Cost of Living in Japan - Updated Prices & Insights

Name: Japan
Address: JP

Solo nomad: Estimated monthly costs are $828 (excluding rent), and $1,414 including rent.

Family of 3: Estimated monthly costs are $1,939 (excluding rent), and $2,938 including rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.87 ¥1,088

$4.47 ¥708

$11.00 ¥1,741

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.21 ¥5,575

$25.35 ¥4,013

$84.5 ¥13.4K

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.48 ¥867

$4.79 ¥758

$6.16 ¥975

Cappuccino

$3.24 ¥513

$1.43 ¥226

$4.88 ¥773

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

$1.13 ¥180

$0.78 ¥123

$2.12 ¥336

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.85 ¥134

$0.72 ¥114

$1.46 ¥231

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 ¥539

$1.70 ¥269

$5.44 ¥862

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.12 ¥652

$2.41 ¥381

$6.86 ¥1,086

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 ¥248

$1.18 ¥187

$2.12 ¥335

White Bread (500g)

$1.54 ¥244

$0.89 ¥141

$2.73 ¥433

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.63 ¥734

$2.09 ¥330

$7.37 ¥1,167

Eggs

$2.25 ¥356

$1.62 ¥257

$3.10 ¥491

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.35 ¥1,955

$5.62 ¥890

$28.09 ¥4,447

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.77 ¥1,072

$3.45 ¥546

$10.34 ¥1,637

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.33 ¥3,061

$9.67 ¥1,531

$34.52 ¥5,465

Apples (1kg)

$5.41 ¥856

$2.55 ¥404

$10.61 ¥1,681

Banana (1kg)

$2.62 ¥414

$1.41 ¥223

$5.63 ¥891

Oranges (1kg)

$4.74 ¥750

$1.72 ¥273

$10.37 ¥1,642

Tomato (1kg)

$4.80 ¥760

$2.05 ¥325

$10.27 ¥1,626

Potato (1kg)

$2.91 ¥460

$1.41 ¥224

$4.93 ¥780

Onion (1kg)

$2.64 ¥418

$1.38 ¥218

$5.50 ¥871

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.34 ¥213

$0.67 ¥106

$2.03 ¥321

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.95 ¥151

$0.57 ¥90.2

$1.44 ¥228

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.15 ¥657

$3.60 ¥570

$5.14 ¥814

Wine (Bottle)

$8.72 ¥1,380

$4.36 ¥691

$18.68 ¥2,958

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.13 ¥338

$1.38 ¥218

$3.10 ¥490

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.86 ¥453

$1.70 ¥269

$4.09 ¥648

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.55 ¥246

$1.27 ¥201

$2.81 ¥444

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$58.8 ¥9,303

$34.91 ¥5,528

$119 ¥18.8K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.24 ¥671

$3.54 ¥560

$5.37 ¥850

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.96 ¥468

$2.01 ¥319

$4.50 ¥712

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.67 ¥3,747

$17.82 ¥2,822

$34.81 ¥5,512

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.23 ¥195

$1.14 ¥180

$1.28 ¥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)

