{"id":29023,"date":"2018-09-01T16:00:52","date_gmt":"2018-09-01T16:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/?p=29023"},"modified":"2023-09-29T07:19:15","modified_gmt":"2023-09-29T07:19:15","slug":"navigating-withdrawing-money-in-japan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/blog\/navigating-withdrawing-money-in-japan\/","title":{"rendered":"Withdrawing money in Japan – Navigating ATMs and more"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you don’t already know it, you’ll soon realise that Japan is still a very cash-based society and it’s not unusual to carry large amounts of cash around. Soon after you’ve arrived in Japan you’ll probably find yourself wanting to withdraw some money and it may not be as simple as your home country. Don’t panic though, we’re here to guide<\/strong> you through the process of withdrawing money in Japan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

International Cards<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ve just moved to Japan and you need to rely on your international bank card. Unfortunately they may not be as widely accepted as you might have hoped, plus you\u2019ll be wasting a significant amount of your money on currency exchange fees.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We recommend opening an account with Wise<\/strong>, previously known as Transferwise. Wise helps individuals and organisations around the world manage their money irrespective of physical borders. It offers easy money transfer<\/strong>, the ability to hold money in various currencies<\/strong> and allows you to spend money abroad<\/strong> through one simple-to-use debit card.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the best things about using Wise is their low fees and you can hold Japanese Yen in your Wise account. With their debit card, you\u2019ll be able to hit the ground running without having to worry about accessing your money. <\/span>Your money will always be converted at the real exchange rate, that is the one you see in Google so you can be sure that you\u2019re getting the best rate possible and won\u2019t be paying hidden markups typical through traditional banks.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ll also be able to use Wise to transfer any funds you need for rent, tuition fees or living expenses from your home currency into Japanese Yen.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apply for your account here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bank and postal accounts in Japan<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019ve been able to set up your own Japanese account then you\u2019ll likely have a Japanese cash card. This means you can withdraw cash at most (again not all) ATMs at banks or konbini.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Postal accounts are another option for foreigners living in Japan but these can be a little trickier. You\u2019ll be given a booklet, similar to a bank book. Unlike with a cash or credit card, you\u2019ll need to go into a postal branch and withdraw money over the counter. This in itself isn\u2019t difficult but you will need to check your local branch times to make sure it\u2019s open before heading down. Unlike konbini they aren\u2019t open 24 hours a day and opening hours can vary from branch to branch. However, there are over 20,000 branches across the country so it can be a good place to look if you have a postal account or if you have an international card.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Using<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

ATM protips<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As we mentioned, there are plenty of ATMs with English language options<\/strong>, but there are plenty more without, so it\u2019s worth learning to read a few key phrases to get you through your ATM interactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, insert your card in the appropriate slot. Sometimes, there may be additional wider slots for savings books so be aware of this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next, select the option for withdrawing cash. This is called ohikidashi<\/em> (\u304a\u5f15\u304d\u51fa\u3057, withdraw). <\/i>The other options are likely to be oazukeire<\/em> (\u304a\u9810\u3051\u5165\u308c, deposit) and ofurikomi<\/em> (\u304a\u632f\u8fbc\u307f), but you won’t be able to use these if you’re using an international card.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You’ll then be prompted to end your Pin code. This is known as the ansh<\/em>\u014d bang<\/em>\u014d <\/em>(\u6697\u8a3c\u756a\u53f7). Enter your 4 digits and press kakunin<\/em> (\u78ba\u8a8d, confirm).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now the important part. You must now select the amount to be withdrawn. Enter the amount and press en<\/em> (\u5186, the Yen symbol) followed by the kakunin button again. At this point it’s worth remembering that ATMs in Japan will likely have a limit on them, this is normally around 50,000 yen a day. It is also likely that your card will have its own limit as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last but not least, you may be offered a receipt. We would generally recommend getting a receipt for each transaction in case there are any problems in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While it may be quite different to what you\u2019re used to, it\u2019s not all that difficult when it comes to withdrawing money in Japan. Just make sure you plan ahead and you\u2019ll soon be on your way. There\u2019s no need to worry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more useful tips about living in Japan keep following our Go! Go! Nihon blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you don’t already know it, you’ll soon realise that Japan is still a very cash-based society and it’s not unusual to carry large amounts of cash around. Soon after you’ve arrived in Japan you’ll probably find yourself wanting to withdraw some money and it may not be as simple as your home country. Don’t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":117,"featured_media":29051,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[402],"tags":[690,684,680],"class_list":["post-29023","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-how-to","tag-living-abroad","tag-moving","tag-study-in-japan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29023","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/117"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29023"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29023\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29051"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29023"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29023"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29023"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}