Cost of living comparison

Iceland

compared to

Japan

Sendai vs. Reykjavik Cost of Living Summary

Sendai is 59.5% cheaper than Reykjavik.

Restaurants: pay 76.6% less in Sendai
Groceries: pay 26.3% less in Sendai
Transportation: pay 58.6% less in Sendai
Housing: pay 44.2% less in Sendai
Childcare: pay 83.0% less in Sendai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 60.5% less in Sendai
Clothing: pay 67.4% less in Sendai

Expenses including childcare, restaurants, clothing, entertainment and sports, transportation, and housing are lower in Sendai.

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Sendai vs. Reykjavik Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Sendai instead of Reykjavik, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 76.6% less for restaurants

	Reykjavik	Sendai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$31.06 ISK3,787	$6.33 ¥999	-79.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$26.97 ISK3,288	$4.59 ¥724	-83.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.31 ISK404	$0.98 ¥155	-70.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$3.11 ISK379	$0.82 ¥130	-73.5%
Average			-76.6%

Reykjavik vs. Sendai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 26.3% less for groceries

	Reykjavik	Sendai
Bread 1 loaf	$4.19 ISK511	$1.48 ¥233	-64.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$10.93 ISK1,333	$5.38 ¥849	-50.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.78 ISK948	$5.43 ¥857	-30.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$7.08 ISK863	$2.08 ¥328	-70.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$11.00 ISK1,342	$5.34 ¥842	-51.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.50 ISK183	$1.59 ¥251	+5.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.27 ISK155	$0.98 ¥154	-23.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.46 ISK178	$2.08 ¥328	+42.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.93 ISK358	$1.44 ¥228	-50.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.78 ISK216	$1.15 ¥181	-35.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.76 ISK92	$1.05 ¥166	+39.1%
Average			-26.3%

Reykjavik vs. Sendai - Cost of groceries

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pay 58.6% less for transportation

	Reykjavik	Sendai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.76 ISK947	$4.11 ¥648	-47.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$94.80 ISK11,559	$37.96 ¥5,991	-60.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$50,588.43 ISK6M	$15,816.38 ¥2M	-68.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$29.26 ISK3,567	??
Average			-58.6%

Reykjavik vs. Sendai - Cost of transportation

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pay 44.2% less for housing

	Reykjavik	Sendai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$86.01 ISK10,487	$35.26 ¥5,565	-59.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,522.88 ISK308K	$569.39 ¥89,870	-77.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$2,032.25 ISK248K	$332.14 ¥52,424	-83.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$73.44 ISK8,954	$105.23 ¥16,608	+43.3%
Average			-44.2%

Reykjavik vs. Sendai - Cost of housing

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pay 83.0% less for childcare

	Reykjavik	Sendai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,185.23 ISK145K	$227.76 ¥35,948	-80.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$25,853.51 ISK3M	$3,795.93 ¥599K	-85.3%
Average			-83.0%

Reykjavik vs. Sendai - Cost of childcare

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pay 60.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Reykjavik	Sendai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$13.89 ISK1,694	$1.90 ¥300	-86.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$6.74 ISK822	$3.69 ¥583	-45.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$13.89 ISK1,694	$4.43 ¥699	-68.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$100.25 ISK12,224	$45.55 ¥7,190	-54.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$19.57 ISK2,387	$10.12 ¥1,598	-48.3%
Average			-60.5%

Reykjavik vs. Sendai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 67.4% less for clothing

	Reykjavik	Sendai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$149.01 ISK18,169	$56.94 ¥8,987	-61.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$65.79 ISK8,022	$33.74 ¥5,326	-48.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$181.84 ISK22,172	$35.01 ¥5,525	-80.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$248.81 ISK30,337	$53.78 ¥8,488	-78.4%
Average			-67.4%

Reykjavik vs. Sendai - 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: October 2026

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