Cost of Living in Japan - Updated Prices & Insights

Name: Japan
Address: JP

Solo nomad: Estimated monthly costs are $834 (excluding rent), and $1,421 including rent.

Family of 3: Estimated monthly costs are $1,924 (excluding rent), and $2,966 including rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.10 ¥1,116

$4.62 ¥726

$11.37 ¥1,786

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.58 ¥5,434

$24.90 ¥3,912

$83.0 ¥13.0K

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.64 ¥886

$4.93 ¥774

$6.34 ¥996

Cappuccino

$3.39 ¥533

$1.49 ¥234

$5.10 ¥802

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

$1.14 ¥179

$0.78 ¥123

$2.13 ¥335

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 ¥122

$0.66 ¥104

$1.33 ¥210

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.39 ¥532

$1.69 ¥265

$5.42 ¥851

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.07 ¥639

$2.38 ¥373

$6.77 ¥1,064

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 ¥247

$1.18 ¥186

$2.12 ¥333

White Bread (500g)

$1.54 ¥242

$0.89 ¥140

$2.74 ¥430

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.56 ¥717

$2.05 ¥323

$7.26 ¥1,140

Eggs

$2.29 ¥359

$1.65 ¥259

$3.16 ¥496

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.11 ¥1,903

$5.51 ¥866

$27.55 ¥4,329

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.67 ¥1,049

$3.40 ¥534

$10.19 ¥1,601

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.14 ¥3,007

$9.57 ¥1,503

$34.16 ¥5,368

Apples (1kg)

$5.17 ¥812

$2.44 ¥383

$10.14 ¥1,593

Banana (1kg)

$2.61 ¥410

$1.41 ¥221

$5.61 ¥882

Oranges (1kg)

$4.67 ¥735

$1.70 ¥268

$10.24 ¥1,608

Tomato (1kg)

$4.77 ¥750

$2.04 ¥321

$10.21 ¥1,604

Potato (1kg)

$2.78 ¥437

$1.35 ¥212

$4.72 ¥741

Onion (1kg)

$2.72 ¥427

$1.42 ¥223

$5.67 ¥891

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.34 ¥211

$0.67 ¥105

$2.02 ¥317

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 ¥139

$0.53 ¥83.1

$1.34 ¥210

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.12 ¥647

$3.57 ¥561

$5.11 ¥803

Wine (Bottle)

