Cost of living comparison
compared to
Japan vs. Nara Cost of Living Summary
Japan is 14.5% more expensive than Nara.
- Restaurants
-
pay 3.1% less in Japan
- Groceries
-
pay 25.8% more in Japan
- Transportation
-
pay 10.3% more in Japan
- Housing
-
pay 17.1% more in Japan
- Childcare
-
pay 49.2% more in Japan
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 3.3% less in Japan
- Clothing
-
pay 5.8% more in Japan
The cost of childcare, groceries, housing, transportation, and clothing in Japan are more expensive than in Nara. Expenses including entertainment and sports and restaurants are lower in Japan.
Japan vs. Nara Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Japan instead of Nara, you would:
pay 3.1% less for restaurants
|
Nara
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$6.68
¥1,041
|
$6.60
¥1,029
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$5.51
¥859
|
$5.10
¥794
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.14
¥177
|
$1.07
¥166
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.74
¥116
|
$0.76
¥118
|
|
Nara vs. Japan - Cost of restaurants
pay 25.8% more for groceries
|
Nara
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.40
¥219
|
$1.50
¥234
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.08
¥791
|
$5.07
¥789
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.11
¥952
|
$5.67
¥883
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.33
¥363
|
$2.08
¥324
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.80
¥437
|
$2.93
¥456
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.57
¥245
|
$2.14
¥333
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.94
¥146
|
$1.12
¥174
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.11
¥173
|
$1.69
¥264
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.93
¥301
|
$2.13
¥332
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.74
¥115
|
$1.22
¥190
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.55
¥86
|
$1.15
¥180
|
|
Nara vs. Japan - Cost of groceries
pay 10.3% more for transportation
|
Nara
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.43
¥690
|
$4.39
¥684
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$59.14
¥9,212
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$22,332.63
¥3,478,419
|
$22,599.51
¥3,519,986
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$19.38
¥3,018
|
$25.32
¥3,944
|
|
Nara vs. Japan - Cost of transportation
pay 17.1% more for housing
|
Nara
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$29.29
¥4,562
|
$33.91
¥5,282
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$417.65
¥65,051
|
$543.18
¥84,603
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$350.83
¥54,643
|
$353.61
¥55,077
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$97.60
¥15,202
|
$118.72
¥18,491
|
|
Nara vs. Japan - Cost of housing
pay 49.2% more for childcare
|
Nara
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$167.06
¥26,020
|
$296.89
¥46,241
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$10,914.61
¥1,700,005
|
$13,159.48
¥2,049,655
|
|
Nara vs. Japan - Cost of childcare
pay 3.3% less for entertainment and sports
|
Nara
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$3.31
¥515
|
$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 |
$77.96
¥12,143
|
$59.54
¥9,274
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.03
¥1,873
|
$12.46
¥1,941
|
|
Nara vs. Japan - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 5.8% more for clothing
|
Nara
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$43.58
¥6,788
|
$44.79
¥6,977
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$28.07
¥4,371
|
$32.04
¥4,990
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$53.46
¥8,327
|
$57.37
¥8,936
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$88.54
¥13,791
|
$87.37
¥13,609
|
|
Nara 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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