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Money
Currency 
Bank/Post office Currency exchange/ credit cards Taxes
Currency
The unit of currency is the yen (¥ or 円～).
The denominations are: (notes) ¥10,000, ¥5000, ¥2,000 and ¥1,000, and (coins) ¥500(both new and old coins), ¥100, ¥50 ¥10, ¥5 and ¥1.
Banks/ Japan Post Bank (Post office)
Generally, banks are open from 9:00am to 3:00pm on the weekdays. Japan Post Bank is open from 9:00am to 4:00pm on the weekdays with some braches closing at 6:00pm. Most of cash machines (ATMs) of banks and Japan Post Bank are in service from 8:00 am to 9:00 pm though the operation hours vary depending on the contents of services and machines. ATMs are often closed on the weekends, but an increasing number of convenience stores are offering 24 - hour ATM service. You can withdraw cash from most of Seven Bank ATMs 24 hours a day. Cash withdrawal is also available from the Post Bank ATMs around the clock with some limit of the operating hours though.
ATMs at Post Offices
Other ATMs (Japanese)
Currency exchange/ credit cards
International credit cards like the American Express, VISA, MASTERCARD, Diners Club and JCB will be accepted at hotels, main facilities, and stores. You can use those cards to purchase air-tickets and Shinkansen train tickets. Certain types of public transport (like some taxi companies) also accept them. It is, therefore, very convenient to have a credit card, as it serves as identification when checking into a hotel and exempting one from having to make a deposit.
However, it does not mean that the credit cards are universally acceptable. To purchase a short distance train ticket on either JR or a private railway, a credit card may not be used. Neither can they be used for bus lines. Furthermore, not all the convenience stores, privately owned shops, and super-markets accept the credit cards. In some cases, even if the cards are acceptable, there may be certain limitations. It is a general rule to pay in cash, if the sum used is less than 1,000 yen. There are some taxi companies that do not accept credit cards as well as those which only accept when the fare exceeds 5,000 yen. Unlike the United States where it is possible to live without cash as everything can be paid for by credit card, in Japan one needs to carry some cash at all times.
If you want to withdraw cash from an ATM (automated teller machine) using a credit card, it must be the one that has been issued in Japan. Many ATMs in Japan do not accept the cards issued abroad. It is necessary, therefore, to get information in advance from the credit companies about the kind of ATM that will accept certain cards issued abroad.
The 26,000 Japan Post Bank ATMs throughout the country accept withdrawals on credit cards issued abroad.On or around such machines, a notice "International ATM Service" and stickers showing VISA, VISA Electron, PLUS, MASTERCARD, Maestro, Cirrus, American Express, Diners Club International, JCB, China UnionPay, DISCOVER logos are displayed.
Seven Bank accepts foreign-issued credit cards and cash cards, providing vocal and on-screen guidance on how to use ATM in four foreign languages i.e. English, Korean, Chinese and Portuguese. Receipts support these four languages as well. Debit cards are also accepted to withdraw cash from the machines.
Travelers' checks may be used in most banks, hotels, ryokan (Japanese-style inns) and superstores.
Japan Post Bank ATMs
Seven Bank ATMs
- American Express
- VISA
- MASTERCARD
- Diners Club (Japanese)
- JCB (Japanese)
- China Unionpay (Japanese)
- DISCOVER (Japanese)
Taxes
There are certain taxes that tourists are required to pay during their stay in Tokyo. A consumption tax(shohizei) is one of such taxes, which is five (5) percent of the price of commodities and services you are buying. The consumption tax is already included in the indicated price. Another is a hotel tax(shukuhakuzei) which occurs when you pay 10,000 yen or more for the room charge per night per person to your hotel. At hotels and ryokans in Tokyo, the rate of the hotel tax is 100 yen for a room less than 15,000 yen and 200 yen for a room 15,000 yen or more.
As an exception, nonresidents of Japan, including tourists from foreign countries, are exempted from the consumption tax under certain conditions for certain items purchased at duty-free shops as souvenir to be brought outside Japan. Excluding consumables such as foods and drinks, cigarettes, medicines, cosmetic items, camera films, batteries, etc., general commodities will be tax-exempted at such shops only when the total of your shopping exceeds 10,000 yen per transaction. Duty free shops are found only in limited areas. In Tokyo, the most crowded area with the duty free shops is Akihabara, which is known among tourists from the overseas as a place to shop made-in-Japan electric appliances that are convertible worldwide at tax-free prices. Some of those electric stores sell traditional souvenirs and those can be also tax-exempted if your total payment at one store sums up 10,000 yen or more.