$9.29 ¥1,460

$4.48 ¥705

$19.23 ¥3,021

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.11 ¥331

$1.36 ¥214

$3.05 ¥480

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.86 ¥449

$1.70 ¥267

$4.08 ¥641

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.49 ¥234

$1.21 ¥191

$2.69 ¥423

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$58.9 ¥9,258

$35.01 ¥5,501

$119 ¥18.7K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.20 ¥659

$3.50 ¥550

$5.31 ¥835

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.92 ¥459

$1.99 ¥312

$4.44 ¥698

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.85 ¥3,747

$17.96 ¥2,822

$35.08 ¥5,512

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.22 ¥191

$1.13 ¥177

$1.27 ¥199

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

$23.4K ¥3.7M

$23.1K ¥3.6M

$24.5K ¥3.9M

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

$17.9K ¥2.8M

$17.1K ¥2.7M

$20.9K ¥3.3M

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

$172 ¥27.0K

$103 ¥16.1K

$290 ¥45.6K

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

$26.48 ¥4,161

$13.76 ¥2,163

$45.10 ¥7,086

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.31 ¥5,547

$27.79 ¥4,366

$50.0 ¥7,860

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.3 ¥9,166

$34.37 ¥5,401

$82.5 ¥13.0K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.65 ¥2,459

$6.86 ¥1,078

$20.59 ¥3,235

Cinema Ticket

$13.10 ¥2,059

$10.35 ¥1,626

$17.24 ¥2,709

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

$341 ¥53.5K

$190 ¥29.9K

$679 ¥106.8K

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.3K ¥2.1M

$8,305 ¥1.3M

$20.8K ¥3.3M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$48.89 ¥7,682

$20.78 ¥3,266

$72.8 ¥11.4K

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.75 ¥5,145

$13.97 ¥2,195

$55.9 ¥8,775

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$64.1 ¥10.1K

$35.33 ¥5,550

$88.3 ¥13.9K

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.4 ¥13.6K

$34.43 ¥5,409

$138 ¥21.6K

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$604 ¥94.9K

$393 ¥61.7K

$1,262 ¥198.3K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$414 ¥65.1K

$275 ¥43.2K

$687 ¥108.0K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,408 ¥221.2K

$707 ¥111.1K

$3,535 ¥555.5K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$819 ¥128.6K

$477 ¥75.0K

$1,704 ¥267.7K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,160 ¥967.9K

$2,497 ¥392.3K

$11.6K ¥1.8M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,080 ¥484.0K

$1,585 ¥249.1K

$6,341 ¥996.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,975 ¥310.4K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

1.82

2.28

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

Last update: March 1, 2026

By City in Japan

Lowest

Highest

Rank	City	Population	Living Index	Solo costs (no rent) / month	Solo costs (with rent) / month	Family of 3 costs (no rent) / month	Family of 3 costs (with rent) / month	Mobile download speed (Mbps)	Internet download speed (Mbps)
1	Aichi	-	57	$725	$1,151	$1,642	$2,432	89.28	295.52
2	Akita	307672	63	$890	$1,265	$1,954	$2,645	111.37	215.94
3	Amagasaki	459593	63	$876	$1,271	$1,648	$2,620	261.77	266.6
4	Aomori	275192	63	$757	$1,232	$2,081	$2,661	55.44	197.02
5	Asahikawa	329306	63	$760	$1,226	$1,810	$2,619	213.64	190.21
6	Atsugi	223705	58	$811	$1,150	$1,583	$2,531	33.3	275.78
7	Beppu	115321	53	$682	$1,058	$1,355	$2,093	129.88	132.45
8	Chiba	974951	66	$725	$1,339	$1,587	$2,959	39.61	274.3
9	Ebina	130678	61	$791	$1,193	$1,600	$2,506	55.01	298.53
10	Fukui	267428	62	$850	$1,267	$2,049	$2,629	21.43	218.92
11	Fukuoka	1612392	65	$905	$1,324	$1,906	$2,766	32.59	205.89
12	Fukushima	282693	63	$867	$1,246	$2,060	$2,623	564.95	242.29
13	Fukuyama	460930	61	$810	$1,235	$1,782	$2,583	37.49	167.34
14	Funabashi	627006	60	$781	$1,186	$1,943	$2,563	40.62	323.75
15	Gifu	404352	62	$761	$1,250	$1,662	$2,606	108.19	252.47
16	Gyoda	81582	58	$687	$1,156	$1,680	$2,484	103.96	285.43
17	Hachioji	555517	68	$844	$1,359	$1,650	$2,630	147.26	290.92
18	Hamamatsu	797033	55	$863	$1,087	$1,911	$2,545	88.4	231.54
19	Himeji	535571	65	$711	$1,270	$1,890	$2,696	318.65	210.21
20	Hirakata	402495	60	$854	$1,220	$1,852	$2,528	71.36	308.77
21	Hiratsuka	258422	66	$882	$1,323	$1,888	$2,706	51.57	269.45
22	Hiroshima	1200754	52	$640	$1,038	$1,617	$2,293	261.83	189.58
23	Ibaraki	287730	61	$678	$1,229	$1,954	$2,578	12.2	285.53
24	Ichihara	269524	59	$859	$1,166	$1,775	$2,539	145.41	261.62
25	Ichikawa	496676	59	$710	$1,158	$1,638	$2,569	39.47	316.63
26	Ichinomiya	379728	63	$785	$1,271	$1,777	$2,668	155.72	263.8
27	Itoman	61007	63	$696	$1,251	$1,858	$2,612	176.04	124.29
28	Kagoshima	593128	60	$683	$1,199	$1,595	$2,640	28.54	186.73
29	Kamakura	172710	64	$831	$1,291	$1,833	$2,733	197.79	290.66
30	Kamiyama	5300	62	$780	$1,262	$1,805	$2,587	24.57	72.13
31	Kanazawa	465699	61	$702	$1,208	$1,525	$2,592	103.29	190.54
32	Kashiwa	417394	66	$836	$1,314	$1,715	$2,418	146.63	328.7
33	Kawagoe	350745	62	$818	$1,248	$2,082	$2,756	134.2	311.28
34	Kawasaki	1538262	82	$797	$1,652	$2,302	$3,129	107.43	257.9
35	Kitakyushu	939029	64	$646	$1,287	$1,891	$2,663	84.99	251.76
36	Kobe	1537272	62	$826	$1,263	$1,737	$2,609	106.09	275.87
37	Koriyama	327692	63	$826	$1,242	$1,701	$2,679	164.5	212.07
38	Kumamoto	738865	65	$755	$1,275	$1,575	$2,698	84.22	193.29
39	Kurume	303316	50	$607	$1,012	$1,739	$2,143	44.99	152.32
40	Kyoto	1475183	65	$955	$1,289	$1,772	$3,047	47.7	206.15
41	Maebashi	324644	64	$701	$1,273	$2,161	$2,737	73.78	227.15
42	Matsudo	485803	59	$794	$1,186	$2,082	$2,572	21.11	331.09
43	Matsuyama	511192	63	$688	$1,269	$2,112	$2,674	21.8	124.96
44	Mito	271047	64	$773	$1,278	$1,933	$2,706	90.79	232.75
45	Miyazaki	401339	58	$657	$1,152	$1,559	$2,474	17.21	159.77
46	Morioka	289731	63	$664	$1,233	$1,739	$2,590	41.09	225.24
47	Nagano	372760	58	$681	$1,181	$1,788	$2,712	77.73	199.35
48	Nagasaki	409118	60	$841	$1,184	$1,505	$2,580	97.62	163.94
49	Nago, Okinawa	63554	62	$753	$1,261	$1,801	$2,671	17.96	94.24
50	Nagoya	2236000	69	$820	$1,389	$1,904	$2,959	32.04	223.98

