Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tokushima and Shanghai

For one person, living costs are similar in Tokushima and in Shanghai: $1,274 and $1,256 a month, rent and utilities included.

61

Cost of Living Index in Tokushima
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Tokushima Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Shanghai
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Shanghai Living Index

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Tokushima

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,274

/mo nomad

Shanghai

🇨🇳 China

$1,256

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Tokushima 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 Tokushima and in Shanghai actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,274 in Tokushima versus $1,256 in Shanghai.

Tokushima $1,274
Shanghai $1,256

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,039 in Tokushima versus $1,999 in Shanghai.

Tokushima $2,039
Shanghai $1,999

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,804 in Tokushima versus $2,743 in Shanghai.

Tokushima $2,804
Shanghai $2,743

Living in Tokushima is roughly 1% more expensive than in Shanghai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Tokushima 6% lower, Shanghai 7% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.05 ¥1,115

$4.45 ¥29.78

58.43%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.38 ¥4,958

$30.29 ¥203

3.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.08 ¥803

$5.09 ¥34.01

-0.20%

Cappuccino

$2.44 ¥386

$3.43 ¥22.96

-28.86%

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

$1.29 ¥204

$0.62 ¥4.15

108.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 ¥128

$0.39 ¥2.58

107.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.13 ¥495

$1.23 ¥8.25

154.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.09 ¥489

$2.21 ¥14.81

39.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 ¥235

$1.85 ¥12.37

-19.46%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 ¥237

$1.95 ¥13.02

-23.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.05 ¥641

$1.00 ¥6.67

305.00%

Eggs

$2.21 ¥349

$1.71 ¥11.43

29.24%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.82 ¥2,499

$17.47 ¥117

-9.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.99 ¥1,105

$3.24 ¥21.66

115.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.41 ¥2,751

$12.99 ¥86.8

34.03%

Apples (1kg)

$8.19 ¥1,293

$2.24 ¥14.98

265.62%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 ¥477

$1.68 ¥11.25

79.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$5.08 ¥803

$1.95 ¥13.03

160.51%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.12 ¥967

$1.73 ¥11.60

253.76%

Potato (1kg)

$3.72 ¥588

$0.76 ¥5.10

389.47%

Onion (1kg)

$3.79 ¥599

$0.92 ¥6.15

311.96%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 ¥179

$0.66 ¥4.41

72.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.84 ¥132

$0.60 ¥4.00

40.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 ¥626

$3.69 ¥24.65

7.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.68 ¥1,530

$10.92 ¥73.0

-11.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.50 ¥395

$0.87 ¥5.85

187.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 ¥327

$1.63 ¥10.87

26.99%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.52 ¥240

$0.62 ¥4.13

145.16%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.7 ¥8,487

$30.38 ¥203

76.83%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.21 ¥507

$2.06 ¥13.79

55.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.90 ¥459

$0.46 ¥3.08

530.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$31.93 ¥5,045

$8.84 ¥59.1

261.20%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.10 ¥174

$1.33 ¥8.86

-17.29%

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

$21.8K ¥3.4M

$19.3K ¥128.7K

13.23%

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

$14.9K ¥2.4M

$18.2K ¥122.0K

-18.32%

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

$114 ¥18.1K

$57.1 ¥382

100.11%

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

$23.74 ¥3,750

$8.07 ¥53.9

194.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.53 ¥4,981

$10.70 ¥71.5

194.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$60.5 ¥9,559

$64.6 ¥432

-6.38%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.82 ¥3,922

$17.29 ¥116

43.55%

Cinema Ticket

$11.34 ¥1,792

$9.05 ¥60.5

25.30%

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

$578 ¥91.3K

$1,441 ¥9,638

-59.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ¥2.3M

$28.2K ¥188.4K

-47.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.24 ¥7,779

$53.5 ¥358

-8.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.51 ¥5,610

$37.05 ¥248

-4.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$60.6 ¥9,579

$77.0 ¥515

-21.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.6 ¥15.6K

$104 ¥694

-5.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$522 ¥82.5K

$1,023 ¥6,841

-48.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$334 ¥52.8K

$594 ¥3,971

-43.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,083 ¥171.1K

$2,563 ¥17.1K

-57.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$731 ¥115.4K

$1,213 ¥8,107

-39.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,217 ¥666.3K

$13.5K ¥90.4K

-68.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,734 ¥274.0K

$6,247 ¥41.8K

-72.24%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,386 ¥219.0K

$1,699 ¥11.4K

-18.45%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.02

3.36

-39.88%

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

Last update for Tokushima: October 17, 2026

Last update for Shanghai: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Tokushima

$369 29%

Shanghai

$238 18.9% 35.6% $131

Accommodation & Living

Tokushima

$334 26.2%

Shanghai

$594 47.3% 77.8% $260

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tokushima

$170 13.3%

Shanghai

$76 6% 55.2% $94

Eating Out

Tokushima

$131 10.3%

Shanghai

$107 8.5% 18.7% $25

Clothing & Footwear

Tokushima

$110 8.6%

Shanghai

$122 9.7% 11.3% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Tokushima

$83 6.5%

Shanghai

$83 6.6% 0.6% $0.5

Getting Around

Tokushima

$78 6.1%

Shanghai

$37 3% 52% $40

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $522 in Tokushima and $1,023 in Shanghai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Shanghai pays 23% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $31.00 in Tokushima vs $30.00 in Shanghai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $369 vs $238 per month, with Shanghai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Tokushima

🇨🇳 Shanghai

🕒 Local time

13:08 1:08 PM

12:08 12:08 PM

1 h behind Tokushima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

252,391

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 21, 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 21, 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 →

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Between locations

Tokushima Shanghai 1,260 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Tokushima
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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

Tokushima vs Shanghai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tokushima and Shanghai differ by about 1% in total monthly costs ($1,274 vs $1,256 including rent). Shanghai is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 23% lower in Shanghai. 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: $522 in Tokushima versus $1,023 in Shanghai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $578 in Tokushima versus $1,441 in Shanghai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 55% higher in Tokushima. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,256 in Shanghai versus $1,274 in Tokushima, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Shanghai but tight or insufficient in Tokushima. The gap between the two cities makes Shanghai the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Expats usually find Shanghai gentler on the wallet – expenses run 1% less than in Tokushima. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.