Originally Posted by
lowkeyflyer
I see. Thank you for the wealth of information.
Then for me, as a US citizen living in the US, what is my best option for withdrawing yen (assuming I need it for cash transactions and can't use an American CC)?
Are you saying that taking my Chase/Wells Fargo/US Bank debit card and just going to an ATM in Japan is better than going through Wise?
Originally Posted by
Agneisse
For international withdrawals get a Schwab account and debit card, they refund all ATM fees without limits.
To lock in the exchange rate you can prepay hotels and/or load up mobile Suica as discussed above.
+1 to the Schwab checking account and debit card. They always refund all ATM fees and work at all 7/11 ATMs in Japan. Chase/WF/US Bank debit cards will charge fees to use an ATM at one of the convenience stores, while Schwab reliably refunds all fees. The only concern you may possibly have is the daily withdrawal limit of $1000USD per day (which is about 147k JPY at current exchange rates).
Don't go to your local currency exchange, they're ripping you off pretty hard at 147 vs 142.