[aikochan86]

Oh, I don't intend on using my card everyday. But say.. I'm going to a place near Nagoya and staying there for 3 weeks. I'd take out 45,000yen for my host family and maybe 30,000 yen for me to spend over the three weeks. I don't mind if I have to go to a few convenience stores or post offices to find an atm that works.

I'm going for 2 months so I'd be an idiot to change all my money over (450,000yen) and carry that around with me.

I'll have a Plus bank card and a Visa credit card so I've got a back-up even if one gets eaten. I also took a school group to Japan in January and one of my students used a card and had no problem accessing his funds from a 7/11.

Worst case scenario is that I really struggle finding a place to accept either of my cards and I have to kick up a fuss about it and find someone who will help me sort it out. However, I really really doubt that I'm going to have significant trouble finding an atm. Even if I do I assume that I could call Visa, tell them where I am and ask them where I can go to access my money.