Originally Posted by
chokeman
Wise Visa debit card is a good option, however a family member had a lot of trouble using the card in a recent trip to Japan. In our experience many businesses could not process the card, even though they do accept Visa. It was very frustrating. We ended up using the card to withdraw cash instead.
That has been the opposite of my current experience in my month long trip in Hokkaido and Tohoku, my Wise card has been accepted everywhere I've tried to use it, from the large hotels, multiple car rentals, small eating establishments and right down to the tiny souvenir shops. I have Amex and Visa as backup but haven't had to use them, so the foreign exchange savings and ease of use have been very good.