Cost of living comparison
compared to
Japan vs. Kobe Cost of Living Summary
Japan is 13.2% more expensive than Kobe.
- Restaurants
-
pay 7.7% more in Japan
- Groceries
-
pay 9.0% less in Japan
- Transportation
-
pay 37.5% more in Japan
- Housing
-
pay 3.9% more in Japan
- Childcare
-
pay 3.9% more in Japan
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 13.7% more in Japan
- Clothing
-
pay 34.9% more in Japan
The cost of transportation, clothing, entertainment and sports, restaurants, housing, and childcare in Japan are more expensive than in Kobe.
Japan vs. Kobe Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Japan instead of Kobe, you would:
pay 7.7% more for restaurants
|
Kobe
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$7.35
¥1,145
|
$6.60
¥1,029
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$4.51
¥703
|
$5.10
¥794
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.91
¥142
|
$1.07
¥166
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.69
¥107
|
$0.76
¥118
|
|
Kobe vs. Japan - Cost of restaurants
pay 9.0% less for groceries
|
Kobe
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.20
¥187
|
$1.50
¥234
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.68
¥1,041
|
$5.07
¥789
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.11
¥952
|
$5.67
¥883
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$1.60
¥250
|
$2.08
¥324
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.09
¥482
|
$2.93
¥456
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.75
¥428
|
$2.14
¥333
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.41
¥220
|
$1.12
¥174
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.82
¥283
|
$1.69
¥264
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$4.24
¥661
|
$2.13
¥332
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.48
¥230
|
$1.22
¥190
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.14
¥178
|
$1.15
¥180
|
|
Kobe vs. Japan - Cost of groceries
pay 37.5% more for transportation
|
Kobe
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.43
¥690
|
$4.39
¥684
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$36.75
¥5,725
|
$59.14
¥9,212
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$21,189.94
¥3,300,439
|
$22,599.51
¥3,519,986
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$13.82
¥2,152
|
$25.32
¥3,944
|
|
Kobe vs. Japan - Cost of transportation
pay 3.9% more for housing
|
Kobe
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$32.91
¥5,126
|
$33.91
¥5,282
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$467.77
¥72,857
|
$543.18
¥84,603
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$300.71
¥46,837
|
$353.61
¥55,077
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$150.85
¥23,496
|
$118.72
¥18,491
|
|
Kobe vs. Japan - Cost of housing
pay 3.9% more for childcare
|
Kobe
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$340.80
¥53,082
|
$296.89
¥46,241
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$10,914.61
¥1,700,005
|
$13,159.48
¥2,049,655
|
|
Kobe vs. Japan - Cost of childcare
pay 13.7% more for entertainment and sports
|
Kobe
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.34
¥364
|
$2.60
¥406
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.79
¥435
|
$3.03
¥471
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$3.34
¥520
|
$3.89
¥605
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$46.11
¥7,182
|
$59.54
¥9,274
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.03
¥1,873
|
$12.46
¥1,941
|
|
Kobe vs. Japan - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 34.9% more for clothing
|
Kobe
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$44.33
¥6,904
|
$44.79
¥6,977
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$30.91
¥4,814
|
$32.04
¥4,990
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$38.76
¥6,037
|
$57.37
¥8,936
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$46.78
¥7,286
|
$87.37
¥13,609
|
|
Kobe 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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