Cost of living comparison
compared to
Canada vs. Japan Cost of Living Summary
Canada is 55.9% more expensive than Japan overall.
Canada vs. Japan Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Canada instead of Japan, you would:
pay 2.2 times more for restaurants
Japan | Canada | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant | $6.60 ¥1,068 | $16.68 CA$23.68 | |
| Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar | $5.10 ¥825 | $10.26 CA$14.56 | |
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) | $1.07 ¥172 | $2.01 CA$2.85 | |
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) | $0.76 ¥123 | $1.66 CA$2.36 | |
Japan vs. Canada - Cost of restaurants
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pay 16.0% more for groceries
Japan | Canada | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bread 1 loaf | $1.50 ¥243 | $2.50 CA$3.55 | |
| Local cheese (8 oz) | $5.07 ¥819 | $5.32 CA$7.56 | |
| Milk (1 gallon) | $5.67 ¥917 | $8.12 CA$11.53 | |
| Eggs 1 dozen | $2.08 ¥336 | $3.44 CA$4.88 | |
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) | $2.93 ¥474 | $5.30 CA$7.52 | |
| Apples (1 lb) | $2.14 ¥346 | $1.78 CA$2.53 | |
| Bananas (1 lb) | $1.12 ¥181 | $0.66 CA$0.94 | |
| Oranges (1 lb) | $1.69 ¥274 | $1.62 CA$2.31 | |
| Tomatoes (1 lb) | $2.13 ¥345 | $1.77 CA$2.51 | |
| Potatoes (1 lb) | $1.22 ¥197 | $1.15 CA$1.63 | |
| Onions (1 lb) | $1.15 ¥187 | $1.14 CA$1.63 | |
Japan vs. Canada - Cost of groceries
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pay 4.7% less for transportation
Japan | Canada | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) | $4.39 ¥710 | $4.22 CA$5.99 | |
| Monthly public transit pass | $59.14 ¥9,567 | $65.98 CA$93.66 | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) | $22,599.51 ¥4M | $24,583.45 CA$34,894.97 | |
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | $25.32 ¥4,096 | $16.38 CA$23.25 | |
Japan vs. Canada - Cost of transportation
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pay 2.0 times more for housing
Japan | Canada | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl | $33.91 ¥5,486 | $61.20 CA$86.87 | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area | $543.18 ¥87,862 | $1,228.04 CA$1,743.14 | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center | $353.61 ¥57,199 | $1,109.76 CA$1,575.25 | |
| Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating | $118.72 ¥19,203 | $110.65 CA$157.07 | |
Japan vs. Canada - Cost of housing
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pay 67.1% more for childcare
Japan | Canada | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly | $296.89 ¥48,023 | $720.23 CA$1,022.33 | |
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | $13,159.48 ¥2M | $12,062.51 CA$17,122.13 | |
Japan vs. Canada - Cost of childcare
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pay 65.6% more for entertainment and sports
Japan | Canada | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) | $2.60 ¥421 | $5.23 CA$7.43 | |
| Cappuccino in mid-range area | $3.03 ¥489 | $3.65 CA$5.18 | |
| Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar | $3.89 ¥628 | $13.37 CA$18.98 | |
| Monthly membership at local gym | $59.54 ¥9,631 | $43.26 CA$61.40 | |
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema | $12.46 ¥2,016 | $11.18 CA$15.87 | |
Japan vs. Canada - Cost of entertainment and sports
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pay 29.1% more for clothing
Japan | Canada | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular jeans Levi's brand | $44.79 ¥7,246 | $53.62 CA$76.12 | |
| Regular dress from H&M or similar store | $32.04 ¥5,183 | $41.27 CA$58.58 | |
| Running shoes Nike or Adidas | $57.37 ¥9,280 | $86.13 CA$122.26 | |
| Men's business shoes (leather) | $87.37 ¥14,133 | $103.00 CA$146.20 | |
Japan vs. Canada - 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: June 2026
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Compare further: Japan vs. Canada
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Size Comparison · See true size
Japan is about 26 times smaller than Canada.
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Moving from Japan to Canada · OECD 2023
1,015 people moved from Japan to Canada.
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