38.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.55 ¥2,298

$15.22 A$21.91

-4.40%

Apples (1kg)

$5.75 ¥908

$3.99 A$5.75

44.11%

Banana (1kg)

$2.77 ¥438

$3.02 A$4.34

-8.28%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.81 ¥445

$3.10 A$4.46

-9.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.12 ¥650

$4.82 A$6.93

-14.52%

Potato (1kg)

$2.59 ¥409

$3.03 A$4.36

-14.52%

Onion (1kg)

$2.58 ¥408

$2.44 A$3.52

5.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.27 ¥201

$2.46 A$3.54

-48.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.79 ¥125

$1.63 A$2.34

-51.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.87 ¥612

$44.07 A$63.4

-91.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.27 ¥991

$12.70 A$18.28

-50.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 ¥271

$5.54 A$7.97

-68.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.00 ¥316

$5.23 A$7.52

-61.76%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.49 ¥236

$3.74 A$5.38

-60.16%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.1 ¥8,389

$138 A$198

-61.39%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.08 ¥486

$4.51 A$6.50

-31.71%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.75 ¥435

$1.36 A$1.96

102.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.19 ¥3,190

$30.45 A$43.81

-33.69%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.11 ¥176

$1.47 A$2.12

-24.49%

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

$21.6K ¥3.4M

$29.0K A$41.7K

-25.46%

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

$18.4K ¥2.9M

$26.5K A$38.1K

-30.33%

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

$129 ¥20.4K

$234 A$336

-44.72%

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

$24.13 ¥3,812

$27.93 A$40.19

-13.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.50 ¥4,976

$55.7 A$80.2

-43.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.03 ¥7,272

$49.40 A$71.1

-6.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

Cinema Ticket

$12.43 ¥1,964

$15.09 A$21.72

-17.63%

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

$632 ¥99.9K

$2,371 A$3,412

-73.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.7K ¥2.3M

$30.2K A$43.5K

-51.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$63.2 ¥9,981

$80.0 A$115

-21.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.21 ¥5,721

$50.7 A$73.0

-28.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$61.6 ¥9,726

$121 A$174

-48.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$100 ¥15.9K

$130 A$188

-23.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$470 ¥74.2K

$1,759 A$2,531

-73.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$326 ¥51.5K

$1,390 A$2,000

-76.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,055 ¥166.7K

$3,494 A$5,027

-69.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$816 ¥128.8K

$2,493 A$3,588

-67.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,722 ¥746.0K

$6,926 A$9,967

-31.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,935 ¥305.7K

$6,445 A$9,274

-69.97%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

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 Ichihara: October 11, 2026

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ichihara

$326 27.3%

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3% 327% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Ichihara

$287 24.1%

Melbourne

$384 13.6% 33.7% $97

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ichihara

$185 15.5%

Melbourne

$317 11.3% 71.7% $133

Eating Out

Ichihara

$132 11.1%

Melbourne

$315 11.2% 138% $182

Clothing & Footwear

Ichihara

$118 9.9%

Melbourne

$172 6.1% 46% $54

Getting Around

Ichihara

$76 6.4%

Melbourne

$164 5.8% 116% $88

Sport & Entertainment

Ichihara

$71 5.9%

Melbourne

$80 2.8% 12.3% $8.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $470 in Ichihara and $1,759 in Melbourne. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $42.00 in Ichihara vs $85.0 in Melbourne for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $287 vs $384 per month, with Ichihara cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Ichihara

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🕒 Local time

04:28 4:28 AM

06:28 6:28 AM

2 h ahead of Ichihara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

269,524

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 18, 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 18, 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 →

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Between locations

Ichihara Melbourne 8,170 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Ichihara
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

Ichihara vs Melbourne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ichihara is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 136% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $1,791 in Ichihara and $4,231 in Melbourne to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $470 in Ichihara versus $1,759 in Melbourne. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $632 in Ichihara versus $2,371 in Melbourne. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 34% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,194 in Ichihara versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Ichihara but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Ichihara 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, Ichihara 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 Ichihara gentler on the wallet – expenses run 136% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.