Hey,
I'm traveling to Japan in a couple weeks. How much Yen should I bring? Should I bring any dollars? Do I do the conversion here or there?
Cheers!
TTINLA
I'm traveling to Japan in a couple weeks. How much Yen should I bring? Should I bring any dollars? Do I do the conversion here or there?
Cheers!
TTINLA
posted by:
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Los Angeles
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Re: Money?
Sun, November 11, 2007 - 11:42 AMThe amount of yen you will need depends on what you're doing and how long you're there. The way you live when you stay someplace of course is going to dictate how much money you need. Look at the exchange rate and figure it out based on what you think you would spend US dollars. The prices aren't too different. If anything I found it a bit cheaper depending on where you were and what you were purchasing. I lived very cheaply there by mostly making my own food and eating out very few times. And I'm not a big shopper for knick knacks and whatever so I didn't purchase any little trinkets (except for stuff from the ¥100 store...those are cool stores!)
As for the conversion, I did it there. And actually, I went with someone from Japan who's been back many, many times (this was my first time) and he told me that the best rates were by taking it out of the ATM. So, that's what I did. I put all of my money in my account and had only enough US dollars to get me by when I was in America on the way there and back and as soon as I got to Japan, I went to the ATM and took a few thousand yen out. The only thing is to make sure you do the conversion in your head compared with how much your bank lets you take out. Because I forgot about that and I was freaking out because I couldn't get any money out, but it was just not letting me take as much because it was translated to more than my $300 daily allotment by my bank. So yeah, go to the ATM, best rates possible.
Hope this helps... -
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Re: Money?
Sun, November 11, 2007 - 2:59 PMThanks for the tip... this same question was on my mind. On a recent trip to China, via Hong Kong and Macau, I fond the exchange rate to vary quite a bit depending on where you went.
cheers'
Jamaican Steve -
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Re: Money?
Sun, December 23, 2007 - 9:43 PMI have to second the ATM recommendation - you'll get the best rate possible. However, be sure to use a bank ATM and avoild the sketchy kiosk ATMs. (In Japan this won't be much of a problem) One thing to keep in mind, you will almost certainly have to pay a few dollars network access fee for each withdrawal, just as you would in the US for withdaring money from another bank's ATM network. For this reason I try to withdraw as close to my limit as possible to amortize that bank fee over as much money as possible. In other words, don't make five 40 dollar withdrawals - make one $200 withdrawal instead.
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Re: Money?
Thu, December 27, 2007 - 7:50 PMThanks everyone for your comments. I had no problem with money converstion. Though the ATMs are not open 24hours like they are in the states. Also, sometimes you had to find the post office to find the ATM, they aren't everywhere.
But, I was amazed by how cheap Japan was compared to what everyone seems to say. Everyone says it's wicked expensive but, I think this is said by people who have not been there. The food was cheaper which I was real happy about. The hotels we stayed in were modest but a lot cheaper than I thought they would be. I had a guide while I was there which really helped out.
TTINLA
