Cost of living comparison
compared to
Japan vs. Tonga Cost of Living Summary
Japan is 5.0 times more expensive than Tonga overall.
Japan vs. Tonga Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Japan instead of Tonga, you would:
pay 50.8% less for restaurants
|
Tonga
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$8.31
TOP20.00
|
$6.60
¥1,055
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.38
TOP25.00
|
$5.10
¥814
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.84
TOP6.83
|
$1.07
¥170
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.46
TOP5.92
|
$0.76
¥122
|
|
Tonga vs. Japan - Cost of restaurants
pay 8.9% more for groceries
|
Tonga
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.04
TOP2.50
|
$1.50
¥240
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.50
TOP10.83
|
$5.07
¥809
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.92
TOP14.26
|
$5.67
¥905
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.09
TOP12.27
|
$2.08
¥332
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.67
TOP6.43
|
$2.93
¥468
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.26
TOP3.02
|
$2.14
¥341
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.26
TOP3.02
|
$1.12
¥179
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.32
TOP3.18
|
$1.69
¥270
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.70
TOP4.08
|
$2.13
¥340
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.44
TOP3.48
|
$1.22
¥194
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.19
TOP2.87
|
$1.15
¥184
|
|
Tonga vs. Japan - Cost of groceries
pay 86.6% more for transportation
|
Tonga
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.50
TOP13.25
|
$4.39
¥701
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$41.53
TOP100.00
|
$59.14
¥9,448
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$5,814.53
TOP14,000.00
|
$22,599.51
¥4M
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$18.69
TOP45.00
|
$25.32
¥4,045
|
|
Tonga vs. Japan - Cost of transportation
pay 34.2% less for housing
|
Tonga
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$124.60
TOP300.00
|
$33.91
¥5,418
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$622.99
TOP1,500.00
|
$543.18
¥86,771
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center | ?? |
$353.61
¥56,488
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$142.92
TOP344.12
|
$118.72
¥18,964
|
|
Tonga vs. Japan - Cost of housing
pay 27.3 times more for childcare
|
Tonga
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$157.82
TOP380.00
|
$296.89
¥47,426
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$249.19
TOP600.00
|
$13,159.48
¥2M
|
|
Tonga vs. Japan - Cost of childcare
pay 11.6% less for entertainment and sports
|
Tonga
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$3.32
TOP8.00
|
$2.60
¥416
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.91
TOP7.00
|
$3.03
¥483
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$10.18
TOP24.50
|
$3.89
¥621
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$31.15
TOP75.00
|
$59.54
¥9,511
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$41.53
TOP100.00
|
$12.46
¥1,991
|
|
Tonga vs. Japan - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 2.7 times more for clothing
|
Tonga
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$14.54
TOP35.00
|
$44.79
¥7,156
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$17.65
TOP42.50
|
$32.04
¥5,118
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$20.77
TOP50.00
|
$57.37
¥9,164
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$29.07
TOP70.00
|
$87.37
¥13,957
|
|
Tonga 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: March 2026
Change currency:
Compare further: Tonga vs. Japan
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
Ask the Elsewhere Community
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Japan or Tonga. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.