Originally Posted by
estnet
Some of the things I found surprising (compared to other SE asian countries)
Cash is much more ubiquitous than credit cards - I couldn't charge suica cards/ etc. Lots of places you are used to using cc in the US only use cash
Also found some great sushi and other food in a local supermarket in Yokohama AND everywhere fresh foods are checked every few hours and MARKED DOWN, got some incredible sashmi this way that even tho marked down was better than most I had in the US.
More and more convenience stores - at least in Tokyo - accept credit cards. Although the JR East site mentions that you
can only use cash to recharge Suica, it doesn't mention anything about topping up at convenience stores (although I've used credit cards at those stores, not once did I need to top up Suica during those transactions).
As for the discounted sushi/sashimi/et al, check out the basements of department stores, too. Showing up roughly an hour before closing might be fortuitous.