I just got back from a 10 day trip from 2023/03/20 to 2023/03/29 and I largely want to write my experience to answer questions past me had and to leave a reference for people dropping in via Google like I did last month.
I exclusively used a Capital One Quicksilver credit card and cash withdrawn from a 7-11 ATM using a Fidelity Cash Management account. Looking over my statements, I got the best deal with the credit card. An 8,000 yen charge on the 28th ended up being $60.52 or about 132 yen to the dollar.
EDIT: I should emphasize that this card has no foreign transaction fees. Make sure your planned card does not have one.
When you withdraw money from the ATM, there are two buttons at the bottom of the screen: one to be charged in yen, the other in dollars (you get yen cash either way, but it’s whether you want to use the ATM exchange rate or your bank’s rate). I withdrew twice, once in yen and once in dollars, largely because I was in a rush and got confused.
The first, I chose dollars (the right button) and was charged $395.98 for 50,000 yen on the 21st. That’s 126 yen to the dollar.
The second, I chose yen (the left button). I was charged $231.91 for 30,000 yen on the 26th or 129 yen to the dollar. YMMV with your bank. Fidelity refunds ATM fees, which is in part why I use them.
(I mention the dates so you can review whatever the “Official” rate was)
Other observations:
I considered, but ultimately rejected getting a spinner suitcase in part because I know Japan is notoriously bad about accessibility. I shouldn’t have worried. I saw tons of non-tourists using spinners everyday.
Be sure to keep a towel in your day trip bag. Many public restrooms did not have a form of hand drying and even more had shut down their hand dryers to stop the spread of COVID.
Keep a spare bag for trash or be prepared to hang onto it a while. Public trash cans seemed to be very rare.
Unless you’re going to someplace fancy, eating out seems to be quite a bit cheaper than in the US. 4 random curries from CoCo Ichibanya worked out to be $31.
17 comments
Your bank may allow you to open a debit (or credit?) line in JPY, then you convert your currency to yen whenever you want and you directly withdraw the yen at an ATM. I think that’s the best value. It doesn’t cover you from 110-220 JPY fee for withdrawing still, though.
But the added benefit is that you pay with yen whenever you swipe your card.
yes food was definately cheaper than US. Ichiran was about $10 vs $20 in US. Kura sushi was about $1 a plate vs $3 in US
you’re referring to dynamic currency conversion when talking about withdrawing cash at the ATM.
you should always decline the conversion and opt to be charged in the currency of the country you’re visiting.
With the ATM and anywhere that gives you both options to pay using different currencies you want to use the local currency. I learned about this too recently wondering what the difference was.
As the other commenter mentioned it’s called dynamic currency conversion(DCC) which basically means if you select your home currency(USD), whoever is handling the transaction will be doing the currency conversion for you at whatever rate they choose, so whichever ATM you were at did it for you.
If you choose the local currency(Japanese Yen) then whoever your bank or card issuer is will do it for you. Which usually is much better, as you saw in your case you risk the foreign ATM company giving you a bad currency conversion rate if you let them do it.
It’s a steep lesson to learn if you end up doing a big transaction I must say.
Hey op, I was just wondering if purchases using the capital one quicksilver card in Japan earned you any cash back?
This post reminded me to apply for a travel credit card, since my debit card has the typical 3% spending charge.
And always have backup! While I was recently in Japan for 4 weeks, my cc was compromised so had to cancel it half way through my trip. Thankfully I had cash and another cc to get me through.
Thanks for the info! I was once told to always choose the currency of the country you’re in in these situations (ATM and paying for things by card in retail stores) and I’ve lived by that ever since and it’s never steered me wrong, definitely appreciate the confirmation though!
The Discover Card is a good option for Japan if you already have one. No foreign transaction fees and accepted anywhere JCB is. (I don’t recall NOT seeing a JCB sign at credit card terminals in Japan).
Is it better to use a credit card or debit card to withdraw from atm?
If I get a Suica card on my iPhone, and charge it with Apple Pay which is linked to my debit card, do I still pay the 2% valuta exchange fee?
I’m also thinking about getting a Revolut card, but if I can just use Suica everywhere and charge it with no extra fees I might as well just use Suica + Cash
Is Japan a cash heavy country, or do most places accept credit cards and tap to pay?
In this thread: Europeans who are well aware of dynamic currency conversion
Extra tip: the cash machines in 7/11 stores do not charge ATM fees
Great point about the hand towel and trash. Just came back from there and those were 2 things that stood out to me the most.
For my euro friends (also USA I think) Revolut is the name of the game. You buy yen at 140+ rates and withdraw it. Fees are minimal esp with premium/metal plans.
Spinner suitcases are fine as long as you don’t roll them over tatami, which is fairly uncommon these days.