RResidents in Japan

How much do you spend on groceries per month these days?

  • April 20, 2026

Groceries have continued to creep up so I'm curious.

by DrYellowSaysHello

36 comments

  1. Around 5000 per week but only for Monday to Friday since I usually eat out on weekends

  2. 50k for a family of 3. It’s gone up a little but not bad compared to other places.

  3. Alone i spend around 10000 per month. But I only buy the strict necessary.

  4. About 15,000 per month. Single person, cooking 2-3 times a week.

    Outside meals also about the same, 15,000 per month, so my food budget is around 30,000 yen per month.

  5. Around 5k per week currently, the same as last year.

    To avoid paying more I’ve completely removed some items form my shopping list like juice and deserts, downgraded other items from good to fine brands, and replaced other like beef ground meat to pork.

    It’s a sacrifice, but tbh I was expecting to be much worse a month ago.

  9. Around 40k a month for a couple. 30-32k if we prioritise Hanamasa over Maruetsu or Precce.

  11. 3-5k a week. I cook every meal Monday to Saturday and I eat a lot of veggies (not seasonally and I don’t care). I eat out if I go or on the weekends almost always, and that’s about two to three times a month

  12. For me and my husband we spend about 5-6,000 a week, mainly on fresh produce like vegetables. Aside from that we spend about 10,000 on dry bulk items like couscous, tinned tomatoes and rice/condiments. Sometimes every 1.5 months though, depending..bills are definitely creeping up, even at farmers markets.

  13. Around 30-35k as a single person. A lot of protein and vegetables (not fancy ones but still), almost do not eat out, I cook and bring my lunch to work.

  14. Honestly, I just stopped keeping track and just buy whatever I want to enjoy/eat/fits apart of my diet.
    Probably a lot? But I’d rather enjoy myself

  15. For eating?
    140k (two people, includes eating out pretty often)
    are we crazy???
    i see people spending 4000 yen a week how is it possible???

  17. Family of 3. Baby at 3yr old. A month we spend 70,000-80,000 and I cook 6days a week. This is included when we eat out. Maybe we eat too much steak lol but I try to budget but it’s hard. We used to spend 40,000-50,000. My baby loves rice so….

  19. Around 70k these days, 2 people and 2 cats, cat food got really pricey the last years too, it’s adding to it.

  20. On average I would say like ¥2000/day.

    If I start cutting out all the snacks I eat daily, which I probably should do to lose weight, it is going to be around ¥1500/day.

    If you go basic with only a few highlights and cook yourself, I think ¥1000/day is actually quite doable.

  21. i got 25kgs of chicken thru furusato nozei and i finally ran out last week. went grocery shopping yesterday to buy more chicken and i couldn’t believe the price 😩😩 why is one of the most basic source protein (chicken breast) almost 500 yen for 350ish grams 😔

  22. Tricky to calculate since I do buy some stuff in bulk online on top of supermarket groceries.

    Supermarket groceries work out at 12k.

    Chicken breasts work out at 5.1k roughly depending on the deal I can find.

    Pasta works out at 1.2k.

    Protein powder works out to about 4.5k.

    Oats/cerals, bought cheaply in bulk work out to about.. 875-1375k.

    Throw in some seeds, creatine and non-monthly extras and my estimate is over 25k, but under 30k.

    (Sport athlete / coach so I keep my diet clean, consistent.. and quite boring lol)

    Using the upper limit of 30k, that works out to about 1000 yen per day eh… definitely more than it used to be, but actually less than when I first moved to Japan as a student as I’d eat out all the time. Those gyudonya may be relatively cheap compared to eating out where I used to live but they still add up to more than 1000 yen per day especially if I still have to add something for breakfast.

    In the months where I am not training I decrease my protein intake and that drops my expense by a >5k per month.

  23. As much as it takes! And it takes alot 10,000 on berries alone last month.

  24. Groceries? Not much. Beer to fuel my depression/exhaustion caused alcoholism? Everything.

  25. More than I used to and too much considering the annual salary increments have been put on hold.

  26. Family of 5 (3 teenage boys in sports bukatsu): ~125,000 /mo.

    It is by far our largest monthly expenditure now. It just gets tricky getting the high protein 3000+ kcal a day for the three boys while maintaining some semblance of variety on a budget. As it is we aren’t really that splashy, but we probably do need to start trimming down on pricier snacks, convenient easy prep meals and special ingredients, stick more to economical basics and doing big batch prep. Doing that I think we can probably get it under 100k / mo. We eat out at cheaper places maybe once a week or two, and mid-tier about once a month.

  27. Compared to my family and friends abroad, only about 1/4 of what they spend.

    But as a percentage of my salary about 4x what they spend.

  28. I try to keep 10k yen a week for food and other necessities, so I can buy a lot of yummy food, bentos and ingredients to cook, and eat out once.
    When I don’t have that money, around 2500-4,000, but that doesn’t include the frozen veggies and other stuff I have in my freezer already.
    I always have stock of long lasting cans, pasta and other ingredients.

  30. 28,000 yen last month including gas fee, only two meals a day and always cook at home. But it’s really tough

  31. Currently around 130k

    Breakfast is almost always some protein stuff from 7/11 and dinner is always steak/chicken + veggies.

  32. I’m reading comments and cannot believe how you guys spend this little. I eat alone, cook 5 times a week and spend around 5 man monthly. and I’m not counting protein, creatine etc. is this because I eat meat or fish twice a day every day?

  33. 120,000 yen a month, but that slice of the budget also covers pet stuff (multiple cats, dogs) and non-food items for a family of four as well as gas for our big SUV. We don’t really eat out much, once every few months for a birthday or special occasion, but we do have coffee somewhere once a week.

    Actual food spend is probably more like 80 to 90k a month. I definitely take up the bulk of that spending because I love butter, cheese, beef, pork and chicken thighs and I’m a person who errs on the side of excess 😂 

  35. I have no idea how you guys are spending so little, I’m struggling to keep it below 100k and I’m not even eating yakiniku or wagyu. 50k groceries 50k eating out. Genuinely curious how.

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