Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Japan

Okinawa vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Okinawa is 0.1% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 91.7% more in Okinawa
Groceries: pay 53.3% more in Okinawa
Transportation: pay 39.1% more in Okinawa
Housing: pay 31.5% less in Okinawa
Childcare: pay 78.2% less in Okinawa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 28.0% more in Okinawa
Clothing: pay 13.6% less in Okinawa

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

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Okinawa vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Okinawa instead of Shanghai, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 91.7% more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Okinawa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$9.99 ¥1,578	+123.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$6.99 ¥1,105	+33.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$1.49 ¥236	+148.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$0.97 ¥153	+162.0%
Average			+91.7%

Shanghai vs. Okinawa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 53.3% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Okinawa
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$2.10 ¥332	+6.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$8.88 ¥1,404	+3.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$6.07 ¥959	-11.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$1.80 ¥284	+6.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$2.20 ¥348	+48.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$1.69 ¥266	+69.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$1.20 ¥190	+56.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$1.00 ¥157	+10.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$2.32 ¥366	+201.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$1.10 ¥174	+207.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$1.15 ¥181	+165.0%
Average			+53.3%

Shanghai vs. Okinawa - Cost of groceries

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pay 39.1% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Okinawa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$4.10 ¥648	-17.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	$66.02 ¥10,432	+121.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$21,143.33 ¥3M	+9.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	$31.70 ¥5,008	+459.2%
Average			+39.1%

Shanghai vs. Okinawa - Cost of transportation

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pay 31.5% less for housing

	Shanghai	Okinawa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$52.72 ¥8,331	+399.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$405.22 ¥64,030	-60.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$327.24 ¥51,709	-44.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$121.76 ¥19,239	+176.4%
Average			-31.5%

Shanghai vs. Okinawa - Cost of housing

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pay 78.2% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Okinawa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$332.14 ¥52,484	-76.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$5,598.72 ¥885K	-79.8%
Average			-78.2%

Shanghai vs. Okinawa - Cost of childcare

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pay 28.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Okinawa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$2.00 ¥316	+67.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$4.16 ¥657	+24.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$3.92 ¥620	+5.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$71.70 ¥11,330	+9.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$12.02 ¥1,899	+34.3%
Average			+28.0%

Shanghai vs. Okinawa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 13.6% less for clothing

	Shanghai	Okinawa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$49.67 ¥7,848	-8.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$23.41 ¥3,699	-36.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$80.24 ¥12,679	+6.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$96.22 ¥15,204	-9.0%
Average			-13.6%

Shanghai vs. Okinawa - 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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