Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Obihiro and Shanghai

For one person, living costs are similar in Obihiro and in Shanghai: $1,213 and $1,256 a month, rent and utilities included.

59

Cost of Living Index in Obihiro
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Obihiro Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Shanghai
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Shanghai Living Index

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Obihiro

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,213

/mo nomad

Shanghai

🇨🇳 China

$1,256

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Obihiro and in Shanghai

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

A single person spends $1,213 per month in Obihiro vs $1,256 in Shanghai, rent included.

Obihiro $1,213
Shanghai $1,256

A couple spends around $1,909 per month in Obihiro vs $1,999 in Shanghai, rent included.

Obihiro $1,909
Shanghai $1,999

A family of three spends $2,605 per month in Obihiro vs $2,743 in Shanghai, rent included.

Obihiro $2,605
Shanghai $2,743

Obihiro is about 3% cheaper than Shanghai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Obihiro and Shanghai are more affordable than the global median – Obihiro 11% lower, Shanghai 7% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.85 ¥1,241

$4.45 ¥29.78

76.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.69 ¥5,007

$30.29 ¥203

4.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.09 ¥804

$5.09 ¥34.01

Cappuccino

$3.01 ¥475

$3.43 ¥22.96

-12.24%

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

$1.20 ¥189

$0.62 ¥4.15

93.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.63 ¥257

$0.39 ¥2.58

317.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.67 ¥421

$1.23 ¥8.25

117.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.07 ¥485

$2.21 ¥14.81

38.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.52 ¥239

$1.85 ¥12.37

-17.84%

White Bread (500g)

$1.54 ¥243

$1.95 ¥13.02

-21.03%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.25 ¥672

$1.00 ¥6.67

325.00%

Eggs

$2.08 ¥329

$1.71 ¥11.43

21.64%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.14 ¥1,602

$17.47 ¥117

-41.96%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.60 ¥1,043

$3.24 ¥21.66

103.70%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.76 ¥2,648

$12.99 ¥86.8

29.02%

Apples (1kg)

$3.67 ¥580

$2.24 ¥14.98

63.84%

Banana (1kg)

$2.36 ¥373

$1.68 ¥11.25

40.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.92 ¥462

$1.95 ¥13.03

49.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.28 ¥677

$1.73 ¥11.60

147.40%

Potato (1kg)

$2.48 ¥392

$0.76 ¥5.10

226.32%

Onion (1kg)

$2.45 ¥387

$0.92 ¥6.15

166.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 ¥202

$0.66 ¥4.41

93.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.80 ¥126

$0.60 ¥4.00

33.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.84 ¥607

$3.69 ¥24.65

4.07%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.64 ¥1,050

$10.92 ¥73.0

-39.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 ¥297

$0.87 ¥5.85

116.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.16 ¥341

$1.63 ¥10.87

32.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.44 ¥228

$0.62 ¥4.13

132.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$52.6 ¥8,309

$30.38 ¥203

73.11%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.07 ¥485

$2.06 ¥13.79

49.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.80 ¥442

$0.46 ¥3.08

508.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.38 ¥2,904

$8.84 ¥59.1

107.92%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.10 ¥175

$1.33 ¥8.86

-17.29%

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

$21.2K ¥3.3M

$19.3K ¥128.7K

9.87%

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

$14.9K ¥2.4M

$18.2K ¥122.0K

-18.10%

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

$134 ¥21.2K

$57.1 ¥382

134.74%

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

$24.54 ¥3,877

$8.07 ¥53.9

204.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.44 ¥4,809

$10.70 ¥71.5

184.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.4 ¥8,280

$64.6 ¥432

-18.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.29 ¥116

Cinema Ticket

$12.14 ¥1,918

$9.05 ¥60.5

34.14%

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

$514 ¥81.2K

$1,441 ¥9,638

-64.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.7K ¥2.0M

$28.2K ¥188.4K

-54.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.05 ¥7,750

$53.5 ¥358

-8.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.43 ¥4,966

$37.05 ¥248

-15.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$61.4 ¥9,700

$77.0 ¥515

-20.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.1 ¥13.9K

$104 ¥694

-15.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$527 ¥83.3K

$1,023 ¥6,841

-48.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$334 ¥52.7K

$594 ¥3,971

-43.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,122 ¥177.2K

$2,563 ¥17.1K

-56.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$729 ¥115.1K

$1,213 ¥8,107

-39.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,177 ¥660.0K

$13.5K ¥90.4K

-69.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,784 ¥281.9K

$6,247 ¥41.8K

-71.44%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,699 ¥11.4K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.21

3.36

-34.23%

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

Last update for Obihiro: October 18, 2026

Last update for Shanghai: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Obihiro

$334 27.5%

Shanghai

$594 47.3% 78% $260

Groceries & Markets

Obihiro

$289 23.9%

Shanghai

$238 18.9% 17.9% $52

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Obihiro

$189 15.6%

Shanghai

$76 6% 59.9% $113

Eating Out

Obihiro

$145 12%

Shanghai

$107 8.5% 26.4% $38

Clothing & Footwear

Obihiro

$103 8.5%

Shanghai

$122 9.7% 18% $19

Sport & Entertainment

Obihiro

$77 6.3%

Shanghai

$83 6.6% 7.8% $6

Getting Around

Obihiro

$75 6.2%

Shanghai

$37 3% 50.7% $38

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $527 in Obihiro versus $1,023 in Shanghai. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $32.00 in Obihiro versus $30.00 in Shanghai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $289 vs $238 – making Shanghai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Obihiro

🇨🇳 Shanghai

🕒 Local time

01:54 1:54 AM

00:54 12:54 AM

1 h behind Obihiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

166,536

24,870,895

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to JPY – Japanese Yen Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇵 Japanese Yen (¥)

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to JPY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Obihiro Shanghai 2,310 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Obihiro
Shanghai

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

Obihiro vs Shanghai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,213 in Obihiro, $1,256 in Shanghai – roughly 4% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,819 per month in Obihiro and $1,884 in Shanghai. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Obihiro, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 22% cheaper in Shanghai – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $32.00 in Obihiro and $30.00 in Shanghai. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Obihiro, where all-in costs run around $1,213, than in Shanghai at $1,256. In Obihiro it covers expenses comfortably, while in Shanghai it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Obihiro – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Obihiro. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Shanghai makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.