Cost of living comparison
compared to
Japan vs. United Kingdom Cost of Living Summary
Japan is 32.6% cheaper than United Kingdom overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 56.0% less in Japan
- Groceries
-
pay 22.2% more in Japan
- Transportation
-
pay 25.6% less in Japan
- Housing
-
pay 48.2% less in Japan
- Childcare
-
pay 56.3% less in Japan
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 32.3% less in Japan
- Clothing
-
pay 32.2% less in Japan
Expenses including childcare, restaurants, housing, entertainment and sports, clothing, and transportation are lower in Japan.
Japan vs. United Kingdom Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Japan instead of United Kingdom, you would:
pay 56.0% less for restaurants
|
United Kingdom
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.41
£14.99
|
$6.60
¥1,038
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.94
£7.30
|
$5.10
¥801
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.32
£1.71
|
$1.07
¥168
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.65
£1.21
|
$0.76
¥120
|
|
United Kingdom vs. Japan - Cost of restaurants
pay 22.2% more for groceries
|
United Kingdom
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.59
£1.17
|
$1.50
¥236
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.71
£3.46
|
$5.07
¥796
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.20
£4.55
|
$5.67
¥891
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.87
£2.84
|
$2.08
¥327
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.87
£2.84
|
$2.93
¥460
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.32
£0.97
|
$2.14
¥336
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.73
£0.54
|
$1.12
¥176
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.28
£0.94
|
$1.69
¥266
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.49
£1.10
|
$2.13
¥335
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.72
£0.53
|
$1.22
¥191
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.71
£0.52
|
$1.15
¥181
|
|
United Kingdom vs. Japan - Cost of groceries
pay 25.6% less for transportation
|
United Kingdom
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.22
£5.30
|
$4.39
¥690
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$99.05
£72.74
|
$59.14
¥9,298
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,224.29
£26,605.18
|
$22,599.51
¥4M
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$22.08
£16.22
|
$25.32
¥3,981
|
|
United Kingdom vs. Japan - Cost of transportation
pay 48.2% less for housing
|
United Kingdom
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$41.90
£30.77
|
$33.91
¥5,331
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,285.79
£944.36
|
$543.18
¥85,388
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,062.09
£780.06
|
$353.61
¥55,588
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$233.57
£171.55
|
$118.72
¥18,662
|
|
United Kingdom vs. Japan - Cost of housing
pay 56.3% less for childcare
|
United Kingdom
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,530.71
£1,124.24
|
$296.89
¥46,670
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$19,375.12
£14,230.19
|
$13,159.48
¥2M
|
|
United Kingdom vs. Japan - Cost of childcare
pay 32.3% less for entertainment and sports
|
United Kingdom
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.35
£4.66
|
$2.60
¥409
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.54
£3.33
|
$3.03
¥476
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$19.18
£14.08
|
$3.89
¥611
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$49.26
£36.18
|
$59.54
¥9,360
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.88
£10.20
|
$12.46
¥1,959
|
|
United Kingdom vs. Japan - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 32.2% less for clothing
|
United Kingdom
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$86.00
£63.16
|
$44.79
¥7,042
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.20
£32.46
|
$32.04
¥5,037
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$95.21
£69.93
|
$57.37
¥9,018
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$101.36
£74.44
|
$87.37
¥13,735
|
|
United Kingdom 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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