Cost of living comparison

compared to

Japan vs. United Arab Emirates Cost of Living Summary

Japan is 1.5% more expensive than United Arab Emirates overall.

Restaurants: pay 1.1% less in Japan
Groceries: pay 69.8% more in Japan
Transportation: pay 53.9% more in Japan
Housing: pay 49.1% less in Japan
Childcare: pay 10.5% more in Japan
Entertainment and Sports: pay 35.7% less in Japan
Clothing: pay 37.5% less in Japan

The cost of groceries, transportation, and childcare in Japan are more expensive than in United Arab Emirates. Expenses including housing, clothing, entertainment and sports, and restaurants are lower in Japan.

Japan vs. United Arab Emirates Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Japan instead of United Arab Emirates, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 1.1% less for restaurants

	United Arab Emirates	Japan
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.91 AED29.06	$6.60 ¥1,029	-16.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.65 AED31.75	$5.10 ¥794	-41.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.04 AED3.83	$1.07 ¥166	+2.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 AED1.85	$0.76 ¥118	+50.9%
Average			-1.1%

United Arab Emirates vs. Japan - Cost of restaurants

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pay 69.8% more for groceries

	United Arab Emirates	Japan
Bread 1 loaf	$1.47 AED5.39	$1.50 ¥234	+2.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.36 AED19.68	$5.07 ¥789	-5.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.96 AED25.56	$5.67 ¥883	-18.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.81 AED10.34	$2.08 ¥324	-26.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.68 AED13.51	$2.93 ¥456	-20.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.98 AED3.59	$2.14 ¥333	+118.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.75 AED2.75	$1.12 ¥174	+49.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.73 AED2.69	$1.69 ¥264	+131.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 AED2.15	$2.13 ¥332	+264.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.48 AED1.76	$1.22 ¥190	+153.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 AED1.93	$1.15 ¥180	+119.1%
Average			+69.8%

United Arab Emirates vs. Japan - Cost of groceries

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pay 53.9% more for transportation

	United Arab Emirates	Japan
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.91 AED10.69	$4.39 ¥684	+50.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$53.10 AED195.00	$59.14 ¥9,212	+11.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$40,680.12 AED149,397.75	$22,599.51 ¥3,519,986	-44.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.50 AED31.21	$25.32 ¥3,944	+197.9%
Average			+53.9%

United Arab Emirates vs. Japan - Cost of transportation

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pay 49.1% less for housing

	United Arab Emirates	Japan
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$101.41 AED372.42	$33.91 ¥5,282	-66.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,438.18 AED5,281.71	$543.18 ¥84,603	-62.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$990.79 AED3,638.67	$353.61 ¥55,077	-64.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$122.67 AED450.49	$118.72 ¥18,491	-3.2%
Average			-49.1%

United Arab Emirates vs. Japan - Cost of housing

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pay 10.5% more for childcare

	United Arab Emirates	Japan
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$497.28 AED1,826.25	$296.89 ¥46,241	-40.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,164.49 AED29,984.10	$13,159.48 ¥2,049,655	+61.2%
Average			+10.5%

United Arab Emirates vs. Japan - Cost of childcare

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pay 35.7% less for entertainment and sports

	United Arab Emirates	Japan
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$10.43 AED38.31	$2.60 ¥406	-75.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.99 AED18.32	$3.03 ¥471	-39.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.23 AED22.88	$3.89 ¥605	-37.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$75.55 AED277.45	$59.54 ¥9,274	-21.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.19 AED48.44	$12.46 ¥1,941	-5.5%
Average			-35.7%

United Arab Emirates vs. Japan - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 37.5% less for clothing

	United Arab Emirates	Japan
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$75.04 AED275.58	$44.79 ¥6,977	-40.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$59.50 AED218.51	$32.04 ¥4,990	-46.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$105.66 AED388.03	$57.37 ¥8,936	-45.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$106.53 AED391.23	$87.37 ¥13,609	-18.0%
Average			-37.5%

United Arab Emirates vs. Japan - Cost of clothing

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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: December 2025

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