Yen and Money in Japan

[cosmicenema]

I'll be traveling to Japan and I've read on the forums a lot of places don't use credit cards so I'll need some cold, hard cash while I'm there. I found some good information on the money on the wiki page but I had a few questions I was hoping someone here could help with.

• Do most ATMs take foreign cards?
• Are most ATMs in English?
• If I bring some 10k bills are they going to be usable? For example in the States most places won't/can't break a $100 bill and even a $50 is too high some places.
• Does anyone have a recommendation for a good bank to use in Japan from the States? My bank has some very high fees.

Thank you all for your help!

[godwine]

Originally Posted by cosmicenema

I'll be traveling to Japan and I've read on the forums a lot of places don't use credit cards so I'll need some cold, hard cash while I'm there. I found some good information on the money on the wiki page but I had a few questions I was hoping someone here could help with.

• Do most ATMs take foreign cards?
• Are most ATMs in English?
• If I bring some 10k bills are they going to be usable? For example in the States most places won't/can't break a $100 bill and even a $50 is too high some places.
• Does anyone have a recommendation for a good bank to use in Japan from the States? My bank has some very high fees.

Thank you all for your help!

I had no problem with 10K yen bills. Postal office have ABM that accept international bank card, some suggested that Citibank also has these machine. And yes they do have an option for "English"

[Barone1551]

Ok I had some small problems when I was in Japan, dealing with similar things.

-Most post offices, at leas all the ones we went to, had international ATM's. A card will work at these, it can be a debit card or credit card. Be careful though, it appears that your card will need to be tied to a name in order to work. I purchased a gift credit card, witch works like a normal credit card here in the US. But in japan it didnt work perfectly. I could buy stuff from stores with credit card machines, but I could not pull cash out from ATM's. If you are going to a more populated area like Tokyo, most shops will have credit card machines.

- As far as getting cash goes, I would recommend getting some before you leave. There are some banks that will give you great deals on the exchange. I think I went to Washington Mutual. They do not charge any processing fee, and they give you a direct exchange based on the exchange rate. If you do this any other place, like the airport, they usually kill you on the exchange. Plus this way you will have cash the second you step off the plane, Its nice after that long flight. You dont have to worry about doing anything.

-oh yeah. I had no problems paying with large bills. It seemed, at least in my experience, most people pay with cash anyways. They are used to people paying with bigger bills. Even in the smallest of shops I used big bills. Although I didn't notice you will accumulate lots of coin change. I was also told to use this change as much as possible, and try to give the exact amount of money to the shop. Ex: if you have had something that cost 5500 yen, and all you have is a 1000 yen bill. You should try pay with 1500 yen. I am used to just stock piling change in the US, it appears they actually use their change in Japan lol.

[Nyororin]

Originally Posted by cosmicenema

Do most ATMs take foreign cards?

I don`t believe many do. You also can`t write a check and have it cashed unless you have weeks of time to wait. Traveler's checks seem to be popular for people to bring, but they are really hard to have cashed. Usually each brand has only a handful of banks willing to deal with them, and even then it sometimes takes days.

Are most ATMs in English?

There is almost always and "English Guidance" button on ATMs. I`ve never used it, so I`m not sure if it offers all the services though.

If I bring some 10k bills are they going to be usable? For example in the States most places won't/can't break a $100 bill and even a $50 is too high some places.

You will encounter absolutely NO problems of that sort in Japan. Almost everyone carries around 10k bills and uses them everywhere. There is absolutely no place that will not / can`t accept them.
Wow. That is something about the US that I had totally forgotten... Everybody here seems to carry 50k+ in their wallets most of the time. I`d feel lost without 30k+ in the wallet and 50k+ at home for easy access. Using 10k in Japan feels like nothing at all - I`d compare it to using a $20 bill in terms of "normalcy".

Does anyone have a recommendation for a good bank to use in Japan from the States? My bank has some very high fees.

I would personally say to just bring cash if you`re going to be in Japan for a short time... And if you`re in Japan for a long period of time (work, etc) to bring cash and open an account at a Japanese bank.

I just want to add though - most places do indeed accept credit cards. The types of places that wouldn`t accept outside of Japan are not going to accept in Japan - small eateries, corner markets, etc. You could easily find anything you want in places that do accept credit cards.

