Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Yamanashi and Shanghai

For one person, living costs are similar in Yamanashi and in Shanghai: $1,193 and $1,244 a month, rent and utilities included.

57

Cost of Living Index in Yamanashi
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Yamanashi Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Shanghai
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Shanghai Living Index

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Yamanashi

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,193

/mo nomad

Shanghai

🇨🇳 China

$1,244

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,193 in Yamanashi versus $1,244 in Shanghai.

Yamanashi $1,193
Shanghai $1,244

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,928 in Yamanashi versus $1,999 in Shanghai.

Yamanashi $1,928
Shanghai $1,999

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,663 in Yamanashi versus $2,755 in Shanghai.

Yamanashi $2,663
Shanghai $2,755

Living in Yamanashi costs roughly 4% less than in Shanghai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Yamanashi 12% lower, Shanghai 8% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.69 ¥1,373

$4.56 ¥30.47

90.57%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.03 ¥5,060

$30.21 ¥202

6.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.17 ¥817

$5.25 ¥35.13

-1.52%

Cappuccino

$2.43 ¥384

$3.28 ¥21.94

-25.91%

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

$1.24 ¥196

$0.57 ¥3.84

117.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 ¥127

$0.36 ¥2.39

125.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.08 ¥486

$1.23 ¥8.23

150.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.21 ¥507

$2.27 ¥15.18

41.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.91 ¥144

$1.84 ¥12.30

-50.54%

White Bread (500g)

$0.79 ¥125

$1.96 ¥13.08

-59.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.29 ¥204

$1.03 ¥6.87

25.24%

Eggs

$1.61 ¥254

$1.67 ¥11.16

-3.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.72 ¥2,010

$16.96 ¥113

-25.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.52 ¥872

$3.19 ¥21.33

73.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.70 ¥2,638

$12.90 ¥86.3

29.46%

Apples (1kg)

$5.09 ¥805

$2.24 ¥15.00

127.23%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 ¥477

$1.66 ¥11.13

81.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.94 ¥307

$2.02 ¥13.54

-3.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.57 ¥564

$1.66 ¥11.08

115.06%

Potato (1kg)

$1.72 ¥271

$0.77 ¥5.17

123.38%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 ¥385

$0.93 ¥6.21

162.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.10 ¥174

$0.63 ¥4.19

74.60%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 ¥114

$0.60 ¥3.99

20.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.84 ¥606

$3.80 ¥25.44

1.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.51 ¥1,502

$10.87 ¥72.7

-12.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.62 ¥413

$0.82 ¥5.51

219.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 ¥327

$1.61 ¥10.76

28.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.49 ¥235

$0.61 ¥4.11

144.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$49.25 ¥7,780

$29.40 ¥197

67.52%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.18 ¥502

$2.11 ¥14.11

50.71%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.77 ¥438

$0.43 ¥2.87

544.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.55 ¥2,457

$9.06 ¥60.6

71.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.06 ¥167

$1.33 ¥8.89

-20.30%

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

$22.0K ¥3.5M

$19.0K ¥127.2K

15.82%

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

$14.9K ¥2.4M

$18.7K ¥125.1K

-20.31%

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

$115 ¥18.2K

$57.8 ¥387

99.26%

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

$23.26 ¥3,674

$8.09 ¥54.1

187.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.67 ¥4,846

$10.48 ¥70.0

192.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.7 ¥8,174

$65.7 ¥439

-21.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.82 ¥119

Cinema Ticket

$11.55 ¥1,825

$8.95 ¥59.9

29.05%

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

$580 ¥91.6K

$1,414 ¥9,451

-58.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.7K ¥2.3M

$27.9K ¥186.2K

-47.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$50.0 ¥7,904

$54.0 ¥361

-7.33%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.45 ¥5,601

$37.09 ¥248

-4.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$59.8 ¥9,448

$74.3 ¥496

-19.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$95.8 ¥15.1K

$106 ¥706

-9.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$523 ¥82.6K

$1,055 ¥7,056

-50.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$351 ¥55.5K

$585 ¥3,910

-39.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,251 ¥197.6K

$2,485 ¥16.6K

-49.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$843 ¥133.2K

$1,232 ¥8,240

-31.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,889 ¥614.4K

$13.9K ¥93.1K

-72.08%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,885 ¥297.9K

$6,253 ¥41.8K

-69.85%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,536 ¥716.6K

$1,711 ¥11.4K

165.12%

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 Yamanashi: October 10, 2026

Last update for Shanghai: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Yamanashi

$351 29.4%

Shanghai

$585 47% 66.5% $234

Groceries & Markets

Yamanashi

$273 22.9%

Shanghai

$235 18.9% 14% $38

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Yamanashi

$169 14.2%

Shanghai

$76 6.1% 54.8% $93

Eating Out

Yamanashi

$144 12.1%

Shanghai

$106 8.5% 26.5% $38

Clothing & Footwear

Yamanashi

$108 9.1%

Shanghai

$122 9.8% 12.4% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Yamanashi

$75 6.3%

Shanghai

$84 6.7% 11.7% $8.8

Getting Around

Yamanashi

$72 6.1%

Shanghai

$36 2.9% 50% $36

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $523 in Yamanashi and $1,055 in Shanghai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Yamanashi pays 165% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $32.00 in Yamanashi vs $30.00 in Shanghai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $273 vs $235 per month, with Shanghai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Yamanashi

🇨🇳 Shanghai

🕒 Local time

17:29 5:29 PM

16:29 4:29 PM

1 h behind Yamanashi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

34,494

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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Yamanashi Shanghai 1,670 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

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Yamanashi
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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

Yamanashi vs Shanghai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yamanashi and Shanghai differ by about 4% in total monthly costs ($1,193 vs $1,244 including rent). Yamanashi is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 165% higher in Yamanashi, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $523 in Yamanashi versus $1,055 in Shanghai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $580 in Yamanashi versus $1,414 in Shanghai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Shanghai pay roughly 16% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,193 in Yamanashi versus $1,244 in Shanghai, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Yamanashi but tight or insufficient in Shanghai. The gap between the two cities makes Yamanashi 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, Yamanashi 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.

Expats usually find Yamanashi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 4% less than in Shanghai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.