Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tsushima Island and Shanghai

For one person, living costs are similar in Tsushima Island and in Shanghai: $1,243 and $1,244 a month, rent and utilities included.

60

Cost of Living Index in Tsushima Island
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Tsushima Island Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Shanghai
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Shanghai Living Index

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Tsushima Island

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,243

/mo nomad

Shanghai

🇨🇳 China

$1,244

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,243 in Tsushima Island versus $1,244 in Shanghai.

Tsushima Island $1,243
Shanghai $1,244

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,932 in Tsushima Island versus $1,999 in Shanghai.

Tsushima Island $1,932
Shanghai $1,999

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,621 in Tsushima Island versus $2,755 in Shanghai.

Tsushima Island $2,621
Shanghai $2,755

Monthly costs are close between Tsushima Island and Shanghai; which city is cheaper depends on the spending category.

Both cities sit below the global median: Tsushima Island 8% lower, Shanghai 8% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.05 ¥1,115

$4.56 ¥30.47

54.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.88 ¥5,511

$30.21 ¥202

15.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.41 ¥855

$5.25 ¥35.13

3.05%

Cappuccino

$3.10 ¥489

$3.28 ¥21.94

-5.49%

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

$1.09 ¥172

$0.57 ¥3.84

91.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.76 ¥121

$0.36 ¥2.39

111.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.14 ¥338

$1.23 ¥8.23

73.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.04 ¥480

$2.27 ¥15.18

33.92%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 ¥239

$1.84 ¥12.30

-17.93%

White Bread (500g)

$1.65 ¥261

$1.96 ¥13.08

-15.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.90 ¥774

$1.03 ¥6.87

375.73%

Eggs

$2.32 ¥366

$1.67 ¥11.16

38.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.15 ¥1,604

$16.96 ¥113

-40.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.14 ¥970

$3.19 ¥21.33

92.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.73 ¥2,485

$12.90 ¥86.3

21.94%

Apples (1kg)

$5.23 ¥826

$2.24 ¥15.00

133.48%

Banana (1kg)

$2.55 ¥402

$1.66 ¥11.13

53.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.07 ¥644

$2.02 ¥13.54

101.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.65 ¥735

$1.66 ¥11.08

180.12%

Potato (1kg)

$3.31 ¥523

$0.77 ¥5.17

329.87%

Onion (1kg)

$2.68 ¥424

$0.93 ¥6.21

188.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.38 ¥218

$0.63 ¥4.19

119.05%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 ¥139

$0.60 ¥3.99

46.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.21 ¥665

$3.80 ¥25.44

10.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.52 ¥1,031

$10.87 ¥72.7

-40.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.01 ¥317

$0.82 ¥5.51

145.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 ¥364

$1.61 ¥10.76

42.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.67 ¥264

$0.61 ¥4.11

173.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$55.2 ¥8,717

$29.40 ¥197

87.65%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.45 ¥546

$2.11 ¥14.11

63.51%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.91 ¥460

$0.43 ¥2.87

576.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.07 ¥3,329

$9.06 ¥60.6

132.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.24 ¥196

$1.33 ¥8.89

-6.77%

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

$23.1K ¥3.6M

$19.0K ¥127.2K

21.26%

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

$17.2K ¥2.7M

$18.7K ¥125.1K

-8.15%

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

$139 ¥21.9K

$57.8 ¥387

140.32%

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

$26.86 ¥4,244

$8.09 ¥54.1

232.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.31 ¥5,420

$10.48 ¥70.0

227.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.7 ¥9,269

$65.7 ¥439

-10.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.77 ¥2,176

$17.82 ¥119

-22.73%

Cinema Ticket

$13.36 ¥2,111

$8.95 ¥59.9

49.27%

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

$283 ¥44.7K

$1,414 ¥9,451

-80.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.3K ¥2.1M

$27.9K ¥186.2K

-52.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.68 ¥6,742

$54.0 ¥361

-20.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.86 ¥4,717

$37.09 ¥248

-19.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$59.3 ¥9,365

$74.3 ¥496

-20.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.5 ¥14.3K

$106 ¥706

-14.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$463 ¥73.1K

$1,055 ¥7,056

-56.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$334 ¥52.8K

$585 ¥3,910

-42.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$877 ¥138.6K

$2,485 ¥16.6K

-64.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$657 ¥103.8K

$1,232 ¥8,240

-46.68%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,841 ¥448.8K

$13.9K ¥93.1K

-79.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,775 ¥280.5K

$6,253 ¥41.8K

-71.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,711 ¥11.4K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

1.81

3.36

-46.13%

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

Last update for Tsushima Island: October 13, 2026

Last update for Shanghai: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tsushima Island

$334 26.9%

Shanghai

$585 47% 74.8% $250

Groceries & Markets

Tsushima Island

$309 24.9%

Shanghai

$235 18.9% 24% $74

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tsushima Island

$200 16.1%

Shanghai

$76 6.1% 61.8% $124

Eating Out

Tsushima Island

$134 10.8%

Shanghai

$106 8.5% 20.9% $28

Clothing & Footwear

Tsushima Island

$100 8.1%

Shanghai

$122 9.8% 21.9% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Tsushima Island

$85 6.9%

Shanghai

$84 6.7% 2.1% $1.8

Getting Around

Tsushima Island

$80 6.4%

Shanghai

$36 2.9% 54.8% $44

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $463 in Tsushima Island and $1,055 in Shanghai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $35.00 in Tsushima Island vs $30.00 in Shanghai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $309 vs $235 per month, with Shanghai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Tsushima Island

🇨🇳 Shanghai

🕒 Local time

17:01 5:01 PM

16:01 4:01 PM

1 h behind Tsushima Island

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

28,000

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 19, 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 19, 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

Tsushima Island Shanghai 800 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Tsushima Island
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

Tsushima Island vs Shanghai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

You'd need roughly $1,864 in Tsushima Island and $1,865 in Shanghai 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: $463 in Tsushima Island versus $1,055 in Shanghai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Tsushima Island runs roughly 88% less than in Shanghai. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Shoppers in Shanghai pay roughly 32% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,243 in Tsushima Island versus $1,244 in Shanghai, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Tsushima Island but tight or insufficient in Shanghai. The gap between the two cities makes Tsushima Island 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.

Safety-wise, Tsushima Island and Shanghai are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

It comes down to priorities – Tsushima Island wins on affordability, Shanghai on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.