Cost of living comparison
compared to
Kobe vs. Japan Cost of Living Summary
Kobe is 6.6% cheaper than Japan overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 6.1% less in Kobe
- Groceries
-
pay 16.8% more in Kobe
- Transportation
-
pay 22.1% less in Kobe
- Housing
-
pay 1.2% less in Kobe
- Childcare
-
pay 1.2% less in Kobe
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 11.6% less in Kobe
- Clothing
-
pay 20.9% less in Kobe
Expenses including transportation, clothing, entertainment and sports, restaurants, housing, and childcare are lower in Kobe.
Kobe vs. Japan Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Kobe instead of Japan, you would:
pay 6.1% less for restaurants
|
Japan
|
Kobe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$6.60
¥1,029
|
$7.35
¥1,145
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$5.10
¥794
|
$4.51
¥703
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.07
¥166
|
$0.91
¥142
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.76
¥118
|
$0.69
¥107
|
|
Japan vs. Kobe - Cost of restaurants
pay 16.8% more for groceries
|
Japan
|
Kobe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.50
¥234
|
$1.20
¥187
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.07
¥789
|
$6.68
¥1,041
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.67
¥883
|
$6.11
¥952
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.08
¥324
|
$1.60
¥250
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.93
¥456
|
$3.09
¥482
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.14
¥333
|
$2.75
¥428
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.12
¥174
|
$1.41
¥220
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.69
¥264
|
$1.82
¥283
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.13
¥332
|
$4.24
¥661
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.22
¥190
|
$1.48
¥230
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.15
¥180
|
$1.14
¥178
|
|
Japan vs. Kobe - Cost of groceries
pay 22.1% less for transportation
|
Japan
|
Kobe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.39
¥684
|
$4.43
¥690
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$59.14
¥9,212
|
$36.75
¥5,725
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$22,599.51
¥3,519,986
|
$21,189.94
¥3,300,439
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$25.32
¥3,944
|
$13.82
¥2,152
|
|
Japan vs. Kobe - Cost of transportation
pay 1.2% less for housing
|
Japan
|
Kobe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$33.91
¥5,282
|
$32.91
¥5,126
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$543.18
¥84,603
|
$467.77
¥72,857
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$353.61
¥55,077
|
$300.71
¥46,837
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$118.72
¥18,491
|
$150.85
¥23,496
|
|
Japan vs. Kobe - Cost of housing
pay 1.2% less for childcare
|
Japan
|
Kobe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$296.89
¥46,241
|
$340.80
¥53,082
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$13,159.48
¥2,049,655
|
$10,914.61
¥1,700,005
|
|
Japan vs. Kobe - Cost of childcare
pay 11.6% less for entertainment and sports
|
Japan
|
Kobe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.60
¥406
|
$2.34
¥364
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.03
¥471
|
$2.79
¥435
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$3.89
¥605
|
$3.34
¥520
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$59.54
¥9,274
|
$46.11
¥7,182
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.46
¥1,941
|
$12.03
¥1,873
|
|
Japan vs. Kobe - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 20.9% less for clothing
|
Japan
|
Kobe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$44.79
¥6,977
|
$44.33
¥6,904
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$32.04
¥4,990
|
$30.91
¥4,814
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$57.37
¥8,936
|
$38.76
¥6,037
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$87.37
¥13,609
|
$46.78
¥7,286
|
|
Japan vs. Kobe - 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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