Cost of Living in Japan - Updated Prices & Insights

Name: Japan
Address: JP

Solo nomad: Estimated monthly costs are $805 (excluding rent), and $1,429 including rent.

Family of 3: Estimated monthly costs are $1,909 (excluding rent), and $2,974 including rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.11 ¥1,122

$4.63 ¥730

$11.38 ¥1,795

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.88 ¥5,503

$25.11 ¥3,962

$83.7 ¥13.2K

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.42 ¥856

$4.74 ¥748

$6.10 ¥962

Cappuccino

$3.34 ¥527

$1.47 ¥232

$5.03 ¥793

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

$1.08 ¥171

$0.74 ¥117

$2.03 ¥320

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 ¥133

$0.72 ¥113

$1.45 ¥228

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.49 ¥551

$1.74 ¥275

$5.58 ¥881

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.06 ¥640

$2.37 ¥374

$6.76 ¥1,066

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 ¥239

$1.14 ¥180

$2.04 ¥322

White Bread (500g)

$1.59 ¥251

$0.92 ¥145

$2.82 ¥445

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.56 ¥719

$2.05 ¥324

$7.25 ¥1,144

Eggs

$2.26 ¥357

$1.63 ¥258

$3.12 ¥493

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.31 ¥1,942

$5.61 ¥884

$28.01 ¥4,419

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 ¥1,088

$3.51 ¥554

$10.53 ¥1,661

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.59 ¥3,090

$9.79 ¥1,545

$34.97 ¥5,517

Apples (1kg)

$5.22 ¥824

$2.46 ¥389

$10.25 ¥1,617

Banana (1kg)

$2.63 ¥415

$1.42 ¥224

$5.66 ¥894

Oranges (1kg)

$4.89 ¥771

$1.78 ¥281

$10.70 ¥1,689

Tomato (1kg)

$4.81 ¥759

$2.06 ¥325

$10.29 ¥1,624

Potato (1kg)

$2.89 ¥455

$1.40 ¥221

$4.89 ¥772

Onion (1kg)

$2.70 ¥426

$1.41 ¥222

$5.63 ¥888

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.39 ¥220

$0.70 ¥110

$2.10 ¥332

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 ¥142

$0.54 ¥85.1

$1.36 ¥215

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.19 ¥662

$3.64 ¥574

$5.20 ¥821

Wine (Bottle)

