Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Asahikawa

For one person, living is cheaper in Asahikawa: $1,189 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $1,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Phuket outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Asahikawa
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Asahikawa Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Asahikawa

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,189

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Asahikawa

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

A single person spends $1,278 per month in Phuket vs $1,189 in Asahikawa, rent included.

Phuket $1,278
Asahikawa $1,189

A couple spends around $2,216 per month in Phuket vs $1,948 in Asahikawa, rent included.

Phuket $2,216
Asahikawa $1,948

A family of three spends $3,154 per month in Phuket vs $2,706 in Asahikawa, rent included.

Phuket $3,154
Asahikawa $2,706

Phuket costs about 7% more than Asahikawa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both Phuket and Asahikawa are more affordable than the global median – Phuket 6% lower, Asahikawa 13% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$6.31 ¥996

-29.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$32.58 ¥5,138

-0.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$4.55 ¥717

93.63%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$3.10 ¥489

-8.71%

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

$0.87 ฿29.42

$1.26 ¥199

-30.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.66

$0.71 ¥112

-30.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$2.87 ¥452

-10.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$3.00 ¥473

22.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.52 ¥240

9.21%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.32

$1.52 ¥239

-3.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$3.95 ¥623

-62.03%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$2.26 ¥357

-7.52%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$10.74 ¥1,693

77.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$6.72 ¥1,060

-50.89%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$16.29 ¥2,569

-33.03%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$3.20 ¥504

-8.44%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$2.62 ¥414

-35.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$2.46 ¥388

-8.54%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$4.62 ¥728

-54.98%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$2.73 ¥430

-44.69%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.54

$2.31 ¥365

-40.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.97

$1.37 ¥216

-21.90%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$0.87 ¥137

-40.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$3.94 ¥621

6.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$7.66 ¥1,208

145.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.76 ¥277

3.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$1.87 ¥296

51.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.00

$1.64 ¥259

-11.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

$53.1 ¥8,379

6.62%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$3.07 ¥484

-1.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.34

$2.68 ¥422

-61.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$21.03 ¥3,316

-82.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.78

$1.17 ¥184

25.64%

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

$26.8K ฿903.7K

$22.6K ¥3.6M

18.53%

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

$26.7K ฿900.8K

$13.6K ¥2.2M

95.54%

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

$96.4 ฿3,252

$154 ¥24.3K

-37.46%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$25.29 ¥3,987

-55.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$34.28 ¥5,406

-50.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,269

$55.3 ¥8,719

21.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$12.20 ¥1,923

-38.52%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$630 ¥99.3K

-24.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.1K

$11.3K ¥1.8M

-0.57%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,105

$51.4 ¥8,102

21.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$27.99 ¥4,413

1.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,182

$59.6 ¥9,403

58.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,896

$102 ¥16.1K

-15.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$611 ¥96.4K

17.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$291 ¥45.8K

68.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$987 ¥155.7K

95.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$809 ¥127.6K

76.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

$4,455 ¥702.5K

-6.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$2,602 ¥410.3K

16.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

2.21

152.04%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Asahikawa: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Asahikawa

$291 24.4% 40.8% $200

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Asahikawa

$291 24.5% 9.4% $25

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Asahikawa

$214 18% 71.6% $89

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Asahikawa

$109 9.1% 11% $13

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Asahikawa

$130 10.9% 6.5% $7.9

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Asahikawa

$80 6.7% 3.1% $2.5

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Asahikawa

$76 6.4% 7.9% $5.6

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $716 in Phuket versus $611 in Asahikawa. 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 in Phuket versus $33 in Asahikawa. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $266 vs $291 – making Phuket the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇯🇵 Asahikawa

🕒 Local time

18:09 6:09 PM

20:09 8:09 PM

2 h ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

329,306

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.34 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.68 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JPY, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.66 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.34 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.68 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

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Between locations

Phuket Asahikawa 5,830 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Asahikawa

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

Phuket vs Asahikawa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,278 in Phuket, $1,189 in Asahikawa – Asahikawa comes out roughly 7% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,917 per month in Phuket and $1,784 in Asahikawa. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Asahikawa, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $611 there versus $716 in Phuket.

Public transport costs about 6% less in Asahikawa. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $476 per month in Phuket and $630 in Asahikawa. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$2,000 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,278 in Phuket and $1,189 in Asahikawa, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

It depends on your priorities. Phuket has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,189 in Asahikawa to $1,278 in Phuket. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.