Japan vs. Northern Mariana Islands Cost of Living Summary

Japan is 2.4% more expensive than Northern Mariana Islands overall.

Restaurants
pay 44.6% less in Japan
Groceries
pay 25.1% less in Japan
Transportation
pay 13.5% less in Japan
Housing
pay 32.8% less in Japan
Childcare
pay 2.2 times more in Japan
Entertainment and Sports
pay 4.1% less in Japan
Clothing
pay 17.6% more in Japan

The cost of childcare and clothing in Japan are more expensive than in Northern Mariana Islands. Expenses including restaurants, housing, groceries, transportation, and entertainment and sports are lower in Japan. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Japan.

Japan vs. Northern Mariana Islands Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Japan instead of Northern Mariana Islands, you would:

pay 44.6% less for restaurants

 
Northern Mariana Islands
Japan
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $11.50
 
$6.60
¥1,031
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$12.00
 
$5.10
¥796
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.67
 
$1.07
¥166

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pay 25.1% less for groceries

 
Northern Mariana Islands
Japan
Bread
1 loaf
$3.33
 
$1.50
¥234
Local cheese (8 oz) ?? $5.07
¥790
Milk (1 gallon) $8.44
 
$5.67
¥884

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pay 13.5% less for transportation

 
Northern Mariana Islands
Japan
Gasoline (1 gallon) $5.49
 
$4.39
¥685
Monthly public transit pass ?? $59.14
¥9,229
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $36,999.00
 
$22,599.51
¥4M

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pay 32.8% less for housing

 
Northern Mariana Islands
Japan
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$60.00
 
$33.91
¥5,292
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $625.00
 
$543.18
¥84,761
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $450.00
 
$353.61
¥55,180

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pay 2.2 times more for childcare

 
Northern Mariana Islands
Japan
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly ?? $296.89
¥46,327
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $6,000.00
 
$13,159.48
¥2M

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pay 4.1% less for entertainment and sports

 
Northern Mariana Islands
Japan
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $6.00
 
$2.60
¥406
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.12
 
$3.03
¥472
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
?? $3.89
¥606

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pay 17.6% more for clothing

 
Northern Mariana Islands
Japan
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$30.00
 
$44.79
¥6,990
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$40.00
 
$32.04
¥5,000
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$70.00
 
$57.37
¥8,952

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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: March 2026
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