$8.64 ¥1,364

$4.49 ¥708

$19.22 ¥3,033

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.10 ¥331

$1.36 ¥214

$3.05 ¥481

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.98 ¥470

$1.77 ¥280

$4.26 ¥673

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.54 ¥243

$1.26 ¥199

$2.79 ¥440

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$57.4 ¥9,055

$34.10 ¥5,380

$116 ¥18.3K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.06 ¥641

$3.39 ¥534

$5.14 ¥812

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.99 ¥472

$2.03 ¥321

$4.55 ¥717

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.32 ¥3,680

$17.56 ¥2,771

$34.31 ¥5,413

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.23 ¥195

$1.14 ¥180

$1.29 ¥203

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

$23.3K ¥3.7M

$23.0K ¥3.6M

$24.4K ¥3.9M

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

$17.5K ¥2.8M

$16.7K ¥2.6M

$20.5K ¥3.2M

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

$177 ¥27.9K

$105 ¥16.6K

$298 ¥47.1K

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

$26.90 ¥4,245

$13.98 ¥2,206

$45.82 ¥7,229

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.08 ¥5,535

$27.61 ¥4,357

$49.71 ¥7,843

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$59.3 ¥9,355

$34.94 ¥5,512

$83.8 ¥13.2K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.68 ¥2,474

$6.87 ¥1,085

$20.63 ¥3,255

Cinema Ticket

$12.91 ¥2,036

$10.19 ¥1,608

$16.98 ¥2,680

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

$351 ¥55.3K

$196 ¥30.9K

$699 ¥110.4K

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.3K ¥2.1M

$8,327 ¥1.3M

$20.8K ¥3.3M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.78 ¥7,854

$21.16 ¥3,339

$74.1 ¥11.7K

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.86 ¥5,185

$14.02 ¥2,211

$56.0 ¥8,842

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$62.2 ¥9,805

$34.24 ¥5,403

$85.6 ¥13.5K

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.9 ¥13.9K

$35.00 ¥5,522

$140 ¥22.1K

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$605 ¥95.4K

$393 ¥62.0K

$1,264 ¥199.4K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$423 ¥66.8K

$281 ¥44.3K

$703 ¥110.9K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,382 ¥218.1K

$694 ¥109.5K

$3,471 ¥547.7K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$820 ¥129.4K

$478 ¥75.4K

$1,707 ¥269.3K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,089 ¥960.7K

$2,461 ¥388.3K

$11.1K ¥1.7M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,187 ¥502.8K

$1,608 ¥253.7K

$6,433 ¥1.0M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,995 ¥314.8K

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: January 20, 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	$812	$1,124	$1,563	$2,492	89.28	295.52
2	Akita	307672	63	$823	$1,262	$2,098	$2,685	111.37	215.94
3	Amagasaki	459593	63	$767	$1,231	$1,703	$2,689	261.77	266.6
4	Aomori	275192	63	$884	$1,226	$1,764	$2,657	55.44	197.02
5	Asahikawa	329306	63	$803	$1,266	$1,571	$2,630	213.64	190.21
6	Atsugi	223705	58	$682	$1,187	$1,957	$2,518	33.3	275.78
7	Beppu	115321	53	$605	$1,063	$1,353	$2,073	129.88	132.45
8	Chiba	974951	66	$813	$1,350	$1,542	$2,948	39.61	274.3
9	Ebina	130678	61	$721	$1,225	$1,589	$2,496	55.01	298.53
10	Fukui	267428	62	$860	$1,257	$2,051	$2,656	21.43	218.92
11	Fukuoka	1612392	65	$794	$1,294	$1,900	$2,752	32.59	205.89
12	Fukushima	282693	63	$810	$1,257	$1,871	$2,659	564.95	242.29
13	Fukuyama	460930	61	$695	$1,196	$1,694	$2,654	37.49	167.34
14	Funabashi	627006	60	$754	$1,211	$2,010	$2,610	40.62	323.75
15	Gifu	404352	62	$757	$1,235	$1,776	$2,606	108.19	252.47
16	Gyoda	81582	58	$667	$1,157	$1,871	$2,486	103.96	285.43
17	Hachioji	555517	68	$777	$1,356	$1,683	$2,615	147.26	290.92
18	Hamamatsu	797033	55	$775	$1,119	$1,994	$2,488	88.4	231.54
19	Himeji	535571	65	$816	$1,300	$1,705	$2,702	318.65	210.21
20	Hirakata	402495	60	$677	$1,185	$1,762	$2,549	71.36	308.77
21	Hiratsuka	258422	66	$885	$1,326	$1,859	$2,755	51.57	269.45
22	Hiroshima	1200754	52	$576	$1,032	$1,657	$2,235	261.83	189.58
23	Ibaraki	287730	61	$840	$1,214	$1,921	$2,526	12.2	285.53
24	Ichihara	269524	59	$710	$1,152	$1,756	$2,542	145.41	261.62
25	Ichikawa	496676	59	$643	$1,181	$2,008	$2,559	39.47	316.63
26	Ichinomiya	379728	63	$746	$1,244	$1,600	$2,600	155.72	263.8
27	Itoman	61007	63	$892	$1,257	$2,081	$2,589	176.04	124.29
28	Kagoshima	593128	60	$809	$1,196	$2,030	$2,619	28.54	186.73
29	Kamakura	172710	64	$723	$1,254	$1,993	$2,704	197.79	290.66
30	Kamiyama	5300	62	$777	$1,221	$1,848	$2,616	24.57	72.13
31	Kanazawa	465699	61	$771	$1,226	$1,784	$2,591	103.29	190.54
32	Kashiwa	417394	66	$750	$1,314	$1,913	$2,342	146.63	328.7
33	Kawagoe	350745	62	$788	$1,253	$2,051	$2,690	134.2	311.28
34	Kawasaki	1538262	82	$882	$1,653	$2,304	$3,082	107.43	257.9
35	Kitakyushu	939029	65	$720	$1,287	$1,915	$2,698	84.99	251.76
36	Kobe	1537272	62	$811	$1,247	$2,106	$2,641	106.09	275.87
37	Koriyama	327692	63	$703	$1,227	$1,619	$2,672	164.5	212.07
38	Kumamoto	738865	65	$809	$1,324	$1,853	$2,680	84.22	193.29
39	Kurume	303316	51	$666	$1,020	$1,467	$2,196	44.99	152.32
40	Kyoto	1475183	65	$785	$1,294	$1,886	$2,981	47.7	206.15
41	Maebashi	324644	64	$903	$1,272	$1,715	$2,753	73.78	227.15
42	Matsudo	485803	59	$848	$1,185	$1,681	$2,512	21.11	331.09
43	Matsuyama	511192	63	$891	$1,271	$1,645	$2,609	21.8	124.96
44	Mito	271047	64	$739	$1,276	$2,208	$2,685	90.79	232.75
45	Miyazaki	401339	58	$611	$1,134	$1,540	$2,470	17.21	159.77
46	Morioka	289731	63	$881	$1,233	$1,687	$2,626	41.09	225.24
47	Nagano	372760	58	$759	$1,153	$1,913	$2,705	77.73	199.35
48	Nagasaki	409118	60	$729	$1,211	$1,874	$2,596	97.62	163.94
49	Nago, Okinawa	63554	62	$767	$1,243	$1,803	$2,654	17.96	94.24
50	Nagoya	2236000	69	$831	$1,365	$1,964	$2,936	32.04	223.98

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.