Hi , so , i obtained the mext scholarship and I’m gonna study in Tokyo for 1 year starting from the end of September.
I have a lot of questions since it’s my first time traveling outside of Europe.
Firstly, i have to mention I don’t have a credit card yet(issued by a bank) . I only have a Revolut card. Do you think this one is enough ?
And now my main problem , I have 1500 euro in cash for the first month . Are there ways to exchange them to yen (basically cash euro to cash yen) without using credit cards? I heard there should be exchange atms in the airport.
Sorry if these are dumb questions , but I’m really not used to stuff like this
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**Euro to yen question**
Hi , so , i obtained the mext scholarship and I’m gonna study in Tokyo for 1 year starting from the end of September.
I have a lot of questions since it’s my first time traveling outside of Europe.
Firstly, i have to mention I don’t have a credit card yet(issued by a bank) . I only have a Revolut card. Do you think this one is enough ?
And now my main problem , I have 1500 euro in cash for the first month . Are there ways to exchange them to yen (basically cash euro to cash yen) without using credit cards? I heard there should be exchange atms in the airport.
Sorry if these are dumb questions , but I’m really not used to stuff like this
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You can buy yen from a bank in your country before you come, which is probably your best option. You can buy yen from a currency exchange place at an airport (either your country before departure or in Japan after arrival) but that’s usually the most expensive option. There are currency exchange places outside of the airport as well. I’ve been told ninja has the best rates, but I’ve never really been interested enough to shop around. Check out ninja here: https://www.interbank.co.jp/ninja/
(I don’t know what a revolut card is so I can’t give any advice on that.)
Look a bit into what bank cards and credit cards are available to you that allow you to withdraw money in Japan (many only have low or no fees in Europe…) and also check how much it costs to do so and which ATMs you can use. For example, I used the visaplus certified cards (not to be mistaken with visa credit cards) from my saving accounts because it let me withdraw money abroad at certain ATMs for minimal or no fees.
Also try to get two different credit cards from different banks so you have a backup at hand in case there are issues with one of them. (personally experienced that)
For the cash on hand I recommend exchanging it in your home country beforehand because there will always be fees and those tend to be higher in the destination country. You can do so at your bank but you might have to make an appointment if you want to exchange such a big amount.
I would recommend Wise (formerly transferwise) over Revolut, especially in Japan
You can exchange euros to yen at your local bank or an exchange house downtown tokyo. Do not exchange at the airport ad its more expensive.
In japan you can use cash at most places, but you may need a visa or Master card if you want to make online purchases or don’t want to carry a lot of cash.
Good luck!
Use an ATM machine?