Cost of living comparison
compared to
Japan vs. Berlin Cost of Living Summary
Japan is 22.2% cheaper than Berlin.
- Restaurants
-
pay 67.2% less in Japan
- Groceries
-
pay 5.2% more in Japan
- Transportation
-
pay 26.9% less in Japan
- Housing
-
pay 54.7% less in Japan
- Childcare
-
pay 49.0% more in Japan
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 21.4% less in Japan
- Clothing
-
pay 39.4% less in Japan
The cost of childcare and groceries in Japan are more expensive than in Berlin. Expenses including restaurants, housing, clothing, transportation, and entertainment and sports are lower in Japan.
Japan vs. Berlin Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Japan instead of Berlin, you would:
pay 67.2% less for restaurants
|
Berlin
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.52
€15.05
|
$6.60
¥1,026
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$13.55
€11.64
|
$5.10
¥792
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.49
€3.00
|
$1.07
¥166
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.98
€2.56
|
$0.76
¥118
|
|
Berlin vs. Japan - Cost of restaurants
pay 5.2% more for groceries
|
Berlin
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.25
€1.94
|
$1.50
¥233
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.10
€6.10
|
$5.07
¥787
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.13
€4.41
|
$5.67
¥880
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.88
€3.33
|
$2.08
¥323
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.52
€4.74
|
$2.93
¥455
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.54
€1.33
|
$2.14
¥332
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.94
€0.80
|
$1.12
¥174
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.20
€1.03
|
$1.69
¥263
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.76
€1.51
|
$2.13
¥331
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.91
€0.78
|
$1.22
¥189
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.78
€0.67
|
$1.15
¥179
|
|
Berlin vs. Japan - Cost of groceries
pay 26.9% less for transportation
|
Berlin
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.52
€6.46
|
$4.39
¥682
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$68.91
€59.18
|
$59.14
¥9,189
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,702.07
€28,084.89
|
$22,599.51
¥3,511,060
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$32.00
€27.48
|
$25.32
¥3,934
|
|
Berlin vs. Japan - Cost of transportation
pay 54.7% less for housing
|
Berlin
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$50.32
€43.22
|
$33.91
¥5,269
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,427.12
€1,225.63
|
$543.18
¥84,389
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,068.35
€917.51
|
$353.61
¥54,937
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$277.09
€237.97
|
$118.72
¥18,444
|
|
Berlin vs. Japan - Cost of housing
pay 49.0% more for childcare
|
Berlin
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$184.92
€158.81
|
$296.89
¥46,124
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$9,579.95
€8,227.37
|
$13,159.48
¥2,044,457
|
|
Berlin vs. Japan - Cost of childcare
pay 21.4% less for entertainment and sports
|
Berlin
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.26
€4.51
|
$2.60
¥405
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.45
€3.82
|
$3.03
¥470
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$10.16
€8.73
|
$3.89
¥604
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$38.79
€33.31
|
$59.54
¥9,250
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$14.89
€12.79
|
$12.46
¥1,936
|
|
Berlin vs. Japan - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 39.4% less for clothing
|
Berlin
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$93.79
€80.55
|
$44.79
¥6,959
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$43.63
€37.47
|
$32.04
¥4,978
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$106.67
€91.61
|
$57.37
¥8,913
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$129.59
€111.30
|
$87.37
¥13,574
|
|
Berlin 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: December 2025
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