$17.7K ¥2.8M

$16.9K ¥2.7M

$20.7K ¥3.3M

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

$176 ¥27.8K

$105 ¥16.6K

$297 ¥47.0K

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

$26.32 ¥4,167

$13.68 ¥2,166

$44.82 ¥7,096

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.21 ¥5,575

$27.72 ¥4,388

$49.89 ¥7,900

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.3 ¥9,227

$34.34 ¥5,437

$82.4 ¥13.0K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.12 ¥2,552

$7.07 ¥1,119

$21.21 ¥3,358

Cinema Ticket

$13.12 ¥2,078

$10.36 ¥1,641

$17.27 ¥2,734

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

$353 ¥55.9K

$197 ¥31.2K

$705 ¥111.6K

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.3K ¥2.1M

$8,329 ¥1.3M

$20.8K ¥3.3M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$48.91 ¥7,744

$20.79 ¥3,292

$72.8 ¥11.5K

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.03 ¥5,071

$13.66 ¥2,163

$54.6 ¥8,649

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$63.0 ¥9,974

$34.71 ¥5,496

$86.8 ¥13.7K

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.2 ¥13.6K

$34.32 ¥5,435

$137 ¥21.7K

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$595 ¥94.2K

$387 ¥61.2K

$1,243 ¥196.9K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$424 ¥67.1K

$282 ¥44.6K

$704 ¥111.4K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,369 ¥216.7K

$688 ¥108.9K

$3,438 ¥544.3K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$825 ¥130.7K

$481 ¥76.1K

$1,718 ¥272.0K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,983 ¥947.3K

$2,424 ¥383.9K

$11.3K ¥1.8M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,051 ¥483.1K

$1,570 ¥248.6K

$6,281 ¥994.5K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,907 ¥302.0K

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 8, 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	$660	$1,143	$1,805	$2,491	89.28	295.52
2	Akita	307672	63	$759	$1,260	$1,961	$2,621	111.37	215.94
3	Amagasaki	459593	63	$832	$1,267	$1,949	$2,683	261.77	266.6
4	Aomori	275192	63	$768	$1,273	$2,015	$2,651	55.44	197.02
5	Asahikawa	329306	63	$759	$1,240	$1,701	$2,682	213.64	190.21
6	Atsugi	223705	58	$701	$1,170	$1,857	$2,508	33.3	275.78
7	Beppu	115321	53	$594	$1,065	$1,583	$2,055	129.88	132.45
8	Chiba	974951	66	$679	$1,332	$1,828	$2,931	39.61	274.3
9	Ebina	130678	61	$787	$1,221	$1,920	$2,537	55.01	298.53
10	Fukui	267428	62	$846	$1,259	$2,053	$2,630	21.43	218.92
11	Fukuoka	1612392	65	$863	$1,292	$1,863	$2,831	32.59	205.89
12	Fukushima	282693	63	$751	$1,276	$1,693	$2,672	564.95	242.29
13	Fukuyama	460930	61	$790	$1,215	$1,569	$2,613	37.49	167.34
14	Funabashi	627006	60	$783	$1,210	$1,628	$2,647	40.62	323.75
15	Gifu	404352	62	$666	$1,213	$1,761	$2,607	108.19	252.47
16	Gyoda	81582	58	$778	$1,175	$1,763	$2,514	103.96	285.43
17	Hachioji	555517	68	$859	$1,332	$2,103	$2,690	147.26	290.92
18	Hamamatsu	797033	55	$727	$1,105	$1,631	$2,543	88.4	231.54
19	Himeji	535571	65	$930	$1,309	$1,672	$2,698	318.65	210.21
20	Hirakata	402495	60	$770	$1,213	$1,647	$2,570	71.36	308.77
21	Hiratsuka	258422	66	$731	$1,343	$2,093	$2,746	51.57	269.45
22	Hiroshima	1200754	52	$761	$1,028	$1,396	$2,256	261.83	189.58
23	Ibaraki	287730	61	$826	$1,221	$1,878	$2,616	12.2	285.53
24	Ichihara	269524	59	$816	$1,168	$1,610	$2,552	145.41	261.62
25	Ichikawa	496676	59	$693	$1,153	$1,637	$2,521	39.47	316.63
26	Ichinomiya	379728	63	$713	$1,271	$1,634	$2,609	155.72	263.8
27	Itoman	61007	63	$807	$1,227	$1,899	$2,645	176.04	124.29
28	Kagoshima	593128	60	$672	$1,171	$1,877	$2,706	28.54	186.73
29	Kamakura	172710	64	$694	$1,275	$1,757	$2,695	197.79	290.66
30	Kamiyama	5300	62	$766	$1,217	$1,802	$2,614	24.57	72.13
31	Kanazawa	465699	61	$774	$1,196	$1,982	$2,566	103.29	190.54
32	Kashiwa	417394	66	$637	$1,312	$1,500	$2,409	146.63	328.7
33	Kawagoe	350745	62	$892	$1,254	$2,198	$2,682	134.2	311.28
34	Kawasaki	1538262	82	$992	$1,666	$2,272	$3,138	107.43	257.9
35	Kitakyushu	939029	64	$730	$1,282	$1,944	$2,664	84.99	251.76
36	Kobe	1537272	62	$856	$1,254	$1,957	$2,605	106.09	275.87
37	Koriyama	327692	63	$684	$1,253	$1,782	$2,608	164.5	212.07
38	Kumamoto	738865	65	$828	$1,275	$1,662	$2,668	84.22	193.29
39	Kurume	303316	50	$701	$985	$1,827	$2,154	44.99	152.32
40	Kyoto	1475183	65	$846	$1,301	$2,026	$3,033	47.7	206.15
41	Maebashi	324644	64	$719	$1,272	$1,814	$2,738	73.78	227.15
42	Matsudo	485803	59	$835	$1,151	$2,041	$2,575	21.11	331.09
43	Matsuyama	511192	63	$870	$1,257	$2,106	$2,686	21.8	124.96
44	Mito	271047	64	$711	$1,260	$1,753	$2,767	90.79	232.75
45	Miyazaki	401339	58	$713	$1,130	$1,632	$2,495	17.21	159.77
46	Morioka	289731	63	$830	$1,263	$1,966	$2,592	41.09	225.24
47	Nagano	372760	58	$717	$1,140	$1,987	$2,678	77.73	199.35
48	Nagasaki	409118	60	$810	$1,219	$1,804	$2,643	97.62	163.94
49	Nago, Okinawa	63554	62	$777	$1,238	$1,794	$2,635	17.96	94.24
50	Nagoya	2236000	69	$819	$1,383	$1,932	$2,910	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.