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You guys on this forum seem to be the only one that can answer any questions I have about my upcoming trip to Japan (which is really awesome), so let's see how you go with this one:

 

I have $5000 AU cash that I need to change to Japanese yen. The current yahoo buy rate is ~86 Yen per $1 AU. I was just at the bank where they told me their current rate is ~84 Yen / $1. Clearly, this is considerably lower and there must be some way for me to get the top exchange rate.

 

I don't necessarily have to change the money before I leave (on Friday the 27th), however I am going directly from Chitose Airport to Niseko when I arrive in japan, and so therefore will have no opportunities to visit a bank (ie in Saporro).

 

I would prefer to change all the money at once to avoid future hassles. What do you guys think? Any suggestions would be very appreciated. Thanks!

 

One other thing: Is there an ATM withdrawal limit in Japan, and can you use a maestro/cirrus (keycard) to withdraw cash from the ATM in Kutchan (or is only Visa/Mastercard accepted?)

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from Japan-Guide.com:

 

 Quote:

The big exception are the ATMs found at the over 20,000 post offices across the country. ATMs at post offices allow you to withdraw cash by foreign Visa, Plus, Mastercard, Maestro, Cirrus, American Express, Diners and JCB cards and provide an English user menu

(i've never had problems with my 'plus'/'interac' cards from Canada)

 

two caveats, first ATMs here have operating hours (what's the point!?) so be careful. the ATM at the small post office where i lived would only be open during business hours and was closed on Sundays!!!

second, i got burned once because my bank put a stop on my card.

 

 Quote:

Notify your bank that you are going to use your card overseas, since many banks will block a card which is suddenly used abroad, suspecting a fraud.

i have a limit on my accounts back in Canada so i don't know if the J-machines enforce their own limits too - this place is so cash based that i doubt the machine itself would, but someone else can prob. answer that.
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>I have $5000 AU cash that I need to change to Japanese yen. The current yahoo buy rate is ~86 Yen per $1 AU. I was just at the bank where they told me their current rate is ~84 Yen / $1. Clearly, this is considerably lower and there must be some way for me to get the top exchange rate.

 

Ausbc ... there is NO way that you can get this "top" exchange rate that you discuss above. The retail exchange rate is ALWAYS 2 or 3 yen/cents/euro cents (or whatever) higher/lower, depending on whether you are buying or selling.

 

If you are buying JPY in Australia for 84JPY for 1AUD, then at the same time I have to give the banks in Japan 88JPY for 1AUD. This is called the "bid-ask spread" and is where all these currency brokers make their money. It is a kind of a transaction cost, I guess.

 

(Please correct me if I am wrong here, DB/Spud.)

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I agree with NPM. You won't get a better price, because almost all places only offer that lower price. The ATM issue is also a pain in the arse. The Post Office machines are the only widely available machines (other than specialized international ones you might find in the big cities) which you can use a cirrus card with (my ANZ card works fine). But, not being 24 hours makes them a right pain as sock monkey said. There is also a daily limit which is quite low (5000 would require quite a few withdrawals on different days). This is imposed by the Post Office and has nothing to do with your Aus bank (which may or may not have it's own limits). Your best bet would be to simply come with it already changed, or do it at the Chitose airport (they may give you an even worse rate, I dunno). Of course you need to be careful carrying around that kind of cash, but most people in this place do carry significantly large amounts of money with them all the time with no problems.

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Cheers guys, I appreciate the help. Yes I think I was a bit naive before expecting the 86.2 Yen / $1 exchange rate...obviously this is a top rate ...however having travelled extensively, i've noticed that ATMs always give the best exchange rate available.

 

I think the best option for me is to get it changed either at Tokyo airport (stopping there briefly) or before I leave on Friday.

 

If you do the maths, the 2 yen difference in exchange rate only equates to 10,000 yen overall...about $110 AU. That's nothing worth crying about in my opinion if it's going to make life a whole lot easier when I get there. Thanks again.

