Money in Japan: Cash, Cards, ATMs and the New Tax-Free Rules

By Sachi, in NagoyaWritten from what we bought, booked and ate ourselves

I pay for almost everything by tapping a card, and I still carry ¥20,000 in my bag. Both of those are normal here.

How much cash, honestly

Japan takes cards more than its reputation suggests, and still uses more cash than you expect. Which one you meet depends on the size of the business.

• Cards work: hotels, chain restaurants, department stores, convenience stores, drugstores, most city taxis
• Cash only, often: the small ramen counter, family-run izakaya, shrines and temples, market stalls, some coin lockers, rural buses
• Carry ¥20,000–30,000. That feels like a lot of cash to walk around with, but it is normal here, and in Japan you can do it without thinking about it

Which ATMs actually work

Most Japanese bank machines will reject your card without explanation. Four networks reliably take overseas cards (look for the shop, not the bank): 7-Eleven, Lawson, Japan Post offices and AEON supermarkets.

• 7-Eleven: the default. Open 24 hours, English menu, in all 21,000-odd branches. No fee on Mastercard, Maestro and Cirrus. Visa costs ¥110 under ¥10,000 and ¥220 above. Amex ¥220. Up to ¥100,000 per withdrawal
• Japan Post offices: the backup. ¥220 on everything, ¥50,000 limit, and they keep post-office hours, so they are often shut when you need them
• Take out more, less often. Where the fee is flat, four withdrawals cost four times one

TSŪ INFORMATION
what Japanese connoisseurs know

One button can cost you more than any fee. At an ATM or a card terminal you will be offered the choice of being charged in your home currency or in yen. The home-currency option looks helpful, because it tells you exactly what you will pay. Always choose yen. That convenience is called dynamic currency conversion, and the machine operator sets the exchange rate: typically 3–8% worse than the rate your own bank would have given you. On a two-week trip that costs more than all your ATM fees combined. If the screen shows two amounts, choose the yen one.

If you want to sidestep that spread entirely, a multi-currency travel card such as Wise lets you hold yen at the real mid-market rate and spend it directly. It is worth setting up before you fly, not after you have already lost the 5%.

Tax-free shopping changes on 1 November 2026

If you are travelling after that date, the system is different from what older guides describe.

• Before: the shop deducted the 10% tax at the till, sealed consumables in a bag you could not open, and you walked out
• From November: you pay the full price including tax, and claim the refund when you leave the country
• The threshold is unchanged: ¥5,000 before tax, at the same shop, on the same day
• The sealed-bag rule disappears. You can open and use what you buy
• At the airport, before check-in: complete the departure process at a customs terminal or through Visit Japan Web. A green response means you carry on; red means inspection. Then collect your refund by the method the shop set up
• Everything must be bought within 90 days of your departure

Practically: budget for the tax at the till and treat the refund as money that comes back later. And give yourself an extra half hour at the airport.

Notes from a local

• Tell your bank before you fly. A card frozen for suspicious foreign activity on day one is the most common money problem visitors have
• Airport exchange counters are the worst rate you will see all trip. Withdraw from an ATM instead
• ¥10,000 notes are awkward in small shops. Break them at a convenience store early
• Tipping does not exist. Not in restaurants, taxis or hotels. If you leave money on the table, the staff will just be confused

More from us: this is one step of the full order of preparation. See also Suica and getting around and getting online.