Cost of living comparison
compared to
Japan vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary
Japan is 47.1% more expensive than South Africa overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 7.9% less in Japan
- Groceries
-
pay 86.3% more in Japan
- Transportation
-
pay 42.8% more in Japan
- Housing
-
pay 13.3% more in Japan
- Childcare
-
pay 2.5 times more in Japan
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 55.4% more in Japan
- Clothing
-
pay 11.6% less in Japan
The cost of childcare, groceries, entertainment and sports, transportation, and housing in Japan are more expensive than in South Africa. Expenses including clothing and restaurants are lower in Japan. Notably, childcare and groceries are significantly more expensive in Japan.
Japan vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Japan instead of South Africa, you would:
pay 7.9% less for restaurants
|
South Africa
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$9.33
ZAR149.72
|
$6.60
¥1,024
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$5.11
ZAR82.01
|
$5.10
¥790
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.03
ZAR16.54
|
$1.07
¥165
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.80
ZAR12.88
|
$0.76
¥118
|
|
South Africa vs. Japan - Cost of restaurants
pay 86.3% more for groceries
|
South Africa
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.00
ZAR16.08
|
$1.50
¥233
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$3.88
ZAR62.30
|
$5.07
¥785
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.37
ZAR70.10
|
$5.67
¥878
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.33
ZAR37.42
|
$2.08
¥322
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.13
ZAR34.23
|
$2.93
¥454
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$0.73
ZAR11.68
|
$2.14
¥331
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.65
ZAR10.46
|
$1.12
¥173
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.68
ZAR10.96
|
$1.69
¥262
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.71
ZAR11.37
|
$2.13
¥330
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.59
ZAR9.39
|
$1.22
¥189
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.60
ZAR9.62
|
$1.15
¥179
|
|
South Africa vs. Japan - Cost of groceries
pay 42.8% more for transportation
|
South Africa
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.92
ZAR78.97
|
$4.39
¥680
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$56.18
ZAR901.07
|
$59.14
¥9,166
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$21,394.82
ZAR343K
|
$22,599.51
¥4M
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$9.34
ZAR149.78
|
$25.32
¥3,925
|
|
South Africa vs. Japan - Cost of transportation
pay 13.3% more for housing
|
South Africa
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$39.36
ZAR631.29
|
$33.91
¥5,256
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$404.16
ZAR6,482.67
|
$543.18
¥84,180
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$361.59
ZAR5,799.87
|
$353.61
¥54,801
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$88.13
ZAR1,413.57
|
$118.72
¥18,398
|
|
South Africa vs. Japan - Cost of housing
pay 2.5 times more for childcare
|
South Africa
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$173.48
ZAR2,782.52
|
$296.89
¥46,010
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$3,962.11
ZAR63,551.78
|
$13,159.48
¥2M
|
|
South Africa vs. Japan - Cost of childcare
pay 55.4% more for entertainment and sports
|
South Africa
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.18
ZAR34.93
|
$2.60
¥404
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.05
ZAR32.87
|
$3.03
¥469
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$2.96
ZAR47.54
|
$3.89
¥602
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$30.26
ZAR485.39
|
$59.54
¥9,227
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$6.85
ZAR109.85
|
$12.46
¥1,931
|
|
South Africa vs. Japan - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 11.6% less for clothing
|
South Africa
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$50.74
ZAR813.91
|
$44.79
¥6,942
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$32.75
ZAR525.35
|
$32.04
¥4,965
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$94.19
ZAR1,510.82
|
$57.37
¥8,891
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$81.80
ZAR1,311.99
|
$87.37
¥13,540
|
|
South Africa vs. Japan - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: February 2026
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