Cost of living comparison

Norway

compared to

Japan

Saitama vs. Sandnes Cost of Living Summary

Saitama is 54.8% cheaper than Sandnes.

Restaurants: pay 75.0% less in Saitama
Groceries: pay 28.5% less in Saitama
Transportation: pay 44.6% less in Saitama
Housing: pay 68.8% less in Saitama
Childcare: pay 85.2% more in Saitama
Entertainment and Sports: pay 48.0% less in Saitama
Clothing: pay 63.1% less in Saitama

Expenses including restaurants, housing, clothing, entertainment and sports, transportation, and groceries are lower in Saitama. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Saitama.

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Saitama vs. Sandnes Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 75.0% less for restaurants

	Sandnes	Saitama
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$24.95 NOK235.26	$5.69 ¥900	-77.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$15.24 NOK143.71	$4.74 ¥750	-68.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.34 NOK31.50	$0.71 ¥112	-78.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.96 NOK27.89	$0.62 ¥97	-79.1%
Average			-75.0%

Sandnes vs. Saitama - Cost of restaurants

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pay 28.5% less for groceries

	Sandnes	Saitama
Bread 1 loaf	$3.45 NOK32.48	$1.70 ¥268	-50.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.61 NOK62.34	$5.18 ¥819	-21.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$9.02 NOK85.07	$5.37 ¥849	-40.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.81 NOK45.38	$2.04 ¥322	-57.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$7.17 NOK67.57	$2.50 ¥395	-65.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.59 NOK15.03	$2.58 ¥408	+62.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.25 NOK11.83	$1.00 ¥158	-20.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.42 NOK13.39	$1.31 ¥206	-8.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.18 NOK20.58	$1.90 ¥300	-12.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.14 NOK10.72	$1.17 ¥185	+2.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.04 NOK9.82	$0.72 ¥113	-31.1%
Average			-28.5%

Sandnes vs. Saitama - Cost of groceries

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pay 44.6% less for transportation

	Sandnes	Saitama
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.46 NOK79.78	$4.11 ¥649	-51.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$83.53 NOK787.47	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$43,324.58 NOK408K	$21,434.36 ¥3M	-50.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$19.94 NOK188.01	$24.67 ¥3,899	+23.7%
Average			-44.6%

Sandnes vs. Saitama - Cost of transportation

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pay 68.8% less for housing

	Sandnes	Saitama
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$82.03 NOK773.33	$32.16 ¥5,082	-60.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,322.52 NOK12,468.29	$411.23 ¥64,980	-68.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$952.73 NOK8,982.09	$237.25 ¥37,488	-75.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$189.96 NOK1,790.89	$101.00 ¥15,960	-46.8%
Average			-68.8%

Sandnes vs. Saitama - Cost of housing

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pay 85.2% more for childcare

	Sandnes	Saitama
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$288.87 NOK2,723.34	$632.30 ¥99,913	+118.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,396.83 NOK88,590.45	$14,725.05 ¥2M	+56.7%
Average			+85.2%

Sandnes vs. Saitama - Cost of childcare

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pay 48.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Sandnes	Saitama
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$13.52 NOK127.47	$2.53 ¥400	-81.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.56 NOK52.42	$3.01 ¥475	-45.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$16.18 NOK152.57	$3.80 ¥600	-76.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$45.24 NOK426.55	$62.63 ¥9,897	+38.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$18.79 NOK177.18	$11.07 ¥1,749	-41.1%
Average			-48.0%

Sandnes vs. Saitama - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 63.1% less for clothing

	Sandnes	Saitama
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$125.22 NOK1,180.55	$34.80 ¥5,498	-72.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$59.73 NOK563.10	$25.31 ¥3,999	-57.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$118.33 NOK1,115.58	$55.36 ¥8,747	-53.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$187.94 NOK1,771.81	$63.27 ¥9,997	-66.3%
Average			-63.1%

Sandnes vs. Saitama - 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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