Now now, knock before crossing the bridge sir. Not silly at all. The point I am making if you read what I said is that some cash in hand and some ability to spend via cards would allow the spending party to convince themselves through daily checking (the rates are on many peoples start up pages on their computers) that they are using the most efficiently exchanged funds. I am in no way suggesting daily exchanges based on the daily rate fluctuations. That would be silly indeed.

As to what credit card one might use to act most efficiently, I would suggest that getting a card which charges fees in the first place is rather inefficient. Personal banking preferences aside, it is not only residents but also casual visitors who can act efficiently. I suspect there are options of that nature for residents of the US and other places as well.

I completely agree that trying to optimize behavior to the extent of it costing you more than your time is worth is important, but I do not believe that means one should not avail themselves of the best cards for their spending patterns. If those patterns involve international travel, it may be wise to bear that in mind when signing up for cards.

On my last 3 trips to Japan, I have always utilized this strategy:

1. Bring about 20,000 to 40,000 Y just so you have some cash when you arrive. (First time I just bought some yen in my home country (Canada). Most of the other trips I just used whatever left over yen I had.

2. ATM-get some cash at Narita. Replenish the supply as needed from 7-11 Bank machines or post office machines. Don't wait until you are down to zero to do this. I always have at least 2 ATM cards. My banks charge no fee for the Japanese withdrawals but they always charge their vigorish on the rate.

3. CCard-hotels.

Does the credit card cost a bit more? --yes. Do I care? No� I rack up some air miles and I really don't care about the small surcharge I pay. I am on vacation after all. To me worrying about this is like worrying excessively about the stock market-not something I do or will do.


As for TC's�I have not bought them in over 25 years. Too much hassle and I can't stand lining up at banks and being grilled and ID'd just to get my own money.

A buddy just went there. I don't remember the exact numbers, but an international money order gave him the best rate. It beat cash, ATM and credit card.

One snag is that you can only get them in increments of up to $700.

Hooo boy, this was a pain for me. I don't have an especially legible or even consistent signature (think doctor writing a prescription).

I was trying to exchange my TC for JPY at the hotel. The front desk manager kept on having me countersign the TC over and over again. I'd sign it, and he'd take it to his office to examine the signatures. He'd come back and then apologize and ask me to sign it "one more time." After I signed so many times that ran out of space on the TC, he finally said sorry, but my signatures didn't match. See, you have a loop here on this one, and it isn't here on this one.

Ahh...

So I signed it one last time, this time with the loop and he was happy and the transaction continued. So, +1 on trying for signature verification, but -1 on security and -1 on general pain principles.

This must have taken 15 minutes at least. It was done with the utmost politeness, but as noted, it's not fun trying to get to your own money!

It seems you have come across what in Mexico is known as a pendejo con iniciativa.

That's a great argument for using a different hotel on your next visit!

Different hotel? Nah, actually I liked it plenty, it was the Dai Ichi Tennoz Isle.

It was new at the time and was catering to my company, offering some decent amenities to get butts in the beds.

I'd stay there again, just won't go the TC route again (was company policy at the time).

Ah, Tennozu Isle, the throbbing heart of Tokyo! Somehow I've not managed to do anything there other than change from the monorail to the Rinkai line, so I've missed all the excitement of the area.

I'm seeing room rates quoted from Y18,000-23,000 a night, exclusive of tax and service. For that price, you could stay in an equivalent quality hotel in a much more boring part of Tokyo, such as nishi-Shinjuku, Shinagawa, Shibuya, Shiodome, or Yurakucho. Definitely go back to Tennozu Isle.

To be fair, you get a bit more room for your yen at the Daiichi Seafort than you would in a more central location. So it's not quite "equivalent". Nonetheless, I wouldn't choose to stay in that location.

And ... if you'll forgive the pedantry ... it is in Shinagawa.

If so, it's Bizarro Shinagawa!

It is so.
2-3-15 Higashi-shinagawa, Shinagawa, Tokyo Prefecture 140-0002, Japan

Is that bizarre? No. It just is where it is.

I haven't used travelers' checks for years, but when I did, they were a hassle.

I never stayed in the kinds of hotels that accepted them (I've been a budget traveler all my life), and the banks always made a big production number out of cashing them.

First, you had to go to the foreign exchange department of a Foreign Exchange Bank, and you couldn't go to the bank too early in the morning, or else you'd have to wait around till the day's exchange rates were posted.

Then you filled out a form, signed your checks, and sat and waited. In banks with open offices, you could see the little plastic tray being passed from desk to desk so that the form and the checks could be stamped. After everyone who needed to stamp things had done so, you were given a voucher and directed to take it down to the main teller lobby.

There you sat on one of the comfy chairs and waited till the one of the tellers called for you in her best Minnie Mouse voice. Only then did you receive your cash.

I once took a group of students through this process. Fortunately, I set aside an hour to do this.

ATMs were common in Japan before they were common in the States, but they didn't take foreign cards. I was delighted to come back one year and find Citibank ATMs, although they were few and far between, and the option to take credit card advances ("kyashingu"). I was even happier when the post office ATMs went international in anticipation of the World Cup. Now I can just go to the 7/11 and get cash outside of banking hours. Woo-hoo!

Travelers' checks? Only a quaint memory.

The location was (Seafort Square) was chosen for me, as our Japanese offices were adjacent to the hotel in Shinagawa.

So, for me the location was quite nice. YMMV, as always, but I was fine with hopping the monorail to catch the Yamanote line if I had to go anywhere - the monorail station is attached to the hotel.

Ah yes, the Japanese retail banking system. That's where all the pendejos con iniciativa get jobs. It was a committee of such people that decreed that since the banks close in the evening, the ATMs should too. Why should the ATMs be open when the banks are closed? What purpose would that serve, really?

I did tried cashing and exchanging traveller's checks at a Japanese bank exactly once and the experience was precisely as described above. So I never did it again.

None of this applies at the bank at the airport, the one bank branch that does the exchange efficiently and also serves to prove that what you are seeing at other places is clearly just make work (I suppose that is what Pickles is saying in French up there).