Cost of living comparison
compared to
Japan vs. Australia Cost of Living Summary
Japan is 29.6% cheaper than Australia overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 58.1% less in Japan
- Groceries
-
pay 0.3% more in Japan
- Transportation
-
pay 2.4% less in Japan
- Housing
-
pay 41.8% less in Japan
- Childcare
-
pay 42.5% less in Japan
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 30.0% less in Japan
- Clothing
-
pay 32.8% less in Japan
Expenses including restaurants, childcare, housing, clothing, entertainment and sports, and transportation are lower in Japan.
Japan vs. Australia Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Japan instead of Australia, you would:
pay 58.1% less for restaurants
|
Australia
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.15
A$26.57
|
$6.60
¥1,033
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.64
A$14.93
|
$5.10
¥797
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.63
A$4.08
|
$1.07
¥167
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.14
A$3.32
|
$0.76
¥119
|
|
Australia vs. Japan - Cost of restaurants
pay 0.3% more for groceries
|
Australia
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.39
A$3.70
|
$1.50
¥235
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.21
A$6.53
|
$5.07
¥792
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.84
A$9.05
|
$5.67
¥886
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.36
A$6.76
|
$2.08
¥325
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.87
A$6.00
|
$2.93
¥458
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.48
A$2.29
|
$2.14
¥334
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.27
A$1.97
|
$1.12
¥175
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.32
A$2.04
|
$1.69
¥265
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.93
A$2.99
|
$2.13
¥333
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.10
A$1.70
|
$1.22
¥190
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.97
A$1.51
|
$1.15
¥180
|
|
Australia vs. Japan - Cost of groceries
pay 2.4% less for transportation
|
Australia
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.48
A$6.94
|
$4.39
¥686
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$86.18
A$133.52
|
$59.14
¥9,249
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$27,666.22
A$42,866.79
|
$22,599.51
¥3,534,224
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.83
A$27.63
|
$25.32
¥3,960
|
|
Australia vs. Japan - Cost of transportation
pay 41.8% less for housing
|
Australia
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$54.93
A$85.12
|
$33.91
¥5,304
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,188.50
A$1,841.50
|
$543.18
¥84,946
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$962.42
A$1,491.20
|
$353.61
¥55,300
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$133.71
A$207.18
|
$118.72
¥18,565
|
|
Australia vs. Japan - Cost of housing
pay 42.5% less for childcare
|
Australia
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,475.00
A$2,285.40
|
$296.89
¥46,428
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$13,848.50
A$21,457.23
|
$13,159.48
¥2,057,946
|
|
Australia vs. Japan - Cost of childcare
pay 30.0% less for entertainment and sports
|
Australia
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.47
A$10.02
|
$2.60
¥407
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.56
A$5.52
|
$3.03
¥473
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$28.78
A$44.59
|
$3.89
¥608
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$51.13
A$79.22
|
$59.54
¥9,311
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.10
A$20.30
|
$12.46
¥1,949
|
|
Australia vs. Japan - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 32.8% less for clothing
|
Australia
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$69.65
A$107.91
|
$44.79
¥7,005
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.53
A$75.20
|
$32.04
¥5,010
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$99.22
A$153.73
|
$57.37
¥8,972
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$107.98
A$167.30
|
$87.37
¥13,664
|
|
Australia vs. Japan - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: November 2025
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