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I'd go with the ATM option. You will get the TT rate which is always better than the cash rate. But like you said the diff is not really much so it might be easier just for you to have the cash so ya don't have to worry about ATM's.

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Yeh I think that i'll be able to find a decent exchange rate at Tokyo Narita airport. I was looking at the website, apparently they have several banks and currency changers there so i'll just look around and find the best rate I suppose.

 

Went to the Travelex company website and they have a decent online rate (85.22 Yen/ $1) if i'm not mistaken. Better than my commonwealth bank quote today of about 84 yen/ $1. Anyway i'm not worried, just excited.... Happy Australia Day!

 

(Bushpig, I am in Cottesloe)

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AusBc:

I've found that airports often have terrible rates as people just arriving need money to get out of the airport and they figure they can rip them off.

 

Why not contact your credit card co. Tell them you are going to Japan and want to get all your money out of a Japanese ATM in one go. Do that at Narita AP.

 

My NZ cards only allow me to get about 45,000yen a day out, but my Japanese ones all allow about 500,000yen. Silly really as my limit on the NZ Card is about 4 times the Japanese ones.

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 Quote:
Originally posted by Ausbc:
Yeh I think that i'll be able to find a decent exchange rate at Tokyo Narita airport. I was looking at the website, apparently they have several banks and currency changers there so i'll just look around and find the best rate I suppose.
They are not there as a service, they are there because it is a good way to make money. Mr-I-Got-No-Yen arrives in Narita and thinks he better get some yen as he is about to head off into a new land. Mr GNY is not alone. Demand is high and so too is the price.

If you have large sums to do then try to avoid airport vendors.

On credit cards, I arrived in Japan with my Australian bank Visa card and had heard I could withdraw from special post offices. My credit card had a special 8 digit pin. The post office machine really didn't like that and I got no yen.

My best advice is to avoid any dependency on Japanese banking and especially the ATM network and the ability to pay with plastic rather than cash. It is 3rd world compared to Australia.
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Take _spud's advice on that last one Ausbc. Cash is the only fail-safe way to go here. Some places even refuse international credit cards with the visa mark, while accepting Japanese credit cards with the visa mark.

 

Cottesloe eh? Used to hit the waves down that way from time to time. Duncraig myself.

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Ditto that.

 

Get it changed at home before you leave. Both the currency exchanges at the airports (all operated by major banks) or the banks in major cities that perform currency exchanges don't offer particularly good rates. You can get better exchange rates if you have travelers' cheques instead of cash, but if you have to pay a service fee at your bank to get the travelers' cheques in the first place, the net effect may be the same.

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 Quote:
Originally posted by _spud:
My best advice is to avoid any dependency on Japanese banking and especially the ATM network and the ability to pay with plastic rather than cash. It is 3rd world compared to Australia.
.. or that Japan's a much safer 3rd world country than the 1st world Australia, so people don't give a second thought about carrying around equivalent of thousands of dollars in cash.
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Japan is without doubt a better country than Australia in many important aspects and personal safety along with respect for the community and its assets is one of Japan's finest attributes (and one of Australia's weakest . Same goes for the UK and America. We should all be a little ashamed).

 

But that doesn't change the fact that banking in Japan is a unexpectedly different and therefore frustrating experience for many foreign people, particularly new visitors. The electronic facilities and networks are very poor. Even if it is safe to carry cash.... it is a pain in the backside actually getting it out of the bank in the first place. Prime example: you can't always use your bank's ATM card on any other Bank's machine. And if you can, it is often restricted to certain times, or it is past 11pm and the ATM machine that takes cards from multiple banks is shut.

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yes, but you still need to find a place to cash them, and some places may charge a fee for that. Again, probably only banks will do that for you, and banking hours are pretty short here. Closing at 3 in some (most??) cases.

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I once bought traveler's cheques in yen at a currency exchange in the States imagining they would be readily accepted, but unless you're in a large city, you stand a pretty good chance of countersigning it, handing it to the cashier, and getting a "WTF is this?" look. I ended up exchanging them all for cash at the hotel desk later...

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