Cost of living comparison

South Africa

compared to

Japan

Chiba vs. Sandton Cost of Living Summary

Chiba is 7.1% more expensive than Sandton.

Restaurants: pay 27.5% less in Chiba
Groceries: pay 44.1% more in Chiba
Transportation: pay 18.0% less in Chiba
Housing: pay 6.9% more in Chiba
Childcare: pay 82.2% more in Chiba
Entertainment and Sports: pay 25.3% more in Chiba
Clothing: pay 18.3% less in Chiba

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

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Chiba vs. Sandton Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Chiba instead of Sandton, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 27.5% less for restaurants

	Sandton	Chiba
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.82 ZAR178.40	$6.33 ¥1,000	-41.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.71 ZAR94.15	$4.74 ¥750	-16.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.06 ZAR17.48	$1.01 ¥160	-4.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.85 ZAR14.04	$0.76 ¥120	-10.8%
Average			-27.5%

Sandton vs. Chiba - Cost of restaurants

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pay 44.1% more for groceries

	Sandton	Chiba
Bread 1 loaf	$1.10 ZAR18.21	$1.70 ¥268	+53.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.31 ZAR71.09	$5.18 ¥819	+20.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.45 ZAR73.36	$5.37 ¥849	+20.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.67 ZAR44.10	$1.41 ¥223	-47.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.23 ZAR36.86	$2.75 ¥435	+23.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.93 ZAR15.38	$2.58 ¥408	+176.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 ZAR13.49	$1.26 ¥198	+53.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.83 ZAR13.63	$1.31 ¥206	+58.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.83 ZAR13.71	$1.89 ¥299	+127.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.70 ZAR11.46	$1.17 ¥185	+68.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.79 ZAR13.04	$1.18 ¥187	+49.8%
Average			+44.1%

Sandton vs. Chiba - Cost of groceries

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pay 18.0% less for transportation

	Sandton	Chiba
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.75 ZAR94.81	$4.11 ¥649	-28.5%
Monthly public transit pass	??	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,391.94 ZAR584K	$21,434.36 ¥3M	-39.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.51 ZAR123.89	$24.67 ¥3,899	+228.5%
Average			-18.0%

Sandton vs. Chiba - Cost of transportation

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pay 6.9% more for housing

	Sandton	Chiba
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$36.83 ZAR607.50	$15.82 ¥2,499	-57.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$540.64 ZAR8,917.37	$861.99 ¥136K	+59.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$440.65 ZAR7,268.03	$485.25 ¥76,676	+10.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$126.36 ZAR2,084.21	$58.37 ¥9,223	-53.8%
Average			+6.9%

Sandton vs. Chiba - Cost of housing

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pay 82.2% more for childcare

	Sandton	Chiba
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$260.78 ZAR4,301.35	$632.30 ¥99,913	+142.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,210.58 ZAR119K	$9,869.42 ¥2M	+36.9%
Average			+82.2%

Sandton vs. Chiba - Cost of childcare

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pay 25.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Sandton	Chiba
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.25 ZAR37.17	$1.90 ¥300	-15.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.44 ZAR40.27	$3.16 ¥500	+29.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.25 ZAR53.60	$3.80 ¥600	+16.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$36.05 ZAR594.66	$53.78 ¥8,497	+49.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.21 ZAR118.93	$10.44 ¥1,649	+44.8%
Average			+25.3%

Sandton vs. Chiba - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 18.3% less for clothing

	Sandton	Chiba
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$57.63 ZAR950.55	$50.61 ¥7,998	-12.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$45.77 ZAR754.99	$36.90 ¥5,832	-19.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$96.14 ZAR1,585.75	$61.47 ¥9,714	-36.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$90.13 ZAR1,486.64	$88.57 ¥13,996	-1.7%
Average			-18.3%

Sandton vs. Chiba - 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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