Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kawagoe and Osaka

For one person, living is cheaper in Kawagoe: $1,075 a month against $1,396 in Osaka, rent and utilities included – about $3,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

52

Cost of Living Index in Kawagoe
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Kawagoe Living Index
67

Cost of Living Index in Osaka
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Osaka Living Index

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Kawagoe

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,075

/mo nomad

Osaka

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,396

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Kawagoe and in Osaka

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 Osaka actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,075 in Kawagoe versus $1,396 in Osaka.

Kawagoe $1,075
Osaka $1,396

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,744 in Kawagoe versus $2,027 in Osaka.

Kawagoe $1,744
Osaka $2,027

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,413 in Kawagoe versus $2,658 in Osaka.

Kawagoe $2,413
Osaka $2,658

Living in Kawagoe costs roughly 23% less than in Osaka, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Kawagoe is 21% below, Osaka is 3% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.33 ¥1,000

$6.50 ¥1,026

-2.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$41.23 ¥6,507

$31.93 ¥5,039

29.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.95 ¥782

$5.15 ¥813

-3.88%

Cappuccino

$3.50 ¥552

$3.03 ¥478

15.51%

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

$0.92 ¥145

$1.39 ¥220

-33.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.52 ¥82.6

$0.71 ¥113

-26.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.91 ¥301

$2.75 ¥433

-30.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.74 ¥432

$3.89 ¥614

-29.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 ¥182

$1.46 ¥230

-21.23%

White Bread (500g)

$1.28 ¥202

$1.30 ¥205

-1.54%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.67 ¥579

$5.46 ¥863

-32.78%

Eggs

$2.08 ¥328

$2.03 ¥321

2.46%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.34 ¥1,001

$9.63 ¥1,519

-34.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.90 ¥932

$9.45 ¥1,492

-37.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.16 ¥2,236

$18.58 ¥2,932

-23.79%

Apples (1kg)

$5.82 ¥918

$3.39 ¥535

71.68%

Banana (1kg)

$2.34 ¥369

$2.00 ¥315

17.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.88 ¥455

$2.09 ¥329

37.80%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.12 ¥492

$4.14 ¥654

-24.64%

Potato (1kg)

$2.54 ¥401

$1.57 ¥247

61.78%

Onion (1kg)

$1.85 ¥292

$1.17 ¥185

58.12%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.27 ¥201

$1.37 ¥217

-7.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 ¥120

$0.81 ¥128

-6.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.83 ¥604

$4.02 ¥635

-4.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.65 ¥734

$9.72 ¥1,535

-52.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.81 ¥286

$1.94 ¥305

-6.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 ¥320

$3.19 ¥503

-36.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.97 ¥469

$1.35 ¥213

120.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$52.8 ¥8,338

$32.79 ¥5,176

61.12%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.11 ¥491

$3.90 ¥616

-20.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.63 ¥415

$3.26 ¥514

-19.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.31 ¥3,205

$21.50 ¥3,394

-5.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.06 ¥168

$1.11 ¥176

-4.50%

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

$15.6K ¥2.5M

$22.3K ¥3.5M

-30.03%

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

$12.8K ¥2.0M

$14.9K ¥2.3M

-13.55%

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

$133 ¥21.0K

$141 ¥22.3K

-5.71%

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

$22.18 ¥3,500

$24.00 ¥3,788

-7.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.10 ¥4,909

$30.50 ¥4,813

1.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.19 ¥6,817

$51.7 ¥8,165

-16.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$30.97 ¥4,888

$18.86 ¥2,977

64.21%

Cinema Ticket

$10.95 ¥1,729

$12.85 ¥2,028

-14.79%

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

$320 ¥50.6K

$709 ¥111.8K

-54.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,292 ¥993.1K

$13.2K ¥2.1M

-52.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$31.66 ¥4,997

$48.77 ¥7,698

-35.08%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.72 ¥5,323

$30.94 ¥4,884

8.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$43.55 ¥6,874

$72.9 ¥11.5K

-40.28%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$93.2 ¥14.7K

$90.8 ¥14.3K

2.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$407 ¥64.2K

$732 ¥115.5K

-44.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$267 ¥42.1K

$516 ¥81.4K

-48.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$862 ¥136.1K

$1,693 ¥267.2K

-49.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$605 ¥95.5K

$773 ¥122.0K

-21.77%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,474 ¥390.5K

$6,542 ¥1.0M

-62.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,772 ¥279.6K

$3,063 ¥483.4K

-42.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,597 ¥252.0K

$2,363 ¥372.9K

-32.42%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

1.6

2.21

-27.60%

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

Last update for Kawagoe: October 26, 2026

Last update for Osaka: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Kawagoe

$267 24.8%

Osaka

$516 37% 93.5% $249

Groceries & Markets

Kawagoe

$257 23.9%

Osaka

$305 21.9% 19% $49

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kawagoe

$186 17.3%

Osaka

$195 14% 5% $9.3

Eating Out

Kawagoe

$128 11.9%

Osaka

$134 9.6% 4.3% $5.5

Clothing & Footwear

Kawagoe

$91 8.5%

Osaka

$110 7.9% 20.4% $19

Getting Around

Kawagoe

$81 7.5%

Osaka

$58 4.2% 27.9% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Kawagoe

$65 6.1%

Osaka

$77 5.6% 18.9% $12

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $407 in Kawagoe and $732 in Osaka. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Osaka pays 48% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $41 in Kawagoe vs $32 in Osaka. Groceries flip the comparison at $257 vs $305, with Kawagoe cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Kawagoe

🇯🇵 Osaka

🕒 Local time

16:31 4:31 PM

Same time as Kawagoe

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

350,745

2,691,185

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.34 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.68 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.34 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.68 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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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 Osaka: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,075 in Kawagoe and $1,396 in Osaka, so Kawagoe is about 23% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 32% lower in Kawagoe. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $407 in Kawagoe versus $732 in Osaka. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Osaka – a meal for two runs $32 versus $41 in Kawagoe. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,075 per month in Kawagoe versus $1,396 in Osaka – Kawagoe is about 23% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Kawagoe 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, Kawagoe and Osaka are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Kawagoe wins on affordability, Osaka on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.