Spending in Japan

[VonHerrBurton]

Evening everyone. My 20 year old son and his friend are travelling to Tokyo and Osaka in April on a much anticipated holiday.

They have told me Japan is very much a cash driven society and credit/debit cards aren't widely used. Does anyone have any advice regarding prepaid travel currency cards and which ones are the best value?

Some seem to have no fees but awful exchange rates and vice versa. The thought of them trailing around with lots of cash terrifies me as this will be their first time travelling out of the UK without us!

Any advice would be much appreciated.

I've found a Starling bank account to be better value for travelling than a pre-paid travel card. Just transfer spending money to it, and there are no foreign transaction fees when withdrawing cash or paying by card. Revolut is similar, but I believe now they have a limit on the amount you can withdraw each month without fees.

For Japan specifically, you can easily withdraw cash at the ATMs in most convenience stores (7-11, Lawson, Family Mart).

We found Japan is massively cash based, though we were there pre-Covid so that may have changed. I agree a Starling account is better than a pre-paid travel card. DS has a Starling account that he uses just for foreign travel as there are no charges, he says.

Japan is a very safe country so he would be OK carrying large amounts of cash around in a wallet or money belt, as long as he is careful and sensible.

Daughter (in her 20s) lives in Tokyo. Debit cards are becoming more common (widely accepted in tourist places and for buying train tickets etc). Easy to take money out of ATMs but they are open the same hours as banks not 24 hours like here. Crime is very low and its not unusual for men to carry 2 wallets of cash for eating out etc. As long as they stay clear of the seedy parts of Tokyo at night they will be fine.

You can get by with using credit cards for a lot in Tokyo. Don’t know about Osaka. Crime is extremely low in Japan.

Thanks everyone, I'll pass on all your points and as it's been mentioned a couple of times have him look at Starling.