Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Ichikawa

For one person, living is cheaper in Ichikawa: $1,245 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $400 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 Ichikawa
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Ichikawa Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Ichikawa

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,245

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Ichikawa

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,245 in Ichikawa.

Phuket $1,278
Ichikawa $1,245

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $1,888 in Ichikawa.

Phuket $2,216
Ichikawa $1,888

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $2,531 in Ichikawa.

Phuket $3,154
Ichikawa $2,531

Living in Phuket is roughly 3% more expensive than in Ichikawa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phuket 6% lower, Ichikawa 8% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$5.21 ¥822

-14.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,094

$32.08 ¥5,059

1.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$4.32 ¥681

103.94%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$2.21 ¥348

28.05%

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

$0.87 ฿29.42

$0.72 ¥113

20.83%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.66

$0.39 ¥61.3

25.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$2.49 ¥393

2.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$3.25 ¥513

13.23%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿56.0

$1.39 ¥219

19.42%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.32

$1.66 ¥262

-12.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$3.68 ¥581

-59.24%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$1.99 ¥314

5.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$10.53 ¥1,661

81.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$6.11 ¥964

-45.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$14.23 ¥2,243

-23.33%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$5.77 ¥910

-49.22%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$2.80 ¥441

-39.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$2.80 ¥442

-19.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.1

$4.13 ¥651

-49.64%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$2.58 ¥407

-41.47%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.54

$2.59 ¥408

-46.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.97

$1.26 ¥198

-15.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$0.76 ¥120

-31.58%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$3.84 ¥606

9.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$6.29 ¥993

198.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.74 ¥274

4.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.9

$2.12 ¥334

33.96%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿49.00

$1.60 ¥252

-9.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

$63.2 ¥9,958

-10.28%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$3.22 ¥507

-6.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.34

$2.71 ¥428

-62.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$20.75 ¥3,273

-82.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.78

$1.12 ¥176

31.25%

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

$26.8K ฿903.7K

$21.7K ¥3.4M

23.12%

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

$26.7K ฿900.8K

$16.0K ¥2.5M

66.73%

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

$96.4 ฿3,252

$134 ¥21.1K

-28.11%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$24.14 ¥3,806

-53.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿569

$32.17 ¥5,073

-47.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,269

$45.56 ¥7,184

47.56%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$12.91 ¥2,035

-41.91%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$812 ¥128.0K

-41.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.1K

$14.9K ¥2.4M

-24.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,105

$61.9 ¥9,767

0.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿959

$36.85 ¥5,810

-22.90%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,182

$62.8 ¥9,895

50.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,896

$103 ¥16.3K

-16.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$615 ¥97.0K

16.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$385 ¥60.8K

27.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$1,022 ¥161.2K

88.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$686 ¥108.2K

108.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

$4,163 ¥656.4K

0.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.8K

$2,124 ¥334.9K

43.36%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿17.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

2.64

110.98%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Ichikawa: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Ichikawa

$385 31% 21.5% $105

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Ichikawa

$288 23.1% 8.2% $22

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Ichikawa

$190 15.3% 52.9% $66

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Ichikawa

$119 9.6% 2.2% $2.7

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Ichikawa

$105 8.4% 14.1% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Ichikawa

$71 5.7% 13.2% $11

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Ichikawa

$86 6.9% 22.3% $16

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $615 in Ichikawa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $32 in Ichikawa for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $288 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇯🇵 Ichikawa

🕒 Local time

18:08 6:08 PM

20:08 8:08 PM

2 h ahead of Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

496,676

💱 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 →

On the map

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Between locations

Phuket Ichikawa 5,230 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Ichikawa

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 Ichikawa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,278 in Phuket and $1,245 in Ichikawa, so Ichikawa is about 3% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,917 in Phuket and $1,868 in Ichikawa to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $716 in Phuket versus $615 in Ichikawa. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Phuket pay roughly 8% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you’ll spend $1,278 per month in Phuket versus $1,245 in Ichikawa – Ichikawa is about 3% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

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