Cost of living comparison

compared to

Japan vs. Cuba Cost of Living Summary

Japan is 85.8% more expensive than Cuba overall.

Restaurants: pay 8.9% less in Japan
Groceries: pay 24.3% more in Japan
Transportation: pay 87.5% more in Japan
Housing: pay 2.0 times more in Japan
Childcare: pay 2.1 times more in Japan
Entertainment and Sports: pay 3.9 times more in Japan
Clothing: pay 0.1% less in Japan

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

Japan vs. Cuba Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Japan instead of Cuba, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 8.9% less for restaurants

	Cuba	Japan
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.40 CUC4.40	$6.60 ¥1,031	+50.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.00 CUC5.00	$5.10 ¥796	+2.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.08 CUC2.08	$1.07 ¥166	-48.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.25 CUC1.25	$0.76 ¥119	-39.2%
Average			-8.9%

Cuba vs. Japan - Cost of restaurants

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pay 24.3% more for groceries

	Cuba	Japan
Bread 1 loaf	$1.22 CUC1.22	$1.50 ¥234	+23.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.89 CUC2.89	$5.07 ¥791	+75.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$10.68 CUC10.68	$5.67 ¥885	-46.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.15 CUC4.15	$2.08 ¥324	-49.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.49 CUC2.49	$2.93 ¥457	+17.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.27 CUC2.27	$2.14 ¥334	-5.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.59 CUC0.59	$1.12 ¥175	+89.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.36 CUC1.36	$1.69 ¥264	+24.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.00 CUC1.00	$2.13 ¥333	+113.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.95 CUC0.95	$1.22 ¥190	+27.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.17 CUC1.17	$1.15 ¥180	-1.4%
Average			+24.3%

Cuba vs. Japan - Cost of groceries

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pay 87.5% more for transportation

	Cuba	Japan
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.77 CUC4.77	$4.39 ¥686	-8.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$25.00 CUC25.00	$59.14 ¥9,236	+136.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$60,000.00 CUC60,000.00	$22,599.51 ¥3,529,252	-62.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$6.60 CUC6.60	$25.32 ¥3,955	+283.7%
Average			+87.5%

Cuba vs. Japan - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.0 times more for housing

	Cuba	Japan
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$75.00 CUC75.00	$33.91 ¥5,296	-54.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$251.37 CUC251.37	$543.18 ¥84,826	+116.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$322.73 CUC322.73	$353.61 ¥55,222	+9.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$27.15 CUC27.15	$118.72 ¥18,539	+337.3%
Average			+102.0%

Cuba vs. Japan - Cost of housing

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pay 2.1 times more for childcare

	Cuba	Japan
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$112.00 CUC112.00	$296.89 ¥46,363	+165.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,500.00 CUC8,500.00	$13,159.48 ¥2,055,050	+54.8%
Average			+109.9%

Cuba vs. Japan - Cost of childcare

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pay 3.9 times more for entertainment and sports

	Cuba	Japan
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.00 CUC2.00	$2.60 ¥407	+30.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.01 CUC1.01	$3.03 ¥473	+199.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.00 CUC4.00	$3.89 ¥607	-2.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$37.75 CUC37.75	$59.54 ¥9,298	+57.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$1.00 CUC1.00	$12.46 ¥1,946	+1146.1%
Average			+286.1%

Cuba vs. Japan - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 0.1% less for clothing

	Cuba	Japan
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$34.75 CUC34.75	$44.79 ¥6,995	+28.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.75 CUC37.75	$32.04 ¥5,003	-15.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.00 CUC75.00	$57.37 ¥8,959	-23.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$80.00 CUC80.00	$87.37 ¥13,644	+9.2%
Average			-0.1%

Cuba vs. Japan - 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: December 2025

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