Cost of living comparison

Russia

compared to

Japan

Japan vs. Russia Cost of Living Summary

Japan is 20.8% more expensive than Russia overall.

Restaurants: pay 23.7% less in Japan
Groceries: pay 73.3% more in Japan
Transportation: pay 44.1% more in Japan
Housing: pay 18.2% more in Japan
Childcare: pay 8.4% more in Japan
Entertainment and Sports: pay 40.7% more in Japan
Clothing: pay 42.7% less in Japan

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

Planning a move to Japan? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Japan vs. Russia Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 23.7% less for restaurants

	Russia	Japan
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.83 RUB894.72	$6.75 ¥1,066	-37.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.39 RUB528.16	$5.10 ¥805	-20.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.16 RUB95.62	$1.13 ¥179	-2.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 RUB49.27	$0.76 ¥120	+27.0%
Average			-23.7%

Russia vs. Japan - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 73.3% more for groceries

	Russia	Japan
Bread 1 loaf	$0.77 RUB63.38	$1.53 ¥241	+99.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.51 RUB455.14	$5.55 ¥877	+0.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.39 RUB362.53	$5.56 ¥879	+26.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.57 RUB129.78	$2.01 ¥318	+28.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.44 RUB201.91	$2.85 ¥450	+16.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.84 RUB69.40	$2.16 ¥342	+157.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.80 RUB66.30	$1.08 ¥171	+34.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.81 RUB67.22	$1.54 ¥243	+89.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.33 RUB109.55	$1.92 ¥303	+44.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.35 RUB29.18	$1.10 ¥174	+211.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.28 RUB23.52	$1.08 ¥170	+277.8%
Average			+73.3%

Russia vs. Japan - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 44.1% more for transportation

	Russia	Japan
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.08 RUB254.77	$4.11 ¥649	+33.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$24.17 RUB1,997.57	$63.20 ¥9,986	+161.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$32,081.81 RUB3M	$21,047.50 ¥3M	-34.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.45 RUB450.28	$24.65 ¥3,895	+352.3%
Average			+44.1%

Russia vs. Japan - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 18.2% more for housing

	Russia	Japan
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$8.47 RUB700.03	$33.54 ¥5,300	+295.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$496.53 RUB41,028.91	$546.58 ¥86,367	+10.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$335.29 RUB27,705.54	$360.78 ¥57,008	+7.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$92.30 RUB7,626.55	$113.26 ¥17,897	+22.7%
Average			+18.2%

Russia vs. Japan - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 8.4% more for childcare

	Russia	Japan
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$402.75 RUB33,279.52	$417.01 ¥65,893	+3.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,958.40 RUB823K	$11,300.14 ¥2M	+13.5%
Average			+8.4%

Russia vs. Japan - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 40.7% more for entertainment and sports

	Russia	Japan
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.06 RUB170.10	$2.57 ¥406	+24.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.73 RUB225.71	$3.06 ¥483	+11.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.85 RUB235.62	$3.83 ¥605	+34.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$37.43 RUB3,092.83	$53.31 ¥8,424	+42.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.26 RUB517.18	$11.73 ¥1,853	+87.4%
Average			+40.7%

Russia vs. Japan - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 42.7% less for clothing

	Russia	Japan
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$83.60 RUB6,907.85	$46.32 ¥7,320	-44.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$55.20 RUB4,561.14	$31.33 ¥4,950	-43.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$125.97 RUB10,408.90	$59.45 ¥9,394	-52.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$111.42 RUB9,206.92	$81.04 ¥12,805	-27.3%
Average			-42.7%

Russia vs. Japan - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Russia vs. Japan

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Japan?

Quality of Life Comparison · 20 statistics

Make 2.0 times more money in Japan

Size Comparison · See true size

Russia is about 45 times bigger than Japan.

Moving from Russia to Japan · OECD 2023

2,205 people moved from Russia to Japan.

City Size Comparison · See true size

Compare the size of Moscow vs Tokyo

More cost comparisons

Russia vs.

United States

Russia vs.

India

Russia vs.

Ukraine

Russia vs.

Kazakhstan

Russia vs.

Germany

Russia vs.

Uzbekistan

Russia vs.

Belarus

Russia vs.

Tajikistan

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Moscow 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

Add prices for Russia

Add prices for Japan

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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