NRT ATM's
 

It's been a few years since my last trip to Japan and I'd like an ATM update.

At that time, it was somewhat difficult to find machines that accepted cards from US banks, so I opted to get yen before leaving the US.

I presume there are now international atm's at narita, can anyone give me details? I'd love to get the bank rate, rather than what I'm seeing here.

I did find some at NRT about 8 months ago and had trouble using them. It turned out that the directions printed on them were wrong and when I reversed the directions, it worked fine. I forget the exact sequence. However, the smallest withdrawl wasa about 10,000 Y or about $100 US.

Thanks---can you recall if these were located by other ATMS, or did they sequester the international ones in some hidden corner?

As for the minimum issue, that's not going to be a problem, as I'll come with yen-less pockets.

You will probably arrive in T1. After clearing customs and entering the arrival hall (ground floor), turn right and keep walking. You will start to see signs indicating escalators going back up to the departure level. Underneath the escalators, against the wall, is a bank of ATMs which accept Plus and Cirrus cards (look on the back of your ATM card for the symbol). Make sure you remember your PIN, and not just the pattern your fingers trace out on the keypad, as the Japanese keypads are inverted on most ATMs (same as numeric entry keypads on computers; US ATMs use telephone-style layouts).

Thanks---I'm pleased to hear that there are so many more machines accepting plus in Japan, as opposed to 1997.

I'm flying CO, so it's terminal 2 for me, but I'll presume they also have a bank of machines. And then I'll go ahead and find a narita webpage to make certain.

This is a list of services including ATMs at Narita in English.

http://www.narita-airport.or.jp/airp...ice/index.html

T1 recently reopened part of the areas that were undergoing renovation. It's toward the center. Still half of T1, south wing (or north wing -- I forgot which), remains closed.

Terminal 2 does have at least one Cirrus/Plus ATM. I think it is a Citibank ATM. The exit area outside customs isn't that big and you can find it by walking along the rear of the hall.

Generally, when you are in Tokyo, look for Citibank ATMs. They always accept Cirrus/Plus while many of the Japanese banks don't. Also, I think there is a Cirrus website.

Thanks for all your help. I'm happy to see so many more international atm machines available, at least in the tokyo area.

Oh, btw, please be careful that many ATMs may not be operating 24 hours a day. Japan lags far, far, far behind others, in this area. Thailand is much more advanced.

while on this subject, I will be in BKK in a couple of weeks...are there ATM's in the BKK airport...? location...? We are coming in on NW...24 hr operation...?
Tks,
MJW

At the airport, yes, on the arrival floor, passing thru the customs, to the left. There are also currency exchange counters just outside the customs. They are open when you arrive on NW. In town, you will see plenty of them, too, unlike Tokyo, which is double the size of BKK in terms of population. http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...orum/smile.gif