Cost of living comparison

Japan

compared to

Finland

Joensuu vs. Saitama Cost of Living Summary

Joensuu is 57.7% more expensive than Saitama.

Restaurants: pay 2.6 times more in Joensuu
Groceries: pay 1.2% less in Joensuu
Transportation: pay 61.3% more in Joensuu
Housing: pay 2.0 times more in Joensuu
Childcare: pay 56.5% less in Joensuu
Entertainment and Sports: pay 54.9% more in Joensuu
Clothing: pay 2.2 times more in Joensuu

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

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Joensuu vs. Saitama Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Joensuu instead of Saitama, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.6 times more for restaurants

	Saitama	Joensuu
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.69 ¥900	$15.68 €13.95	+175.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.74 ¥750	$11.76 €10.46	+147.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.71 ¥112	$1.29 €1.15	+80.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.62 ¥97	$1.79 €1.59	+190.4%
Average			+155.8%

Saitama vs. Joensuu - Cost of restaurants

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pay 1.2% less for groceries

	Saitama	Joensuu
Bread 1 loaf	$1.70 ¥268	$2.53 €2.25	+48.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.18 ¥819	$4.12 €3.67	-20.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.37 ¥849	$5.55 €4.94	+3.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.04 ¥322	$2.79 €2.48	+36.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.50 ¥395	$5.84 €5.20	+133.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.58 ¥408	$1.15 €1.02	-55.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.00 ¥158	$0.89 €0.79	-11.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.31 ¥206	$1.02 €0.90	-22.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.90 ¥300	$1.76 €1.56	-7.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.17 ¥185	$0.68 €0.60	-42.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.72 ¥113	$0.97 €0.87	+35.7%
Average			-1.2%

Saitama vs. Joensuu - Cost of groceries

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pay 61.3% more for transportation

	Saitama	Joensuu
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.11 ¥649	$8.07 €7.18	+96.4%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$73.90 €65.78
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,434.36 ¥3M	$35,831.54 €31,891.36	+67.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$24.67 ¥3,899	$17.92 €15.95	-27.4%
Average			+61.3%

Saitama vs. Joensuu - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.0 times more for housing

	Saitama	Joensuu
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$32.16 ¥5,082	$32.75 €29.15	+1.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$411.23 ¥64,980	$741.82 €660.25	+80.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$237.25 ¥37,488	$653.18 €581.35	+175.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$101.00 ¥15,960	$148.01 €131.74	+46.5%
Average			+101.2%

Saitama vs. Joensuu - Cost of housing

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pay 56.5% less for childcare

	Saitama	Joensuu
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$632.30 ¥99,913	$274.90 €244.67	-56.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$14,725.05 ¥2M	??
Average			-56.5%

Saitama vs. Joensuu - Cost of childcare

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pay 54.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Saitama	Joensuu
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.53 ¥400	$8.40 €7.47	+231.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.01 ¥475	$3.55 €3.16	+18.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.80 ¥600	$11.87 €10.56	+212.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$62.63 ¥9,897	$52.25 €46.51	-16.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.07 ¥1,749	$16.24 €14.45	+46.6%
Average			+54.9%

Saitama vs. Joensuu - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.2 times more for clothing

	Saitama	Joensuu
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$34.80 ¥5,498	$134.37 €119.59	+286.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$25.31 ¥3,999	$39.19 €34.88	+54.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$55.36 ¥8,747	$89.58 €79.73	+61.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$63.27 ¥9,997	$145.57 €129.56	+130.1%
Average			+117.2%

Saitama vs. Joensuu - Cost of clothing

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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

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