Cost of living comparison

South Africa

compared to

Japan

Kobe vs. Stellenbosch Cost of Living Summary

Kobe is 14.3% more expensive than Stellenbosch.

Restaurants: pay 2.7% more in Kobe
Groceries: pay 98.5% more in Kobe
Transportation: pay 21.2% less in Kobe
Housing: pay 4.1% more in Kobe
Childcare: pay 80.0% more in Kobe
Entertainment and Sports: pay 16.9% more in Kobe
Clothing: pay 30.7% less in Kobe

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

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Kobe vs. Stellenbosch Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Kobe instead of Stellenbosch, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.7% more for restaurants

	Stellenbosch	Kobe
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.21 ZAR118.93	$7.59 ¥1,200	+5.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.81 ZAR79.29	$4.87 ¥770	+1.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.96 ZAR15.86	$1.17 ¥184	+21.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.74 ZAR12.22	$0.60 ¥95	-18.9%
Average			+2.7%

Stellenbosch vs. Kobe - Cost of restaurants

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pay 98.5% more for groceries

	Stellenbosch	Kobe
Bread 1 loaf	$1.13 ZAR18.58	$1.29 ¥204	+14.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.39 ZAR72.41	$6.33 ¥1,000	+44.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.99 ZAR82.36	$5.78 ¥913	+15.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.88 ZAR47.44	$2.05 ¥325	-28.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.63 ZAR43.46	$3.16 ¥499	+19.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.79 ZAR13.03	$3.53 ¥558	+347.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 ZAR10.79	$1.36 ¥215	+108.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.77 ZAR12.72	$2.28 ¥360	+195.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 ZAR11.69	$3.54 ¥559	+399.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.48 ZAR7.86	$1.72 ¥272	+261.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.68 ZAR11.24	$1.58 ¥249	+131.7%
Average			+98.5%

Stellenbosch vs. Kobe - Cost of groceries

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pay 21.2% less for transportation

	Stellenbosch	Kobe
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.30 ZAR87.50	$4.10 ¥648	-22.7%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$63.27 ¥9,997
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,391.94 ZAR584K	$20,061.49 ¥3M	-43.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$12.62 ZAR208.13	$28.47 ¥4,499	+125.6%
Average			-21.2%

Stellenbosch vs. Kobe - Cost of transportation

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pay 4.1% more for housing

	Stellenbosch	Kobe
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$34.05 ZAR561.70	$31.16 ¥4,923	-8.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$681.00 ZAR11,232.40	$687.49 ¥109K	+1.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$480.71 ZAR7,928.76	$463.95 ¥73,311	-3.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$77.26 ZAR1,274.26	$111.27 ¥17,583	+44.0%
Average			+4.1%

Stellenbosch vs. Kobe - Cost of housing

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pay 80.0% more for childcare

	Stellenbosch	Kobe
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$261.38 ZAR4,311.26	$322.65 ¥50,984	+23.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$2,343.44 ZAR38,652.68	$6,149.41 ¥972K	+162.4%
Average			+80.0%

Stellenbosch vs. Kobe - Cost of childcare

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pay 16.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Stellenbosch	Kobe
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.70 ZAR44.60	$2.06 ¥326	-23.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.06 ZAR33.94	$2.34 ¥370	+13.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.61 ZAR59.47	$3.48 ¥550	-3.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$28.54 ZAR470.77	$46.39 ¥7,331	+62.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.71 ZAR143.71	$11.39 ¥1,799	+30.7%
Average			+16.9%

Stellenbosch vs. Kobe - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 30.7% less for clothing

	Stellenbosch	Kobe
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$52.84 ZAR871.52	$50.30 ¥7,948	-4.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.04 ZAR479.03	$25.31 ¥3,999	-12.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$119.84 ZAR1,976.68	$45.97 ¥7,264	-61.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$90.13 ZAR1,486.64	$65.37 ¥10,330	-27.5%
Average			-30.7%

Stellenbosch vs. Kobe - 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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