Money in Japan

diamond_dave

Hoping to travel to japan for a few weeks and need to know what currencies, credit cards, etc., to take. Anyone lived there, been on holiday or has any info on using and taking funds, please. I understand that uk cc are not widely used.
many thanks in advance.

Ganga

Well for currencies you could always take Japanese Yen !

Roland_Sausage

I last went in 2009 and ATMs were pretty hard to find. I think we eventually got one in a post office that accepted UK credit cards.

We mainly just took a load of cash.

tacpot12

A family can take upto 1 Million Yen (or about £7,000) into Japan without having to declare it.

International Credit Cards (Mastercard/Visa Cards) are accepted, but you are right to be concerned because the Japanese do not use credit cards much. Most activities require cash, so pay using a credit card whenever you are able to, so you cash 'stash' remains available for longer.

Not all ATMs will accept Visa and Mastercard cards, those at the common 7-Eleven stores do, as do those owned by the Japanese Post Bank, so try to find a local post office to where you are staying as a backup to any 7-Eleven stores you can find.

If you have a debit card with a Plus logo on it, you might be able to find an ATM that will accept it and allow you withdraw cash.

I would always recommend taking two credit cards in traveling alone, in case one gets blocked for any reason.

mgdavid

went to Tokyo on business back in about 1991 - just got some Yen from an ATM in the airport arrivals hall with my UK debit card. Also used the card in a couple of other places, no problem. But if buying souvenirs or electrical goods to bring home then cash is king as you can haggle :-)

silvercar

Went a few months ago and had no problem using credit cards in the ATM machines inside the numerous 7-11 stores around. Can also use credit cards on the train network.

Ballard

I concur with the 7-eleven stores for atm withdrawals.

Slightly off topic but if you’re planning to use the trains you should look at getting a JR Pass as they save a small fortune. About £200 for a week but from memory that’s equivalent to about a 2 or 3 hours trip on a bullet train. You do need to book it all before you enter Japan though.

kipperman

No problems getting money - the Post Office ATM's (Bank of Japan) are easily the most reliable. The Konbini (Convenience store) ATM's were highly variable - can't remember specifically about 7-11 stores. There are lots of Post Offices, so you will have 0 problem and I wouldn't bother taking yen from the UK.

Its a great country - enjoy!

sarah69696pink

Went last Summer and had no issues at all.
Took some Yen with us, and took Halifax master card. Fine to take out in 7-11 and postoffices, so just took it out in these places. 7-11 are everywhere. For hotels we checked in advance if they took card - all did even some remote small places.
Lots of restaurants took master card too, but just paid cash where they didn't.
I was a bit concerned before going as had read so much about it being a cash country - but we had no issues at all.