Cost of Living in Tokyo, 🇯🇵 Japan - For Locals, Nomads, and Tourists

Researched Updated Oct 25, 2026 Last changed Oct 31, 2026 About costs

Cost breakdown

Digital nomad: short-term stay (1-3 months). Furnished Airbnb or coliving near center, coworking, eating out ~3x/day, travel health insurance.

Expat: long-term resident (1+ years). Renting apartment in center, mix of cooking and dining out, local health insurance, settled lifestyle.

Family: middle-class 4-person family. 2-3 bedroom in suburbs, groceries for 4, international school, car/transport, family health plan.

Local: budget-conscious local resident. Renting outside center, cooking at home, public transport, local phone plan.

Tourist: short-stay visitor (1-14 days). Hotel/Airbnb nightly, all meals at restaurants, taxis, sightseeing.

CategoryCost

Housing 1 2 11 $1,618 $1,074 $1,453 $600 $114

Utilities 35 — $177 $253 $131 —

Internet & Mobile 13 10 20 $19 $49 $76 $49 $3

Groceries 9 30 31 32 33 34 $178 $232 $498 $166 $3

Transportation 8 16 24 $112 $124 $282 $80 $16

Dining Out 4 5 26 27 $711 $455 $505 $95 $28

Leisure Activities 7 15 36 19 $142 $153 $3,286 $129 $16

Health Insurance 18 $63 $221 $569 $114 $2

Visa & Legal Fees 37 — $28 $57 — —

Total $2,843 $2,513 $6,979 $1,364 $182

Itemized prices

Local prices converted to the selected currency.

Housing

Apartment (1 bedroom) 1 11 $695.12 $474 – $1,264 per month

Coworking Space 22 $221.18 per month

Airbnb (1 month) 2 $1,617.74 $1,100 – $1,959 per month

Coliving Space 1 $600.33 per month

Food & Dining

Coffee 6 $3.25 per cup

Beer 26 11 $4.36 per pint

Meal (Inexpensive) 5 4 $5.06 per meal

Fast Food Combo 4 $4.36 per meal

Apples 32 11 $6.13 per kg

Bread 9 11 $1.28 per loaf

Milk 9 $1.69 per liter

Rice 33 $1.09 per kg

Chicken Fillets 30 $5.45 per kg

Beef 31 $15.79 per kg

Wine (Mid-range) 27 $6.95 per bottle

Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 27 26 $37.91 per meal

Water (1.5L bottle) 34 $0.57 per bottle

Transportation

Taxi Start 16 17 $3.16 per trip

Taxi per km 16 17 $2.72 per km

Monthly Transport Pass 8 25 $61.11 per month

Gasoline 12 $1.10 per liter

Ride-hailing (5km) 16 17 $14.03 per trip

Scooter Rental 39 $50.55 per month

Services

Mobile Plan 3 13 $18.77 per month

Internet (60 Mbps+) 10 $30.24 per month

Gym Membership 15 $66.04 per month

Tennis Court (Weekend) 36 $11.37 per hour

SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 20 $54.22 one-time

Entertainment

Cinema Ticket 7 $13.90 per ticket

Clothing

Jeans 28 $18.87 per pair

Summer Dress 29 $18.87 per dress

Running Shoes 40 $76.46 per pair

Personal Care

Haircut 23 $8.85 per visit

Laundry 38 $1.26 per kg

Healthcare

Doctor Visit (GP) 21 $63.19 per visit

Pharmacy (basic meds) 41 $4.85 per purchase

About these costs

Method: Researched
Last updated: Oct 25, 2026
Last changed: Oct 31, 2026
Exchange rate: 1 USD = 158.245 JPY on Oct 19, 2026

Checked against the sources below and compared with similar cities. Numbers in the list point to these sources.

Compared with Hanoi, New York, Seoul, Singapore, London

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Change history

Oct 31, 2026
- Method Generated Researched
- Airbnb (1 month) 2390.42 1617.74
- Apartment (1 bedroom) 975.04 695.12
- Apples 5.03 6.13
- Beef 23.9 15.79
- Beer 4.09 4.36
40 more changes
- Bread 1.76 1.28
- Chicken Fillets 6.92 5.45
- Cinema Ticket 12.58 13.9
- Coffee 3.46 3.25
- Coliving Space 723.42 600.33
- Coworking Space 207.59 221.18
- Dining Out local 125.81, nomad 880.68, expat 408.89, family 534.7, tourist 62.91 local 94.79, nomad 710.92, expat 454.99, family 505.08, tourist 28.44
- Doctor Visit (GP) 28.31 63.19
- Fast Food Combo 5.35 4.36
- Gasoline 1.14 1.1
- Groceries local 283.08, nomad 94.36, expat 345.98, family 691.96, tourist 9.44 local 165.88, nomad 177.73, expat 232.23, family 497.64, tourist 3.16
- Gym Membership 66.05 66.04
- Haircut 31.45 8.85
- Health Insurance local 78.63, nomad 56.62, expat 138.39, family 283.08, tourist 3.15 local 113.75, nomad 62.72, expat 221.17, family 568.74, tourist 2.09
- Housing local 471.79, nomad 1761.36, expat 975.04, family 2012.98, tourist 113.23 local 600.33, nomad 1617.74, expat 1074.28, family 1453.44, tourist 113.75
- Internet & Mobile local 40.89, nomad 94.36, expat 56.62, family 113.23, tourist 7.55 local 49.01, nomad 18.77, family 75.83, tourist 2.53
- Internet (60 Mbps+) 33.97 30.24
- Jeans 59.76 18.87
- Laundry 7.55 1.26
- Leisure Activities local 94.36, nomad 283.08, expat 188.72, family 377.43, tourist 25.16 local 128.51, nomad 141.98, expat 153, family 3286.04, tourist 15.8
- Meal (Inexpensive) 6.92 5.06
- Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 53.47 37.91
- Milk 1.64 1.69
- Mobile Plan 23.9 18.77
- Monthly Transport Pass 78.63 61.11
- Pharmacy (basic meds) 7.55 4.85
- Rice 17.61 1.09
- Ride-hailing (5km) 17.61 14.03
- Running Shoes 72.34 76.46
- SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 34.6 54.22
- Scooter Rental 13.84 50.55
- Summer Dress 34.6 18.87
- Taxi Start 3.15 3.16
- Taxi per km 2.83 2.72
- Tennis Court (Weekend) 22.02 11.37
- Transportation local 75.49, nomad 157.26, expat 94.36, family 251.62, tourist 15.73 local 80.07, nomad 111.5, expat 124.31, family 282.29, tourist 15.8
- Utilities local 75.49, nomad 0, expat 113.23, family 201.3, tourist 0 local 131.36, nomad 0, expat 177.25, family 252.77, tourist 0
- Visa & Legal Fees local 0, expat 18.87, family 37.74 local 0, expat 28.43, family 56.86
- Water (1.5L bottle) 0.94 0.57
- Wine (Mid-range) 13.84 6.95
Lint retry — Beer, Apples, Rice, Chicken Fillets, Wine (Mid-range), Tennis Court (Weekend), Jeans, Summer Dress, Running Shoes, Water (1.5L bottle), Pharmacy (basic meds), Utilities (local), Groceries (local, nomad, expat, family), Leisure Activities (nomad), and Visa & Legal Fees (expat, family) moved to retailer, operator, and government listing pages (ikinaristeak.com, sm.rakuten.co.jp, ok-netsuper.com, gu-global.com, toukei.metro.tokyo.lg.jp, moj.go.jp).

Tokyo cost of living