Japan Median Internet Speeds (Updated January 2026)

Mobile

Mbps

Fixed Broadband

Mbps

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Cost of Living in Japan - Frequently Asked Questions

Japan rewards planning with reliable services and safety, but costs vary by city and neighborhood. You’ll often find Tokyo and Osaka at the higher end, while rural towns and regional cities feel more approachable for longer stays. The best value comes from balancing longer-term housing in modest areas with selective outings and experiences. Public transit is efficient, which helps keep daily expenses predictable, and you can save by choosing practical dining options and seasonal shopping. Cost of Living in Japan provides a realistic frame to compare neighborhoods and plan a budget. Tip: Start with a neighborhood map and test a few transit routes before committing.

Daily life in Japan centers on efficiency and choice, with housing ranging from compact, well-lit apartments to shared housing in popular neighborhoods. In cities, you’ll find diverse food options: fast, affordable konbini meals, home-style comfort at local eateries, and fresh markets for ingredients. Transport is a standout value, thanks to reliable rail and bus networks, plus convenient passes for longer stays. Co-working spaces and cafes provide flexible work setups, while errands benefit from well organized stores and recycling rules. Japan living cost varies by place, so you’ll want a flexible plan that prioritizes transit access and neighborhood feel. Tip: test a few districts during the first week.

Adopt a simple budgeting framework: map essentials, flexible spending, and savings as separate categories, then adjust as you explore different areas. In Japan, your housing will be a major factor, so weigh proximity to transit against space and building age. Choose neighborhoods that suit your rhythm – quiet residential zones for focus, or lively neighborhoods for social life – and use trial stays to feel the vibe across seasons. Seasonality especially affects travel, food markets, and utilities, so build buffers for peak months. Tip: use a transit pass and grocery runs to stabilize weekly costs, and set a reusable shopping list to curb impulse buys.