Where to get 2000 yen bills

I remember when you could get 2000 yen bills from Mizuho ATMs. Would like to collect some bills as gifts for foreign friends but unsure where to get them now.

26 comments
  1. This seems like a post about shopping, maybe your question is solved by [the wiki page](https://www.reddit.com/r/japanlife/wiki/shopping)?

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  2. Have them exchange some of their money directly to Yen in their home countries, that’s where all the 2000 yennie bills went.

  3. I’ve seen a fair few 2,000 yen bills in my time, and 99% of them were in Okinawa.

  4. When you exchange money abroad, or at least in the US from my experience, they give you tons of 2000 yens.

  5. If you’re not in a hurry just wait till next year: the Great Wave by Hokusai 1000 yen will be released and it looks glorious.

  6. I have a bunch in mint condition. I don’t collect money or anything, but I was just surprised when I got them from an ATM many years ago and decided to keep them in an envelope.

  7. You just get them from my mom.
    Every year she sends my kids ¥2,000 notes for their birthdays and drives my kids nuts.
    Who knows where she gets them from?

  8. Okinawa is the best bet. Never seen them here in Kyushu. Been here 5 years now. I heard Okinawa is full of Yanks. This is why the 2000 is popular. Apparently Americans aren’t so good at understanding a different currency so the 2000 yen is similar to the 20 bucks note.

  9. The vast majority were sent abroad for currency exchange. To get them in Japan, it’s often matter of luck but there are some ways to be more likely to get them.

    They are fairly common in Okinawa (the note shows Shureimon, the 16th-century second main gate of Shuri Castle in Naha) and you can get them from ATMs there (if you want crisp new ones), or local shops that have tourists (used, but often still good quality).

    If you go to a regular bank anywhere in Japan, you can specifically request them. They may not have any in stock, so you might have to go to several banks. When asked “why?!?” just say it’s for a present, and they’ll normally be helpful.

    Tourist hotspots (pre-pandemic) all over Japan often had them (as the tourists got them abroad and brought them with them). I had the most luck at Haneda airport, but I’ve also gotten them from places like the shops around Tokyo Skytree. I have no idea how that’s been affected by COVID, but I imagine the lack of foreign tourists has meant the supply has dwindled.

  10. I used to keep one in my wallet. Years later I realized it was gone and I don’t even know when I accidentally used it hahaha

  11. With the speed yen is losing value might be easier just to switch to the 5000 bill as a gift…

  12. From me. I just moved and found a lot of gifted 2000 yen bills. I’m happy with just one, so I was just going to spend the others…

  13. Most get shipped to foreign banks now. Every time I ordered JPY from my bank in Canada, I would get a nice run of crisp, sequential 2000yen bills

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