Cost of living comparison

compared to

Tokyo vs. Japan Cost of Living Summary

Tokyo is 23.4% more expensive than Japan overall.

Restaurants
pay 9.8% more in Tokyo
Groceries
pay 19.2% more in Tokyo
Transportation
pay 11.1% more in Tokyo
Housing
pay 45.1% more in Tokyo
Childcare
pay 45.0% more in Tokyo
Entertainment and Sports
pay 17.4% more in Tokyo
Clothing
pay 16.5% more in Tokyo

The cost of housing, childcare, groceries, entertainment and sports, clothing, and transportation in Tokyo are more expensive than in Japan.

Tokyo vs. Japan Cost Breakdown

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

pay 9.8% more for restaurants

 
Japan
Tokyo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $6.60
¥1,026
$8.02
¥1,246
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$5.10
¥792
$5.01
¥779
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.07
¥166
$1.16
¥180

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pay 19.2% more for groceries

 
Japan
Tokyo
Bread
1 loaf
$1.50
¥233
$1.55
¥241
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.07
¥787
$7.21
¥1,120
Milk (1 gallon) $5.67
¥880
$5.71
¥888

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pay 11.1% more for transportation

 
Japan
Tokyo
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.39
¥682
$4.50
¥699
Monthly public transit pass $59.14
¥9,189
$73.51
¥11,420
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $22,599.51
¥3,511,060
$22,332.63
¥3,469,597

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pay 45.1% more for housing

 
Japan
Tokyo
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$33.91
¥5,269
$33.44
¥5,196
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $543.18
¥84,389
$1,071.65
¥166,492
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $353.61
¥54,937
$642.24
¥99,778

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pay 45.0% more for childcare

 
Japan
Tokyo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $296.89
¥46,124
$519.69
¥80,738
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $13,159.48
¥2,044,457
$15,131.74
¥2,350,867

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pay 17.4% more for entertainment and sports

 
Japan
Tokyo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $2.60
¥405
$4.01
¥623
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.03
¥470
$3.43
¥533
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$3.89
¥604
$4.01
¥623

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pay 16.5% more for clothing

 
Japan
Tokyo
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$44.79
¥6,959
$56.84
¥8,830
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$32.04
¥4,978
$40.48
¥6,290
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$57.37
¥8,913
$62.67
¥9,737

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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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