Japan vs. Romania Cost of Living Summary

Japan is 35.1% more expensive than Romania overall.

Restaurants
pay 41.0% less in Japan
Groceries
pay 96.5% more in Japan
Transportation
pay 91.2% more in Japan
Housing
pay 82.6% more in Japan
Childcare
pay 12.0% more in Japan
Entertainment and Sports
pay 23.9% more in Japan
Clothing
pay 19.4% less in Japan

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

Japan vs. Romania Cost Breakdown

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

pay 41.0% less for restaurants

 
Romania
Japan
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $10.04
RON44.12
$6.60
¥1,031
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$7.48
RON32.85
$5.10
¥796
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.94
RON8.52
$1.07
¥166

Improve prices ·

pay 96.5% more for groceries

 
Romania
Japan
Bread
1 loaf
$1.18
RON5.19
$1.50
¥234
Local cheese (8 oz) $4.01
RON17.63
$5.07
¥791
Milk (1 gallon) $5.61
RON24.64
$5.67
¥885

Improve prices ·

pay 91.2% more for transportation

 
Romania
Japan
Gasoline (1 gallon) $6.02
RON26.45
$4.39
¥686
Monthly public transit pass $23.52
RON103.31
$59.14
¥9,236
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $27,339.27
RON120,090.50
$22,599.51
¥3,529,252

Improve prices ·

pay 82.6% more for housing

 
Romania
Japan
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$9.24
RON40.59
$33.91
¥5,296
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $390.19
RON1,713.96
$543.18
¥84,826
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $289.13
RON1,270.02
$353.61
¥55,222

Improve prices ·

pay 12.0% more for childcare

 
Romania
Japan
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $526.34
RON2,311.99
$296.89
¥46,363
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $7,853.44
RON34,497.00
$13,159.48
¥2,055,050

Improve prices ·

pay 23.9% more for entertainment and sports

 
Romania
Japan
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $2.34
RON10.30
$2.60
¥407
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.50
RON11.00
$3.03
¥473
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$5.88
RON25.83
$3.89
¥607

Improve prices ·

pay 19.4% less for clothing

 
Romania
Japan
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$66.67
RON292.86
$44.79
¥6,995
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$38.50
RON169.11
$32.04
¥5,003
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$78.13
RON343.19
$57.37
¥8,959

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 by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Bucharest vs. Tokyo

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 Japan or Romania. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.