Japan isn’t a country that you can just show up and wing it. The language barrier is everywhere, and most people speak little English (including some hotel staffs). Here are three practical Japan travel tips that will help you with your upcoming trip to this wonderful country!
Japan Travel Tips #1 – Get money upon arriving
Before leaving for my first trip to Kyoto last month, I was debating whether I should exchange some Japanese Yen here with my bank. Couple of my friends told me not to. Instead, exchange money at the airport when you land in Japan! You will get a better exchange rate there!
Bank window at Haneda International Terminal after clear custom.
You will most likely fly into Tokyo Haneda or Narita airport, or Osaka Kansai airport. After you clear customs, you will find a bank/ money exchange window in the arrival hall. If you need money fast and do not feel like hunting down an ATM, go there and exchange some U.S. dollars so that you have some Japanese Yen on hand. It will come in handy.
We landed at 8pm in Tokyo Haneda after the 11 hour flight. We were all tired and I did not bother to look for an ATM (apparently they are somewhere in the terminal). Convenience was more important to me at that point. The exchange rate was 110.77 yen per dollar. For $400, we got little over 44,000 yen, better than the 43,000 yen I would have gotten from my Wells Fargo Bank. You might get an even better rate if you can find the ATM in the airport terminal.
Japan Travel Tips #2 – Get money from ATMs at convenient stores
Instead of carry loads of US dollars with you, bring a no-fee ATM card instead. You can easily get money out, you just need to know where to find an ATM that accepts your U.S. debit card.
Not all Japanese bank ATM accepts international debit cards. Not all bank are open 24-7. But fortunately, convenient stores like 7-11 are everywhere and open 24-7. They have ATMs that will accept your U.S. bank cards!
During the trip I used my Schwab ATM card twice. The first time was at an international ATM at a bank, and I had no idea where it was since I was driven there by a local (I have a friend who speaks Japanese). The second time was at a 7-11 store.
Japan Travel Tips #3 – Buy an IC card for each person in your party
Even if you have a JR pass, you will most likely end up traveling on subways or train lines that aren’t covered by the JR pass. This is where IC cards come in handy. IC cards are in short prepaid travel cards that are valid on almost all kinds of transportation, in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and almost everywhere else in Japan. The idea is to make life easy and convenient. Just tap the card over the ticket gate every time you enter or exit the train or subway platform. The ticket amount will be automatically deducted. There is no need to figure out the right fare or wait in line to get tickets. When the balance runs low, you simply add more funds to the card.
There are many different version of IC cards – SUICA, PASMO, ICOCA. Which one is better? The answer is, it does not matter! They all work the same way and all require 500 yen initial deposit. The only difference is, if you get the SUICA and PASMO card, you can only get the 500 yen refunded in Tokyo. But for an ICOCA card you can only get the refund in Osaka.
Haneda International Terminal departure level (3rd floor) Monorail entrance. SUICA cards can be purchased from ticket machines located to the left of the picture (when the people are standing).
You can purchase the IC cards at airports near the train station. I purchased our SUICA cards at the monorail station at Haneda airport. I paid 2,000 yen initially for each card (you can choose any amount from 1,000 yen to 10,000 yen including the 500 yen deposit). At the end of the trip, I ran the balance down to 80 yen on each card. Instead of finding a JR station to get refunds, I just keep them as souvenir. (In Tokyo, you can even use SUICA card to pay for purchases at vending machines, some stores and kiosks.)
There you have it! I hope these three practical Japan travel tips will help you prepare for the next trip. Japan is a lovely country with wonderful people. Happy travels!
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
One very unfortunate fact about traveling in Japan is that for subway, rail, or even the Shinkansen, you have to pay cash. Only cash is accepted for reloading the IC cards as well. No 3x on CSR =(
Exchanging money at a booth in the airport is about the worst advice I have ever read on boarding area.
I’ve been to Japan more times than I can count and I have never, ever exchanged money at the airport. Nor any other airport in the world.
totally second that. other than random places like Cuba (where US-based cards don’t work) or Rio GIG (where airport ATMs are known to be all rigged with skimming devices), my advice 99% of the time is directly use the ATM machine at the arrival airport.
I think it is a personal choice. I usually change some money at home before leaving for the trip but the rates are often worse than at the airport where I fly into. I needed some cash before I can find an ATM, so airport counter was most feasible place to get some local currency first-hand. I didn’t find an ATM until two days later.
You didn’t see an ATM at Osaka airport? Or Tokyo?
They are ALL over the place.
Exchanging cash at a local bank is even a worse idea than exchanging at the airport.
After all day flying, the last thing I wanted to do was to hunt down an ATM in the airport with my tired body, two kids and suitcases in tow. The airport counter may not have better rate than ATMs, but it was right there and it was convenient! Honestly the rate isn’t that much a difference. Like I said, it was a personal choice and it worked for me. For the record, I did not exchange cash at a local bank. I used the “international ATM” at a bank branch.
As far as I know, ATM cards from US banks work in ATMs located at 1) Japanese post offices, and 2) Seven-Eleven locations. Also, larger airports are known to have Seven Bank (Bank run by Seven Eleven, a Japanese Company) ATMs that accept US ATM cards. There are many other chains of convenience stores, but their ATMs will not accept your ATM cards from US. So one of the first things I do when I arrive at a new Japanese location is to find the closest Seven Eleven locations. And I also agree that is it not a good idea to exchange money at the airport.
I strongly recommend going to the JP Bank, 7-11, or Mizhou ATM at the airport in Japan. They are usually hidden, but located on the same floor as the baggage claim. JP Bank and 7-11 will not charge ANY fees and will give you the bank-to-bank exchange rate. Best value.
JR Rail and Shin tickets may be bought with a credit card ONLY from a person (applies to more all train tickets w/ ticketing office such as train from KIX to Osaka).
It’s a very heavy cash society and the JP Bank ATM close (seriously!).
I travel to Japan frequently for work and always use the ATM at the airport. I’ve never had any problem getting money in 5 years of doing it.
I’m surprised that the airport exchange was cheaper than your bank’s ATM conversion. Usually you want to avoid exchanging currency at the airport.
This is my experience with the JR ticket machines so far. I have only had my credit card with Chip AND PIN work on these machines. Just like in the automatic train ticket machines in Europe. If I want to use the PIN-less credit card, I had to go to the window.
I also have lost count of my number of trips to Japan but I know it’s well over 100, and I also lived there twice for a total of over 4 years. (Going back in 3 weeks)
The Japan Post ATMs & 7-11 are the 2 best options for cash with US ATM cards. Most major airports have both of these in the arrival area.
Shinkansen tickets can be bought with any major credit card, not only from a manned ticket counter, but also from the Shinkansen ticket machines if you have a pin for your CC.
Most hotel staff at the larger international hotels speak very good English
1 new tip: bring a handkerchief as most public bathrooms will not have any paper towels
I was really surprised that the staff at Hyatt Regency Kyoto didn’t speak very good English. It was very hard to communicate with the front desk. But at St. Regis Osaka, most staff I came across spoke very good English.
Exchanging money at an airport is bonkers. You might as well just take 10% of cash and set it alight in the terminal. ATMs are a manifestly cheaper way of getting cash. Also, I don’t get this talk of “hunting down an ATM” in NRT or HND – ATMs are far more plentiful in airports than money changers.