Cost of living comparison

compared to

Japan vs. Rome Cost of Living Summary

Japan is 20.3% cheaper than Rome.

Restaurants
pay 54.8% less in Japan
Groceries
pay 4.5% more in Japan
Transportation
pay 1.7% more in Japan
Housing
pay 37.4% less in Japan
Childcare
pay 13.8% less in Japan
Entertainment and Sports
pay 12.0% less in Japan
Clothing
pay 30.2% less in Japan

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

Japan vs. Rome Cost Breakdown

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

pay 54.8% less for restaurants

 
Rome
Japan
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $17.52
€14.93
$6.60
¥1,029
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$11.68
€9.95
$5.10
¥794
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.50
€2.13
$1.07
¥166

Improve prices ·

pay 4.5% more for groceries

 
Rome
Japan
Bread
1 loaf
$2.21
€1.89
$1.50
¥234
Local cheese (8 oz) $9.54
€8.13
$5.07
¥789
Milk (1 gallon) $7.12
€6.06
$5.67
¥883

Improve prices ·

pay 1.7% more for transportation

 
Rome
Japan
Gasoline (1 gallon) $7.66
€6.53
$4.39
¥684
Monthly public transit pass $40.88
€34.83
$59.14
¥9,212
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $29,199.74
€24,878.35
$22,599.51
¥3,519,986

Improve prices ·

pay 37.4% less for housing

 
Rome
Japan
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$32.12
€27.36
$33.91
¥5,282
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,436.63
€1,224.02
$543.18
¥84,603
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $927.65
€790.37
$353.61
¥55,077

Improve prices ·

pay 13.8% less for childcare

 
Rome
Japan
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $568.18
€484.09
$296.89
¥46,241
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $10,951.36
€9,330.63
$13,159.48
¥2,049,655

Improve prices ·

pay 12.0% less for entertainment and sports

 
Rome
Japan
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.84
€4.98
$2.60
¥406
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.01
€1.72
$3.03
¥471
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$7.18
€6.12
$3.89
¥605

Improve prices ·

pay 30.2% less for clothing

 
Rome
Japan
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$81.76
€69.66
$44.79
¥6,977
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$37.76
€32.18
$32.04
¥4,990
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$88.68
€75.56
$57.37
¥8,936

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 Italy vs. Japan. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Italy 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 Japan or Rome. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.