honmani2

Which is better to use in Japan? All I care about is getting the best exchange rate using any of the above methods.

jib71

entered by mistake

Kibison

By far the best deal I have found is with the Etrade ATM card. Your cash earns over 4% and you pay no ATM fees, anywhere, anytime.

Also, Etrade does not charge any points over the daily forex rate. The card is not affiliated with Mastercard or Visa. It is a pure ATM card that works on every ATM machine I have ever tried.

valve bouncer

I think you usually get the best rates with ATM/credit cards. Beware that the Japanese are somewhat...ummm.. idiosyncratic as regards the use of ATM/credit cards. The machines have funny opening and closing hours, can be fussy as to what cards they accept, credit cards aren't always accepted in stores, some stories of problems using foreign credit cards- more likely in the sticks than in Tokyo.
Where will you be inJapan?

honmani2

Tokyo, Tsuwano, Iwakuni, Osaka.

mrmakochan

How much are you planning to spend?

If its around $1000 just bring cash and exchange it.

I feel like its the least amount of hassle.

tokioblue

You see, even though it seems unsusal to carry cash equivalent to U.S.$ 300, people do that here. Although we have debit/ATM/credit cards, Cash is the way to go. Yes, there are pick pockets but if you are just careful, you won't get mugged that easily here.

Credit Cards seem to be so convenient; however, some foreign credit cards need to be extra-authorized and I am pretty certain you will find it annoying. Even big department stores do that (e.g. calling a credit card company and obtain an approval code manually via phone.)

If you have a bank account with Citibank, that's kewl. You can withdraw cash with ATM at post offices even.

FYI, I had about 50,000 Yen in cash in my wallet, today. Have a fantabulous trip to Japan!

dimsumfan

I usually change money at the airport (Narita) ATM, as I typically don't see another ATM throughout my trip. Japan is fabulously safe, so I don't worry about carrying lots of cash. Credit card use is slowly progressing there, but I think the surcharges don't favor you. Lastly, if stuck, you can usually exchange money at major hotels.

Good luck!

railroadtycoon

Use combination of Credit cards and cash.

CC's for large purchases such as hotel lodging, long distance train travel etc.

Cash for everything else, ie food, short distance train/bus/cab fare.

scirel

I'd agree with pretty much everything that has been said so far, and would advise you to avoid traveler's checks -- even international kinds or ones drawn in yen. Although banks seem to like them and will exchange them for cash, retailers have no idea what they are. They will stare at you as if you are trying to pay with a stack of leaves.

If exchange rate is what you're concerned about, stick with cash. Credit cards usually add on all kinds of fees which usually negate any breaks you'd get with low rates. Lots of info to be had on this site about credit card fees and international purchases...

phred

It's the belt-and-suspenders approach, always have a fallback if choice A doesn't work. As far as travelers checks, I got a handful at AAA for no fee before I left, and the first thing I did at Narita after clearing customs was to cash in a bunch. The instructions with the checks said that if you're not using them in the US, don't try to use them as cash in retail or restaurant situations because it won't work. You carry them for safety until you need some cash, then you cash them in. Avoid cashing them in banks, try dept. stores.

Yes, you can safely carry more cash than you're used to. And Post Office ATMs will accept your ATM card and spit out yen and they are all over the place (once you know their logo, you can't avoid seeing them). It's best to think of Japan as a cash-based society except for major things like depatos and train tickets.

foothill

ATMs are the way to go, CC for the big stuff. The ATMs are all over & have great rates. CC you usually get hit with a 3% fx (foreign exchange) fee, which is often hidden in the rate. Airport money changers are convenient, but have terrible rates; use a hotel or bank if you want to go this way.

BigFlyer

A surprisingly small percentage of Tokyo ATMs accept foreign cards - if you don't know where to find one that accepts foreign cards, you might not find one by randomly searching banks. Of course Citibank accepts foreign cards, as do the machines in post offices. I assumed that Japan was like most other civilized and uncivilized countries and that virtually all ATMs would accept foreign cards, and found out the hard way that I was wrong. Spent quite a long time trying random banks until I went and looked on the internet.

foothill

Good point. In terminal 1, there are a couple of ATMs hidden at the far right (when leaving customs) end, one of which definitely works. Also, some US banks charge a fee for external ATM use.

LapLap

Are you sure it wasn’t a green post office ATM after all? These ATMS aren’t always part of a post office, sometimes they stand independently.
First time I went to Tokyo (Terminal 2 NRT and alone) I breezed up to the first ATM I saw, took out my money and thought nothing of it. A few days later I tried to get some more out at Shinjuku – and spent one of the scariest hours of my life systematically trying every ATM machine I could find. None would work, and eventually I stumbled on another independently sited green ATM AND IT WORKED!!! – I learnt the green ‘shamrock/upside down pawn broker’ symbol VERY quickly after that! Only later did I learn that these ‘special’ ATMs were related to the Post Office (yubinkyoku)

Here’s a link to a page with the symbol to watch out for – it’s the one on the top left.
http://www.aj-card.co.jp/cardloan/cd_atm.html