The question I get asked the most is where to exchange money in Japan and how much is the best? Now a days, most of the shops offers cashless payment. Still, there are some opportunity to use cash in Japan and we do not know when the opportunity comes. You may be missing out on valuable opportunities.

Why Currency Exchange Matters for Travelers in Japan?

　What would you like to do in Japan? While it is fun to visit tourist attractions that anyone can enjoy, many people would like to experience something unique to Japan that no one has yet had the chance to experience. Many stores in urban areas are now accepting cashless payment, but there are still many small stores and local stores that accept only cash. In such places, having cash on hand when you need it is the basis for enjoying the opportunity without missing it out.

　When preparing cash, it is important to check the exchange rate and fees. This is because, although it depends on how much money you are exchanging, the difference in exchange rates and exchange fees will make up a fairly large proportion of your total travel costs. You should try to minimize them as much as possible.

　Against such a backdrop, “where to exchange money” is one of the most common choices for travelers. While it is certainly better to be able to exchange money at the best possible rate and with the least commission, it will not work well if it cannot be integrated into your itinerary. In terms of finding the best rate for your possible itinerary, it is a good idea to arrive in the country with some options as to where the best places to exchange money are.

Where to Exchange Money in Japan: Top Options

• For most of you, it is easy to exchange currency in the airport like HND or NRT, although they offer the exchange in normal rate. They may not be avairable in early morning or in midnight. So, you should be aware of your arraval time.
• In case you will use some bank branches to do it, they offer confidenciality in relatively high processing fees. Also, you need to consider their buisiness hours.
• ATMs in convenience stores like 7-11 (Seven-Eleven), Lawson, FamilyMart etc open 24 hours basis, and you can use credit cards issued in abroads (Visa, Master might work well, AMEX doesn’t work sometimes).
• Curency Exchange Offices around tourists areas or big cities offers relatively better rates and processing fees. They are running their services only in big cities.

Of these, currency exchange offices offer the best rates. If you plan to exchange money in Tokyo, choose a place where there are many exchange offices and where a large amount of money is exchanged daily to get a good rate. Here are three places I recommend.

Best 3: Shinbashi Station

On the west side of Shinbashi Station (the station has north/south exit), this building “New Shinbashi Building” has a shopping mall. There are so many currency exchange shops. They offer good exchange rates. If you are in Minato, Chuo, Chiyoda city, this place is the first option.

Best 2: Ueno Okachimachi Area

Okachimachi station has a lot of street shops. Therefore, you can exchange money here. Compared to Shinbashi, the rate may be good, but not always. So if you are interested in visiting “Ameyoko” and/or museums in the Ueno area or if you are in Chiyoda, Taito, BUnkyo, Sumida, or Adachi city, this might be your choice.

Best: Shinjuku Station

Particularly, 1-2 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku city has so many shops. So you can choose here in case you are in Shinjuku, Toshima, Shibuya, Nakno, Bunkyo, Setagaya or Suginami city. They offer the best price in Tokyo.

Tips for Getting the Best Exchange Rates

Compare several shops in the same location instead of going to different places

It is better to find the best rate from several shops in one place than to go to several places to find a good rate. The train fare will cost more than the difference in rates. The rates vary from store to store, even in the same place, so have fun looking for a good rate.

You don’t need a lot of cash, but it is expensive to change money over and over again

As you can see below, many payments can now be made cashless. However, the amount of cash you will need depends on your itinerary and the events you encounter. Therefore, I recommend that you exchange a certain amount of money at the beginning of your trip. I recommend that you exchange a certain amount of money at the beginning of your trip because repeated exchanges will cost you a lot of money in commissions. Also, since the Yen is probably cheaper today than the foreign currency you brought with you, you will probably get a better rate when you exchange your money later, even if you have to bring back Japanese Yen. Having Yen on hand will be a good thing in the future (please make your own decision, I hope the Japanese Yen does not crash too much lol).

Should You Use Cash, Cards, or Digital Payments?

As mentioned above, it is important to have cash on hand when travelling in Japan. At the same time, Japan has developed its own cashless payment system. In addition to touch payment with credit cards, there are a variety of other payment methods, such as IC cards by transport system (Suica, PASMO, etc.) and QR code payment systems developed by various companies.
It is not necessary to use all of them, but it may be useful to introduce some of the more convenient payment methods.

IC cards by transport system (Suica, PASMO, etc.)

These are all the Icons for the IC cards developped by the transportation system campanies. They are used in specific place in Japan and sometimes do not work when you go beyond the boundaries of the areas in Japan. They can be used in all the areas, but cannot be used across two or more areas. Be careful on this point.

However, having such IC card once, you can decrease the amount of currency exchange. Once you charge money on the card, you can use it anytime during your trip.

Conclusion: Plan Ahead for Stress-Free Currency Exchange in Japan

In this page, we recommended currency exchange in Japan and gave some specific place to exchange. We hope this page will help you to exchange currency in your trip and to have nice trip.

This site offers some example trip in Japan. The list is still small though.