Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nosara and Kamakura

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.

89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index
57

Cost of Living Index in Kamakura
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Kamakura Living Index

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Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Kamakura

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,194

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nosara and in Kamakura

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

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

Nosara $1,839
Kamakura $1,194

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

Nosara $2,828
Kamakura $1,888

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

Nosara $3,818
Kamakura $2,582

Living in Nosara is roughly 54% more expensive than in Kamakura, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.35 ₡5,539

$6.34 ¥1,002

94.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 ₡27.4K

$31.78 ¥5,020

92.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.52 ₡3,373

$4.98 ¥787

51.00%

Cappuccino

$4.41 ₡1,978

$2.48 ¥392

77.82%

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

$1.74 ₡780

$1.08 ¥171

61.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₡587

$0.80 ¥127

63.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 ₡1,471

$2.57 ¥406

27.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 ₡2,004

$3.22 ¥509

38.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 ₡701

$1.38 ¥219

13.04%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 ₡1,355

$1.50 ¥237

101.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 ₡1,125

$3.67 ¥580

-31.61%

Eggs

$3.57 ₡1,603

$1.99 ¥315

79.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.43 ₡3,333

$10.47 ¥1,654

-29.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.52 ₡4,717

$6.18 ¥976

70.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.97 ₡6,265

$14.39 ¥2,274

-2.92%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ₡1,052

$5.61 ¥886

-58.11%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 ₡720

$2.69 ¥424

-40.15%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.80 ₡2,152

$2.89 ¥457

66.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.61 ₡724

$4.30 ¥679

-62.56%

Potato (1kg)

$3.80 ₡1,703

$2.50 ¥395

52.00%

Onion (1kg)

$3.69 ₡1,657

$2.55 ¥403

44.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 ₡507

$1.13 ¥179

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.66 ₡1,191

$0.76 ¥120

250.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.18 ₡2,321

$3.71 ¥587

39.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.88 ₡8,916

$6.44 ¥1,017

208.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.90 ₡1,300

$1.81 ¥286

60.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ₡1,626

$2.04 ¥322

77.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡504

$1.50 ¥237

-25.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

$56.5 ¥8,926

28.57%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.14 ₡958

$3.08 ¥487

-30.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.57 ₡703

$2.76 ¥436

-43.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.52 ₡3,823

$15.85 ¥2,505

-46.25%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 ₡682

$1.10 ¥173

38.18%

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

$21.6K ₡9.7M

$21.6K ¥3.4M

-0.10%

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

$34.5K ₡15.5M

$15.3K ¥2.4M

126.07%

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

$96.3 ₡43.2K

$118 ¥18.6K

-18.13%

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

$35.89 ₡16.1K

$23.42 ¥3,700

53.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.6 ₡24.0K

$31.10 ¥4,913

72.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.6 ₡32.1K

$52.8 ¥8,335

35.72%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$7.89 ₡3,539

$12.67 ¥2,001

-37.73%

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

$494 ₡221.6K

$584 ¥92.3K

-15.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₡5.3M

$14.8K ¥2.3M

-19.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 ₡24.2K

$50.9 ¥8,044

5.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.4 ₡24.8K

$35.32 ¥5,580

56.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.9 ₡34.9K

$59.9 ¥9,456

30.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.6 ₡35.7K

$97.5 ¥15.4K

-18.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$788 ₡353.4K

$568 ¥89.7K

38.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$794 ₡356.2K

$346 ¥54.7K

129.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,939 ₡1.8M

$1,212 ¥191.4K

225.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,419 ₡636.5K

$748 ¥118.3K

89.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,912 ₡3.1M

$4,369 ¥690.2K

58.21%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,224 ₡549.0K

$1,979 ¥312.6K

-38.13%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$864 ₡387.3K

$1,785 ¥282.0K

-51.62%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

2.02

326.73%

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

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Last update for Kamakura: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nosara

$794 43.2%

Kamakura

$346 29% 56.4% $448

Groceries & Markets

Nosara

$352 19.2%

Kamakura

$286 24% 18.7% $66

Eating Out

Nosara

$212 11.5%

Kamakura

$122 10.2% 42.3% $90

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nosara

$186 10.1%

Kamakura

$172 14.4% 7.3% $14

Clothing & Footwear

Nosara

$120 6.5%

Kamakura

$110 9.2% 8.7% $10

Sport & Entertainment

Nosara

$87 4.8%

Kamakura

$78 6.5% 10.6% $9.3

Getting Around

Nosara

$87 4.7%

Kamakura

$79 6.7% 8.9% $7.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $788 in Nosara and $568 in Kamakura. 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: $61.0 in Nosara vs $32.00 in Kamakura for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $352 vs $286 per month, with Kamakura cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Nosara

🇯🇵 Kamakura

🕒 Local time

20:51 8:51 PM

11:51 11:51 AM

15 h ahead of Nosara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,912

172,710

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JPY, USD, EUR to CRC – Costa Rican Colón Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

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).

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).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Nosara Kamakura 13,100 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Nosara
Kamakura

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

Nosara vs Kamakura: 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.

On paper, salaries run 107% lower in Kamakura. 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: $788 in Nosara versus $568 in Kamakura. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $494 in Nosara versus $584 in Kamakura. 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, Nosara and Kamakura 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.