Dollar Falling Drastically Versus Yen!!!
 

for the past few weeks, i've been tracking the exchange rate for yen and it' not looking good for the dollar. Two weeks ago it was at 108/109 yen per/US dollar, now it's only 100 as of right now.

im just curious as to how this is affecting people's plans to go to japan from the states. If you're exchanging cash, most banks are only giving 97-96..This cannot be good especially if you are on a tight budget like me being a student and going to Japan for 4 months.

thoughts?

Still better value than going to Europe and have to get Euro.

I went to Wachovia bank yesterday and made an inquiry about getting some Japanese Yens... 1 US dollar to 970 yen + a transfer fee of $15 (flat fee). Apparently my local branch doesn't have the currency and it needs to be transferred from the North Carolina main branch :mad:

Does anyone know what the exchange booth at the airport charges in terms of service fee? Should I just get my yens here instead?

Just use your ATM card at NRT or a local post office ATM. Postal ATM only charge 150 yen per transaction.

On my first trip to Japan, I bought yen from Amex in the US before departing, thinking I'd need cash to get into Tokyo and start getting around. I discovered that it was unnecessary. The airports have Citibank ATM's that your Wachovia card will work with, and now 7-11 stores, ubiquitous in Japan, have ATM's that work with US-based networks. I know, my account is with Wachovia, and it all worked just fine. You'll pay inter-bank exchange rates plus a 1% fee.

Don't waste your money and time with buying yen in the US.

Being British absolutely kicks ... sometimes.

I concur. I recently found out the exact same thing the hard way.

As others said, doesn't change plans one bit. (I use CDN but since it's virtually 1:1...) Still better than EUR.

It doesn't change plans, just makes them a little more painful. I'm off to Tokyo next week for a few days. It won't change my spending habits while there. I'm on vacation so expect to spend a little more. On the other hand, the rise of the euro and the GBP has definitely changed my travel patterns to europe. I love London but haven't been there for 3 years due to the weak dollar. And I've chosen Asia over Europe over the past year because of the currency issues

Really? The middle of last year a pound bought nearly 250 yen, yesterday I checked and it was 205 yen. Good for me, I'm going to England in August.

I'm kicking myself for NOT booking hotels via Expedia because when I booked 2 weeks ago it was at 108ish. I just withdrew cash here in Kyoto and it was about 101 per dollar...

ugh.

I remember back then when I went to Japan for my first time in 2003, the Yen was around 70-80 to the CDN dollar. Now it is hovering around 100 to the canadian dollar. Does not affect me much now as it did back in 2003 when I was on a budget.

Sanosuke!

You probably can buy Yen cash at a more-reasonable rate in the U.S. wherever a lot of Japanese travellers first arrive (HNL springs to mind).

Even at 100 yen to the dollar, Japan is a pretty reasonable place to travel, as long as you stay out of luxury hotels and restaurants.

Business hotels cost about $80 a night for a single, possibly with breakfast included, or else available in a coffee shop for $6, about $10 for lunch, $15 for dinner.

Compare and contrast with London.

I also need to point out that I buy all my yen with my debit card upon arrival in Japan by way of the ATM's in the airport. I usually withdraw close to my maximum daily limit on my ATM card to avoid multiple withdrawal fees.

Sanosuke!