Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Japan

Kobe vs. Beijing Cost of Living Summary

Kobe is 49.5% more expensive than Beijing.

Restaurants: pay 76.8% more in Kobe
Groceries: pay 2.5 times more in Kobe
Transportation: pay 2.4 times more in Kobe
Housing: pay 57.3% more in Kobe
Childcare: pay 62.7% less in Kobe
Entertainment and Sports: pay 16.6% more in Kobe
Clothing: pay 40.3% less in Kobe

The cost of groceries, transportation, restaurants, housing, and entertainment and sports in Kobe are more expensive than in Beijing. Expenses including childcare and clothing are lower in Kobe. Notably, groceries, transportation, and restaurants are significantly more expensive in Kobe.

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Kobe vs. Beijing Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Kobe instead of Beijing, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 76.8% more for restaurants

	Beijing	Kobe
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥30.00	$7.59 ¥1,198	+69.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥35.00	$4.87 ¥769	-6.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.52 CN¥3.50	$1.17 ¥184	+123.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.27 CN¥1.83	$0.60 ¥95	+120.7%
Average			+76.8%

Beijing vs. Kobe - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.5 times more for groceries

	Beijing	Kobe
Bread 1 loaf	$1.73 CN¥11.58	$1.29 ¥204	-25.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.22 CN¥48.38	$6.33 ¥999	-12.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.41 CN¥42.97	$5.78 ¥912	-9.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.02 CN¥13.56	$2.05 ¥324	+1.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.47 CN¥9.83	$3.16 ¥498	+115.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.93 CN¥6.26	$3.53 ¥558	+278.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.79 CN¥5.29	$1.36 ¥215	+72.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.93 CN¥6.22	$2.28 ¥359	+145.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 CN¥4.76	$3.54 ¥559	+398.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.32 CN¥2.15	$1.72 ¥272	+435.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.40 CN¥2.66	$1.58 ¥249	+297.6%
Average			+154.3%

Beijing vs. Kobe - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.4 times more for transportation

	Beijing	Kobe
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.27	$4.10 ¥647	-17.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$34.30 CN¥230.01	$63.27 ¥9,986	+84.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$20,061.49 ¥3M	+3.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.68 CN¥31.40	$28.47 ¥4,493	+507.9%
Average			+144.6%

Beijing vs. Kobe - Cost of transportation

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pay 57.3% more for housing

	Beijing	Kobe
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$14.27 CN¥95.67	$31.16 ¥4,918	+118.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$936.67 CN¥6,280.28	$687.49 ¥109K	-26.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$530.98 CN¥3,560.16	$463.95 ¥73,227	-12.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.49 CN¥298.28	$111.27 ¥17,563	+150.1%
Average			+57.3%

Beijing vs. Kobe - Cost of housing

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pay 62.7% less for childcare

	Beijing	Kobe
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$653.29 CN¥4,380.22	$322.65 ¥50,926	-50.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$24,281.96 CN¥163K	$6,149.41 ¥971K	-74.7%
Average			-62.7%

Beijing vs. Kobe - Cost of childcare

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pay 16.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Beijing	Kobe
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥8.00	$2.06 ¥326	+72.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.60 CN¥24.14	$2.34 ¥369	-35.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.33 CN¥29.00	$3.48 ¥549	-19.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.45 CN¥277.90	$46.39 ¥7,323	+11.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.46 CN¥50.00	$11.39 ¥1,797	+52.7%
Average			+16.6%

Beijing vs. Kobe - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 40.3% less for clothing

	Beijing	Kobe
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$70.55 CN¥473.02	$50.30 ¥7,938	-28.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$40.41 CN¥270.93	$25.31 ¥3,994	-37.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$86.99 CN¥583.23	$45.97 ¥7,256	-47.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$125.40 CN¥840.79	$65.37 ¥10,318	-47.9%
Average			-40.3%

Beijing vs. Kobe - Cost of clothing

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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: October 2026

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