Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kawagoe and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Kawagoe: $1,084 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $9,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

53

Cost of Living Index in Kawagoe
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Kawagoe Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
Learn more

Nosara Living Index

Jump to prices

Kawagoe

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,084

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,084 in Kawagoe versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Kawagoe $1,084
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,747 in Kawagoe versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Kawagoe $1,747
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,409 in Kawagoe versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Kawagoe $2,409
Nosara $3,818

Living in Kawagoe costs roughly 41% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Kawagoe is 20% below, Nosara is 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.38 ¥1,008

$12.35 ₡5,539

-48.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.89 ¥6,460

$61.2 ₡27.4K

-33.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.02 ¥793

$7.52 ₡3,373

-33.24%

Cappuccino

$3.41 ¥539

$4.41 ₡1,978

-22.68%

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

$0.93 ¥146

$1.74 ₡780

-46.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ¥78.0

$1.31 ₡587

-62.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.92 ¥304

$3.28 ₡1,471

-41.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.64 ¥417

$4.47 ₡2,004

-40.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 ¥183

$1.56 ₡701

-25.64%

White Bread (500g)

$1.29 ¥203

$3.02 ₡1,355

-57.28%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.59 ¥566

$2.51 ₡1,125

43.03%

Eggs

$2.02 ¥320

$3.57 ₡1,603

-43.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.14 ¥970

$7.43 ₡3,333

-17.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.24 ¥987

$10.52 ₡4,717

-40.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.67 ¥2,318

$13.97 ₡6,265

5.01%

Apples (1kg)

$5.61 ¥887

$2.35 ₡1,052

138.72%

Banana (1kg)

$2.30 ¥364

$1.61 ₡720

42.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.81 ¥445

$4.80 ₡2,152

-41.46%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.11 ¥492

$1.61 ₡724

93.17%

Potato (1kg)

$2.55 ¥403

$3.80 ₡1,703

-32.89%

Onion (1kg)

$1.87 ¥296

$3.69 ₡1,657

-49.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 ¥206

$1.13 ₡507

15.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.74 ¥117

$2.66 ₡1,191

-72.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.86 ¥609

$5.18 ₡2,321

-25.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.87 ¥770

$19.88 ₡8,916

-75.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 ¥275

$2.90 ₡1,300

-40.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 ¥320

$3.63 ₡1,626

-44.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.98 ¥471

$1.12 ₡504

166.07%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.7 ¥8,488

$72.6 ₡32.6K

-26.03%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.19 ¥504

$2.14 ₡958

49.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.73 ¥431

$1.57 ₡703

73.89%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.42 ¥3,226

$8.52 ₡3,823

139.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.11 ¥175

$1.52 ₡682

-26.97%

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

$15.7K ¥2.5M

$21.6K ₡9.7M

-27.21%

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

$12.9K ¥2.0M

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-62.72%

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

$131 ¥20.7K

$96.3 ₡43.2K

35.93%

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

$22.38 ¥3,536

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-37.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.77 ¥5,020

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-40.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.88 ¥6,932

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-38.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$32.08 ¥5,068

$34.91 ₡15.7K

-8.11%

Cinema Ticket

$11.12 ¥1,757

$7.89 ₡3,539

40.94%

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

$315 ¥49.8K

$494 ₡221.6K

-36.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,305 ¥996.1K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

-46.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$31.87 ¥5,035

$53.9 ₡24.2K

-40.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.30 ¥5,261

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-39.90%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$43.84 ¥6,926

$77.9 ₡34.9K

-43.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.3 ¥15.2K

$79.6 ₡35.7K

20.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$417 ¥65.8K

$788 ₡353.4K

-47.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$273 ¥43.1K

$794 ₡356.2K

-65.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$844 ¥133.4K

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-78.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$594 ¥93.8K

$1,419 ₡636.5K

-58.17%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,561 ¥404.5K

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-62.95%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,760 ¥278.0K

$1,224 ₡549.0K

43.74%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,614 ¥255.0K

$864 ₡387.3K

86.90%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

1.6

8.62

-81.44%

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

Last update for Kawagoe: October 12, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Kawagoe

$273 25.2%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 191% $521

Groceries & Markets

Kawagoe

$257 23.7%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 36.9% $95

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kawagoe

$185 17.1%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 0.4% $0.7

Eating Out

Kawagoe

$128 11.8%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 65.9% $84

Clothing & Footwear

Kawagoe

$92 8.5%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 30% $28

Getting Around

Kawagoe

$83 7.6%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 5.6% $4.6

Sport & Entertainment

Kawagoe

$66 6.1%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 32.1% $21

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $417 in Kawagoe and $788 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kawagoe pays 87% 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 Kawagoe vs $61.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $257 vs $352 per month, with Kawagoe cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Kawagoe

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

09:52 9:52 AM

18:52 6:52 PM

15 h behind Kawagoe

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

350,745

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

Kawagoe Nosara 13,060 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Kawagoe
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

Kawagoe vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kawagoe and Nosara differ by about 70% in total monthly costs ($1,084 vs $1,839 including rent). Kawagoe is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 87% higher in Kawagoe, 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: $417 in Kawagoe versus $788 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Kawagoe – 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.

All in, you'll spend $1,084 per month in Kawagoe versus $1,839 in Nosara – a 70% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,084 in Kawagoe versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Kawagoe but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Kawagoe 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, Kawagoe 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 Kawagoe gentler on the wallet – expenses run 70% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.