Cost of living comparison

compared to

Tokyo vs. Ottawa Cost of Living Summary

Tokyo is 10.6% cheaper than Ottawa.

Restaurants
pay 49.5% less in Tokyo
Groceries
pay 12.3% more in Tokyo
Transportation
pay 20.3% more in Tokyo
Housing
pay 26.1% less in Tokyo
Childcare
pay 19.0% less in Tokyo
Entertainment and Sports
pay 7.4% less in Tokyo
Clothing
pay 4.8% less in Tokyo

The cost of transportation and groceries in Tokyo are more expensive than in Ottawa. Expenses including restaurants, housing, childcare, entertainment and sports, and clothing are lower in Tokyo.

Tokyo vs. Ottawa Cost Breakdown

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

pay 49.5% less for restaurants

 
Ottawa
Tokyo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $17.99
CA$24.87
$8.02
¥1,246
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$11.01
CA$15.22
$5.01
¥779
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.00
CA$2.77
$1.16
¥180

Improve prices ·

pay 12.3% more for groceries

 
Ottawa
Tokyo
Bread
1 loaf
$2.73
CA$3.77
$1.55
¥241
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.85
CA$8.09
$7.21
¥1,120
Milk (1 gallon) $8.65
CA$11.97
$5.71
¥888

Improve prices ·

pay 20.3% more for transportation

 
Ottawa
Tokyo
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.05
CA$5.60
$4.50
¥699
Monthly public transit pass $97.12
CA$134.31
$73.51
¥11,420
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $24,444.83
CA$33,803.54
$22,332.63
¥3,469,597

Improve prices ·

pay 26.1% less for housing

 
Ottawa
Tokyo
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$49.93
CA$69.04
$33.44
¥5,196
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,452.55
CA$2,008.67
$1,071.65
¥166,492
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,228.71
CA$1,699.13
$642.24
¥99,778

Improve prices ·

pay 19.0% less for childcare

 
Ottawa
Tokyo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $788.18
CA$1,089.93
$519.69
¥80,738
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $15,753.32
CA$21,784.48
$15,131.74
¥2,350,867

Improve prices ·

pay 7.4% less for entertainment and sports

 
Ottawa
Tokyo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.76
CA$7.96
$4.01
¥623
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.74
CA$5.18
$3.43
¥533
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$12.95
CA$17.91
$4.01
¥623

Improve prices ·

pay 4.8% less for clothing

 
Ottawa
Tokyo
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$52.82
CA$73.05
$56.84
¥8,830
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$38.91
CA$53.81
$40.48
¥6,290
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$87.10
CA$120.44
$62.67
¥9,737

Improve prices ·
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
Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Canada vs. Japan. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Canada and Japan.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Tokyo or Ottawa. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.