trekker

Yeah, I got that message. The thing is, this is a travel agent who actually leads trips in Japan a couple of times a year, for outfits like the Smithsonian, etc... Her feeling is that we will need about $200/couple/day on this trip (even though accomodations, trains, some meals are already paid for), and that we don't want to waste time tracking down ATM's or money changers. Sounds like a lot of money/day to me, but with this awful exchange rate...

SJUAMMF

If you are on a guided tour where rising early and arriving late, with a bus waiting for a larger pack will be common, this may be true. If you are going yourself, 7-11 and Postal ATMs are everywhere.

The largest incidentals will be food. Expensive places in big cities will always accept CC. Lower cost or in small towns may require cash. A dinner for two can cost 10K to 20K yen. Others including private train lines had begun to accept CC in recent years. Even taxis are beginning to take CC.

Unless you will be staying in smaller ryokan, most hotels will exchange yen for you.

jib71

Dinner for two can cost <1K to >>>20K yen.

SJUAMMF

Yes, two orders of gyoza and a bottle of beer. My favorite when I'm by myself.

jib71

"By yourself" is not dinner for two.

Besides, you're missing my point -- It is possible for two people to eat dinner for far less the 10K that your post suggests as the minimum for dinner. You can even eat very well, indeed, for far less than 10K between two people.
Of course, if you pare the budget back to <1K, you're talking about a very frugal, bare minimum affair. But it does serve to highlight the fact that it's plain wrong to suggest that one needs 10K to feed two people at dinner time.

SJUAMMF

CAN and NEEDS are very different. My reference is for the former.

trekker

It's not a guided tour, but a custom-arranged trip for three couples. There will be guides and/or drivers on a few occasions (necessitating tips, of course), but mostly we will be on our own, taking taxis, riding trains. Dinners at ryokans are already paid for (a little over half the nights), we are on our own for other nights and for lunches.

RichardInSF

No the guided portions will NOT necessitate tips. There is no tipping in Japan, and that really means NO TIPPING. I certainly hope your TA told you that!

FYI, a decent served lunch in a small restaurant in Japan will cost Y800-1500. Dinner could normally be Y1200-3000, although there are obviously fancy places that cost much more. Fast food, like ramen, is less.

ksandness

My experience has been that if you have to pay more than �2500 for a meal, you're not really trying. I rarely pay even that much, and I eat well.

Every train station shopping arcade, every department store, and every city block in commercial areas is full of affordable restaurants.

Unless you're determined to eat only at the most upscale establishments, �5000 should be the average for dinner for two. Even the expensive restaurants are cheaper at lunch, sometimes by a factor of two or three.

SJUAMMF

Ryokans are a few of those places that tipping is customary in Japan. Only to the hostess in charge of your room. Done at the start of your stay in an envelope. Since you are foreigners, they will not expect it so not tipping should be ok.
Usually alcohol will be extra charge. Jinmai ginjo would be 800-1Kyen and daiginjo would be 1200-1800yen a glass. Nevertheless they are still much cheaper than trying premium sakes in the U.S.

jib71

I think you mean that you always spend 10K to 20K for dinner. While that may be interesting in the context of a different discussion, it's not a helpful index in the context of a post giving an idea of prices in Tokyo. Apparently, you always eat in restaurants in that price range. That's your choice.

It's actually possible to eat quite a fancy dinner for much less. And it's possible to get by for even less than that. That's a point of fact.

trekker

Again, many thanks for all these helpful comments.

SJUAMMF

I guess you like to assume a lot. My last dinner two weeks ago in Japan was 980yen, two orders of gyoza and a bottle of beer.
No one said your point is wrong. Only you are arguing around it.

railroadtycoon

I would change a few hundred and withdrawal the rest.

ALSO make sure you inform your bank that you are overseas, and check to see what your overseas withdrawal amount might be. I ran into problems with Bank of America because I wanted to withdrawal some money and they had a cap on the amount I could take out. Needless to say, time zone differences, etc I had to wait until it was morning in the US to talk to someone on the line.

I've changed large amounts of cash at NRT before, their exchange rates are definitely better then any US based exchange point.

You should be able to find a post office even in a small town (unless it's really one of those really really rural places without a post office).

Pull out enough that you think you'll need for the time in the rural areas.

Just curious what areas you plan to visit?

trekker

First full day in Tokyo, then on to Hakone, Takayama, Kanazawa, Miyama-cho, Naoshima, Kyoto, Kurashiki (with day trip to Bizen), last day in Osaka.

So, currency exchange kiosks at NRT are likely to offer better rates than a commercial bank in the US? Interesting. Thanks.