ETA;

Originally Posted by Barone1551

-Most post offices, at leas all the ones we went to, had international ATM's. A card will work at these, it can be a debit card or credit card. Be careful though, it appears that your card will need to be tied to a name in order to work. I purchased a gift credit card, witch works like a normal credit card here in the US. But in japan it didnt work perfectly. I could buy stuff from stores with credit card machines, but I could not pull cash out from ATM's. If you are going to a more populated area like Tokyo, most shops will have credit card machines.

Be careful with this - the machines accept cards with a "credit card" number only. You can`t use them to get money from your account UNLESS the card is a debit card with a credit card like function. If it`s just an ATM card, you`re not going to be able to withdraw. What the machines do is charge that amount of money to your credit card - sometimes with horrific fees added on - not actually withdraw from your account. If it`s a debit card it will seem like that is the case, but it`s not really a withdraw.

A friend used one to get 20k from a machine once and had a 5k fee added on...

[godwine]

Originally Posted by Nyororin

Be careful with this - the machines accept cards with a "credit card" number only. You can`t use them to get money from your account UNLESS the card is a debit card with a credit card like function. If it`s just an ATM card, you`re not going to be able to withdraw. What the machines do is charge that amount of money to your credit card - sometimes with horrific fees added on - not actually withdraw from your account. If it`s a debit card it will seem like that is the case, but it`s not really a withdraw.

A friend used one to get 20k from a machine once and had a 5k fee added on...

Hmm, that was not the experieince I had. The kind of account attached to a card is not a "card function" per say, it is a back end function that is attached to your client profile. For the most part the card will have at least 1 deposit account (Meaning Checking, Saving etc) attached to it, the ATM will debit from that account and not a credit card.

To withdraw from a credit card, you need to use the credit card itself to do the withdraw. The other option is if you have the credit card attached to your client card (Debit card), and when you do the withdraw, you explicitly ask to have the fund withdrawn from credit.

I used my bank card all the time when I am in Japan, the only thing I get nicked on is the exchange rate, and it has nothing to do with the machine there, but your own bank. There wasn't even a service fee to it

see here: ATMs in Japan

[Nyororin]

godwine - You may very well be right. I am guessing it has to do with the bank then. Perhaps some banks are more "compatible". All I know is that I`ve never had anyone I`ve had visit or have taken around be able to withdraw from their account - only from a credit card. I don`t recall what banks they used, but they ended up screwed over in the end due to the cash fee from the machine.

At the very least, it`s worth being careful with as apparently it isn`t the same for every bank/card.

[godwine]

Originally Posted by Nyororin

godwine - You may very well be right. I am guessing it has to do with the bank then. Perhaps some banks are more "compatible". All I know is that I`ve never had anyone I`ve had visit or have taken around be able to withdraw from their account - only from a credit card. I don`t recall what banks they used, but they ended up screwed over in the end due to the cash fee from the machine.

At the very least, it`s worth being careful with as apparently it isn`t the same for every bank/card.

Bank card with the Interac or Cirrus logo on it should be fine...

[cosmicenema]

Thank you all so much for you help! We'll likely get our cash here and bring it over with us as that seems to be the cheapest. Thanks again!

[Hatredcopter]

The two places that always accept foreign cards: Seven Eleven convenience stores, and the post office. Both places accept my American credit card AND debit card. My particular credit union account had a very low international service fee, so I was always able to withdraw money straight from my checking account with very little fees.

[Barone1551]

Originally Posted by Nyororin

Be careful with this - the machines accept cards with a "credit card" number only. You can`t use them to get money from your account UNLESS the card is a debit card with a credit card like function. If it`s just an ATM card, you`re not going to be able to withdraw. What the machines do is charge that amount of money to your credit card - sometimes with horrific fees added on - not actually withdraw from your account. If it`s a debit card it will seem like that is the case, but it`s not really a withdraw.

A friend used one to get 20k from a machine once and had a 5k fee added on...

Yes your right. I didnt explain this well. I bought a gift card type thing from the bank. In the US you can use them like any credit card or debit card. It is basically a temp. debit card. It has a number like a credit card, but it just says "gift card recipient" where the name would be. I could buy stuff at stores fine with it, but could not get money out of any atm. I had my pernament card with me, which has a name tied to it, and it worked fine. Which is what you were saying. I was just trying to say that temp cards do not work.