Cost of living comparison

compared to

Japan vs. Nairobi Cost of Living Summary

Japan is 53.1% more expensive than Nairobi.

Restaurants: pay 19.3% more in Japan
Groceries: pay 2.1 times more in Japan
Transportation: pay 31.3% more in Japan
Housing: pay 93.8% more in Japan
Childcare: pay 41.2% more in Japan
Entertainment and Sports: pay 33.3% more in Japan
Clothing: pay 45.5% more in Japan

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

Japan vs. Nairobi Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 19.3% more for restaurants

	Nairobi	Japan
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.80 KES752.07	$6.60 ¥1,058	+13.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.97 KES902.48	$5.10 ¥817	-26.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.70 KES90.93	$1.07 ¥171	+51.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.55 KES71.15	$0.76 ¥122	+38.5%
Average			+19.3%

Nairobi vs. Japan - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.1 times more for groceries

	Nairobi	Japan
Bread 1 loaf	$0.55 KES70.80	$1.50 ¥241	+174.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.57 KES721.22	$5.07 ¥812	-9.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.36 KES434.78	$5.67 ¥908	+68.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.64 KES213.07	$2.08 ¥333	+26.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.92 KES378.11	$2.93 ¥469	+0.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.41 KES182.25	$2.14 ¥342	+51.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.47 KES61.50	$1.12 ¥179	+135.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.89 KES115.26	$1.69 ¥271	+90.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.46 KES59.10	$2.13 ¥341	+367.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.49 KES63.60	$1.22 ¥195	+147.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.51 KES65.62	$1.15 ¥185	+127.7%
Average			+107.4%

Nairobi vs. Japan - Cost of groceries

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pay 31.3% more for transportation

	Nairobi	Japan
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.40 KES699.48	$4.39 ¥703	-18.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$30.96 KES4,011.03	$59.14 ¥9,476	+91.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,671.83 KES3M	$22,599.51 ¥4M	+4.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.03 KES2,206.07	$25.32 ¥4,058	+48.7%
Average			+31.3%

Nairobi vs. Japan - Cost of transportation

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pay 93.8% more for housing

	Nairobi	Japan
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.86 KES5,164.64	$33.91 ¥5,434	-14.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$476.96 KES61,792.59	$543.18 ¥87,031	+13.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$206.31 KES26,728.68	$353.61 ¥56,658	+71.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$29.32 KES3,799.20	$118.72 ¥19,021	+304.8%
Average			+93.8%

Nairobi vs. Japan - Cost of housing

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pay 41.2% more for childcare

	Nairobi	Japan
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$224.14 KES29,038.19	$296.89 ¥47,568	+32.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,775.09 KES1M	$13,159.48 ¥2M	+50.0%
Average			+41.2%

Nairobi vs. Japan - Cost of childcare

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pay 33.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Nairobi	Japan
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.32 KES300.83	$2.60 ¥417	+12.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.37 KES307.03	$3.03 ¥485	+27.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.10 KES401.10	$3.89 ¥622	+25.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$45.30 KES5,868.64	$59.54 ¥9,540	+31.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.35 KES952.62	$12.46 ¥1,997	+69.5%
Average			+33.3%

Nairobi vs. Japan - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 45.5% more for clothing

	Nairobi	Japan
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$19.62 KES2,542.29	$44.79 ¥7,177	+128.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$24.88 KES3,223.15	$32.04 ¥5,134	+28.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$67.92 KES8,799.20	$57.37 ¥9,192	-15.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$62.28 KES8,068.19	$87.37 ¥13,999	+40.3%
Average			+45.5%

Nairobi 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: April 2026

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