Hi all again,

SO i got the tips i needed to set up a cell phone while in japan..now i'm here to find out what i can about banking and setting up my finances in Tokyo as my 4 month adventure will begin in about a month.

What's a good bank to set up an account at for a "gaijin"? I did a little digging and found that CITI bank has Operations in Japan..is that the best bet? or what other options do i have that will make life easier?

Also, after talking to my dad an accountant...he told me the best way to take money over there is in a form of a foreign draft written out in Yen? I'm pretty sure i get what it is...but im wondering if all banks in japan will be able to cash it as there are banks i've read (not Japan in particular) that are stingy about drafts because of security/fraud issues. Anyone do this before?

Anything else i would need to know about banking in Japan?


Thanks

Any of the major Japanese bansk is fine after you have a Gaijin card (i.e. Alien Registration Card). I use Mizuho which is close to where I live and work, but Sumitomo or Tokyo-Mitsubishi are also huge. Citi bites for lack of branches and I would avoid it.

As for bringing money over here the easiest and safest and that which allows you to exhange it when the rates are favorable in increments is travelers checks. A stack of $100 travelers checks and you are set. Amex checks are easy to get in the States and work like a charm here. If you have an account here they will cash them on the spot. If you do not yet have an account when you wish to exchange some of them, there are several exchange counters in the metropolitan area that charge very little commission and have the same rate as banks.

Mike

If your Japanese is not so good, and if you're in a major city where there's a branch, get an account at Shinsei Bank. It's owned by foreigners, all of the documentation is in fairly comprehensible English, and they have English-language phone support and online banking.

For your initial cash requirements, you can use a foreign ATM card (with a Plus or VISA logo) to withdraw yen at any post office or 7-Eleven ATM.

Besides travelers checks, you could also consider a wire transfer from your home bank to your Japanese bank. Most banks will not let you send money to Japan without appearing at the branch back home, so you would either have to leave the money with your dad and have him wire it to you, or give him a power of attorney to run your account while you're in Japan. There are fees, but it won't be any more expensive than obtaining and cashing a bank draft: it's also more secure than carrying around a piece of paper which you might lose. It takes about two days to process an international wire.

Personally considering you're here for only 4 months my advice would be as long as you have a debit card which has a cirrus symbol on it DONT BOTHER with setting up a bank account. ANY AND I MEAN ANY post office will let you withdraw cash from back home and the fees are usually not too bad. It also works at 7/11. With the 7/11 and Post Office and especially cos you're in Tokyo you should not be short of places to get cash from your account in the states. Opening a bank account is a lot of hassle and time and wasted effort for such a short period. The only time that a bank account comes in to it's own is when you need to pay utility bills on a monthly basis but you won't be doing that so it's a non issue.

Secondly DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES BRING OVER A BANKERS DRAFT OR CHEQUE. My friend brought one and it took him a good few weeks to get it cashed and get his hands on the cash. The Japanese do not have very good links with the International bank system in respect of things like that and it's only in the past 2 - 3 years that nation wide cash withdrawal at post offices has become common place.

-mrploddy

I second the recommendation for Shinsei. Avoid the regular Japanese banks like the plague, they're so much more of a hassle.

Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth and I was an exchange student in Kyoto, the people from our program walked us over to a local branch of Fuji Bank and helped us set up accounts. Have you checked to see if your program provides any support?

Japanese banks(or Canadian banks), avoid them if you can.........

Fuji Bank? Is that the one that merged with another one sometime in the late Tokugawa Bakufu?

As everyone said, if possible, try and avoid the Japanese banks.

I found Mizuho was particularly difficult to deal with unless you're very proficient in Japanese because all of the documentation is in Japanese, they require you fill out the forms yourself in Japanese, and you'll need a hanko.

Citi JP was okay to deal with, but I don't think they'll work for your purposes since they aren't closely linked with Citi US and also have a minimum balance requirement (last year it was Y1,000,000 and I imagine it's still the same).

Alex

Posted twice. Sorry.

So, what i got is that i should avoid Bank Drafts completely..and no CITI bank..ok.

My issue is how to get money exchanged into yen....i mean i could use an atm with my debit card from the states, but having traveling internationally to asia frequently, it usually has high fees involved. But it's getting better over the past couple years i've traveled. ( Do you get good rates at the post office and what's the fee or does it depend on the bank)

And Traveler's checks, i was planning on getting some, but i wasn't planning on relying on them as much.

Wiring money could be a possibility, but the thing is US banks charge heavy fees just to wire money over. I was looking up for my friend that needed to wire money over soon to pay for her housing deposit, and at Bank of America it costs 45 USD, just to do the transfer. Receiving the money is free, but
sending the money might cost a fortune. I saw that Washington mutual here in the states does international wire transfers for free...but there are intermediary fees which i don't know how much those will be. (It might be a better deal than BOA) Also, im looking into Wells Fargo, which seems to have a pretty comprehensive foreign/international exchange program

I think that shinsei bank looks good..i'll dig up some more stuff on it.

Thanks for all the replies

Really? Even during the Bakufu, Fuji (now part of Mizuho IIRC) didn't require a hanko (at two separate times in my life I've had "sign kouza" with them, and I have never owned a hanko).

When I arrived, the HR people from my office told me I needed the hanko to open the Mizuho account. It may not be absolutely necessary, but unlike the Citi application I filled out, Mizuho only had a space to hanko, and didn't have a space to sign.

Also, when I closed my Mizuho account, they didn't ask for any identification. All I had to do was hanko and they handed me my balance in cash

Alex

Yep, you can probably sign in that space (don't know for sure with Mizuho, but that's been my experience).

HR people, particularly at Japanese firms, are not generally renowned for their ability to "think outside the box".

What, are you saying that Canadian Banks haven't improved? ;P Explain then why I can use my ATM cards in Japan?

Sanosuke!