Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kamakura and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Kamakura: $1,194 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $7,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Kamakura
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Kamakura Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Kamakura

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,194

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,194 in Kamakura versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Kamakura $1,194
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,888 in Kamakura versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Kamakura $1,888
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,582 in Kamakura versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Kamakura $2,582
Nosara $3,818

Living in Kamakura costs roughly 35% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Kamakura is 12% below, Nosara is 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.34 ¥1,002

$12.35 ₡5,539

-48.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.78 ¥5,020

$61.2 ₡27.4K

-48.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.98 ¥787

$7.52 ₡3,373

-33.78%

Cappuccino

$2.48 ¥392

$4.41 ₡1,978

-43.76%

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

$1.08 ¥171

$1.74 ₡780

-37.93%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.80 ¥127

$1.31 ₡587

-38.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.57 ¥406

$3.28 ₡1,471

-21.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.22 ¥509

$4.47 ₡2,004

-27.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.38 ¥219

$1.56 ₡701

-11.54%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 ¥237

$3.02 ₡1,355

-50.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.67 ¥580

$2.51 ₡1,125

46.22%

Eggs

$1.99 ¥315

$3.57 ₡1,603

-44.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.47 ¥1,654

$7.43 ₡3,333

40.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.18 ¥976

$10.52 ₡4,717

-41.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.39 ¥2,274

$13.97 ₡6,265

3.01%

Apples (1kg)

$5.61 ¥886

$2.35 ₡1,052

138.72%

Banana (1kg)

$2.69 ¥424

$1.61 ₡720

67.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.89 ¥457

$4.80 ₡2,152

-39.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.30 ¥679

$1.61 ₡724

167.08%

Potato (1kg)

$2.50 ¥395

$3.80 ₡1,703

-34.21%

Onion (1kg)

$2.55 ¥403

$3.69 ₡1,657

-30.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 ¥179

$1.13 ₡507

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 ¥120

$2.66 ₡1,191

-71.43%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.71 ¥587

$5.18 ₡2,321

-28.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.44 ¥1,017

$19.88 ₡8,916

-67.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.81 ¥286

$2.90 ₡1,300

-37.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.04 ¥322

$3.63 ₡1,626

-43.80%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 ¥237

$1.12 ₡504

33.93%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.5 ¥8,926

$72.6 ₡32.6K

-22.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.08 ¥487

$2.14 ₡958

43.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.76 ¥436

$1.57 ₡703

75.80%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.85 ¥2,505

$8.52 ₡3,823

86.03%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.10 ¥173

$1.52 ₡682

-27.63%

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

$21.6K ¥3.4M

$21.6K ₡9.7M

0.10%

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

$15.3K ¥2.4M

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-55.77%

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

$118 ¥18.6K

$96.3 ₡43.2K

22.14%

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

$23.42 ¥3,700

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-34.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.10 ¥4,913

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-41.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.8 ¥8,335

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-26.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$12.67 ¥2,001

$7.89 ₡3,539

60.58%

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

$584 ¥92.3K

$494 ₡221.6K

18.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ¥2.3M

$11.9K ₡5.3M

24.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$50.9 ¥8,044

$53.9 ₡24.2K

-5.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.32 ¥5,580

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-36.26%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$59.9 ¥9,456

$77.9 ₡34.9K

-23.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.5 ¥15.4K

$79.6 ₡35.7K

22.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$568 ¥89.7K

$788 ₡353.4K

-27.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$346 ¥54.7K

$794 ₡356.2K

-56.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,212 ¥191.4K

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-69.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$748 ¥118.3K

$1,419 ₡636.5K

-47.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,369 ¥690.2K

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-36.79%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,979 ¥312.6K

$1,224 ₡549.0K

61.64%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,785 ¥282.0K

$864 ₡387.3K

106.71%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.02

8.62

-76.57%

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

Last update for Kamakura: October 10, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Kamakura

$346 29%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 129% $448

Groceries & Markets

Kamakura

$286 24%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 23% $66

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kamakura

$172 14.4%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 7.9% $14

Eating Out

Kamakura

$122 10.2%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 73.3% $90

Clothing & Footwear

Kamakura

$110 9.2%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 9.6% $10

Getting Around

Kamakura

$79 6.7%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 9.7% $7.7

Sport & Entertainment

Kamakura

$78 6.5%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 11.9% $9.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $568 in Kamakura and $788 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kamakura pays 107% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $32.00 in Kamakura vs $61.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $286 vs $352 per month, with Kamakura cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Kamakura

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

06:59 6:59 AM

15:59 3:59 PM

15 h behind Kamakura

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

172,710

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 18, 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 18, 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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Highest

Between locations

Kamakura Nosara 13,100 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Kamakura
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

Kamakura vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kamakura is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 54% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 107% higher in Kamakura, 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: $568 in Kamakura versus $788 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $584 in Kamakura versus $494 in Nosara. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 23% higher in Nosara. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,194 in Kamakura versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Kamakura but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Kamakura the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Kamakura is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Nosara, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Kamakura 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 Kamakura gentler on the wallet – expenses run 54% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.