Cost of living comparison

Russia

compared to

Japan

Saitama vs. Sochi Cost of Living Summary

Saitama is 4.1% more expensive than Sochi.

Restaurants: pay 35.6% less in Saitama
Groceries: pay 91.7% more in Saitama
Transportation: pay 40.5% more in Saitama
Housing: pay 31.1% less in Saitama
Childcare: pay 2.0 times more in Saitama
Entertainment and Sports: pay 97.7% more in Saitama
Clothing: pay 55.0% less in Saitama

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

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Saitama vs. Sochi Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 35.6% less for restaurants

	Sochi	Saitama
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$11.70 RUB966.60	$5.69 ¥900	-51.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.67 RUB468.80	$4.74 ¥750	-16.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.21 RUB99.88	$0.71 ¥112	-41.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.62 RUB51.09	$0.62 ¥97	-0.2%
Average			-35.6%

Sochi vs. Saitama - Cost of restaurants

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pay 91.7% more for groceries

	Sochi	Saitama
Bread 1 loaf	$0.81 RUB67.15	$1.70 ¥268	+109.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.63 RUB382.78	$5.18 ¥819	+11.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.07 RUB336.63	$5.37 ¥849	+31.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.54 RUB127.16	$2.04 ¥322	+32.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.19 RUB181.08	$2.50 ¥395	+14.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.58 RUB47.57	$2.58 ¥408	+348.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.81 RUB66.64	$1.00 ¥158	+24.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.62 RUB51.41	$1.31 ¥206	+109.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.83 RUB68.84	$1.90 ¥300	+128.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.31 RUB25.27	$1.17 ¥185	+282.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.27 RUB21.92	$0.72 ¥113	+170.4%
Average			+91.7%

Sochi vs. Saitama - Cost of groceries

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pay 40.5% more for transportation

	Sochi	Saitama
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.07 RUB253.80	$4.11 ¥649	+33.8%
Monthly public transit pass	??	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$23,395.60 RUB2M	$21,434.36 ¥3M	-8.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.09 RUB338.31	$24.67 ¥3,899	+502.6%
Average			+40.5%

Sochi vs. Saitama - Cost of transportation

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pay 31.1% less for housing

	Sochi	Saitama
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$7.02 RUB579.96	$32.16 ¥5,082	+358.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$760.36 RUB62,829.32	$411.23 ¥64,980	-45.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$409.42 RUB33,831.17	$237.25 ¥37,488	-42.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$91.39 RUB7,551.73	$101.00 ¥15,960	+10.5%
Average			-31.1%

Sochi vs. Saitama - Cost of housing

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pay 2.0 times more for childcare

	Sochi	Saitama
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$315.84 RUB26,098.33	$632.30 ¥99,913	+100.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	??	$14,725.05 ¥2M
Average			+100.2%

Sochi vs. Saitama - Cost of childcare

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pay 97.7% more for entertainment and sports

	Sochi	Saitama
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.17 RUB96.66	$2.53 ¥400	+116.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.85 RUB235.44	$3.01 ¥475	+5.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.69 RUB222.32	$3.80 ¥600	+41.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$37.01 RUB3,058.09	$62.63 ¥9,897	+69.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$2.72 RUB224.98	$11.07 ¥1,749	+306.6%
Average			+97.7%

Sochi vs. Saitama - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 55.0% less for clothing

	Sochi	Saitama
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$81.88 RUB6,766.23	$34.80 ¥5,498	-57.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$78.96 RUB6,524.58	$25.31 ¥3,999	-68.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$115.52 RUB9,545.22	$55.36 ¥8,747	-52.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$100.89 RUB8,336.97	$63.27 ¥9,997	-37.3%
Average			-55.0%

Sochi 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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