Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ichikawa and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Ichikawa: $1,245 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Phuket outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

58

Cost of Living Index in Ichikawa
Learn more

Ichikawa Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

Jump to prices

Ichikawa

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,245

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ichikawa and in Phuket

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,245 in Ichikawa versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Ichikawa $1,245
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,888 in Ichikawa versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Ichikawa $1,888
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,531 in Ichikawa versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Ichikawa $2,531
Phuket $3,154

Living in Ichikawa costs roughly 3% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Ichikawa 8% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.21 ¥822

$4.47 ฿151

16.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.08 ¥5,059

$32.41 ฿1,094

-1.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.32 ¥681

$8.81 ฿297

-50.96%

Cappuccino

$2.21 ¥348

$2.83 ฿95.4

-21.91%

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

$0.72 ¥113

$0.87 ฿29.42

-17.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.39 ¥61.3

$0.49 ฿16.66

-20.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.49 ¥393

$2.56 ฿86.3

-2.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.25 ¥513

$3.68 ฿124

-11.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 ¥219

$1.66 ฿56.0

-16.27%

White Bread (500g)

$1.66 ¥262

$1.46 ฿49.32

13.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.68 ¥581

$1.50 ฿50.5

145.33%

Eggs

$1.99 ¥314

$2.09 ฿70.5

-4.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.53 ¥1,661

$19.07 ฿643

-44.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.11 ¥964

$3.30 ฿111

85.15%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.23 ¥2,243

$10.91 ฿368

30.43%

Apples (1kg)

$5.77 ¥910

$2.93 ฿98.9

96.93%

Banana (1kg)

$2.80 ¥441

$1.69 ฿57.0

65.68%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.80 ¥442

$2.25 ฿75.8

24.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.13 ¥651

$2.08 ฿70.1

98.56%

Potato (1kg)

$2.58 ¥407

$1.51 ฿51.0

70.86%

Onion (1kg)

$2.59 ¥408

$1.38 ฿46.54

87.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.26 ¥198

$1.07 ฿35.97

17.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 ¥120

$0.52 ฿17.51

46.15%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.84 ¥606

$4.20 ฿142

-8.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.29 ¥993

$18.79 ฿634

-66.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 ¥274

$1.82 ฿61.5

-4.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.12 ¥334

$2.84 ฿95.9

-25.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.60 ¥252

$1.45 ฿49.00

10.34%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$63.2 ¥9,958

$56.7 ฿1,912

11.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.22 ¥507

$3.02 ฿102

6.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.71 ¥428

$1.02 ฿34.34

165.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.75 ¥3,273

$3.69 ฿125

462.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.12 ¥176

$1.47 ฿49.78

-23.81%

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

$21.7K ¥3.4M

$26.8K ฿903.7K

-18.78%

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

$16.0K ¥2.5M

$26.7K ฿900.8K

-40.02%

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

$134 ¥21.1K

$96.4 ฿3,252

39.11%

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

$24.14 ¥3,806

$11.26 ฿380

114.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.17 ¥5,073

$16.85 ฿569

90.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.56 ¥7,184

$67.2 ฿2,269

-32.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$12.91 ¥2,035

$7.50 ฿253

72.13%

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

$812 ¥128.0K

$476 ฿16.1K

70.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.9K ¥2.4M

$11.3K ฿380.1K

32.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.9 ¥9,767

$62.4 ฿2,105

-0.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.85 ¥5,810

$28.41 ฿959

29.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$62.8 ¥9,895

$94.3 ฿3,182

-33.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$103 ¥16.3K

$85.8 ฿2,896

20.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$615 ¥97.0K

$716 ฿24.2K

-14.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$385 ¥60.8K

$491 ฿16.6K

-21.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,022 ¥161.2K

$1,927 ฿65.0K

-46.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$686 ¥108.2K

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-52.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,163 ¥656.4K

$4,175 ฿140.9K

-0.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,124 ¥334.9K

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-30.24%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.64

5.57

-52.60%

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

Last update for Ichikawa: October 26, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ichikawa

$385 31%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 27.4% $105

Groceries & Markets

Ichikawa

$288 23.1%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 7.6% $22

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ichikawa

$190 15.3%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 34.6% $66

Clothing & Footwear

Ichikawa

$119 9.6%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 2.3% $2.7

Eating Out

Ichikawa

$105 8.4%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 16.4% $17

Getting Around

Ichikawa

$86 6.9%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 18.2% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Ichikawa

$71 5.7%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 15.2% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $615 in Ichikawa and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $32 in Ichikawa vs $32 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $288 vs $266, with Phuket cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Ichikawa

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

16:59 4:59 PM

14:59 2:59 PM

2 h behind Ichikawa

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

496,676

79,308

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.34 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.68 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to JPY – Japanese Yen Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇵 Japanese Yen (¥)

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.34 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.68 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.66 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to JPY in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ichikawa Phuket 5,230 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Ichikawa
Phuket

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

Ichikawa vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,245 in Ichikawa and $1,278 in Phuket, so Ichikawa is about 3% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,868 in Ichikawa and $1,917 in Phuket 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: $615 in Ichikawa versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Phuket pay roughly 8% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you’ll spend $1,245 per month in Ichikawa versus $1,278 in Phuket – Ichikawa is about 3% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Ichikawa gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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, Ichikawa and Phuket are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.