Hey Everyone,
It’s finally arrived and I’m leaving Japan tomorrow. Melancholy aside, I’ve got a bit of a problem. As I was finishing packing, I forgot I had an envelope for a sale I backed out on. As a result, I have about 200,000¥ cash in hand. I would’ve just used my bank account and then done a WISE transfer, but I’ve closed my Japanese account already.
So, what’s the best way to transfer this to my American account?
1) can I just use a 7/11 atm and deposit it there into my American account?
2) I could just do currency exchange at the airport, but I don’t want to get with a hard fee
3) should I just wait until I’m back in the states and do it at my American bank?
Any advice would be great. Sorry if this is a redundant post, bit busy with last minute things
by Thepizzaman1414
5 comments
1. is out.
2. are you in tokyo? walk to ninja currency exchange near shinjuku station and get it changed to USD/whatever – https://www.interbank.co.jp/ninja/
3. otherwise, ~~option 3 is probably also not bad – definitely better than exchanging at some tourist place or at airport etc.~~ apparently this is the worst specifically in USA.
Where in Japan are you? If you’re in a big city like Tokyo or Osaka then just go to an independent currency exchange like Access Ticket, they’re usually within 1% of mid-market rate. Exchange your yen then deposit it at your US account once you’re home. If you’re in a smaller town, then how much time will you have in Tokyo waiting for your flight home? Because to sum up the options you’ve presented:
1 is not possible, Japanese ATMs can’t let you deposit to US accounts
2 is better than 3, airport exchanges will usually take 2-3%
3 will get you a disastrously bad rate, you might lose 5-10% in the process. I don’t know why the big US banks have such crap rates (I know why the smaller ones do- they outsource to Travelex and the like).
It’s only 200,000jpy – change it at the money changers either here or at your destination airport.
Appreciate all the advice! I’ll find a place in shinjuku quickly then
Upgrade to First Class at the airport & have a nice flight back