Japan and currency

[SingaporeSlinky]

We’re looking at travelling to Japan in the next few years and I know the exchange rate is really good at the moment. Can anyone advise if you need to carry cash while in Japan or will cards be accepted everywhere? I’m wondering if it’s worth buying some Yen now, but then if the exchange rate stays the same as it currently is, you get a better rate just using the card whilst there. Plus, if I exchanged say £1-2000 there’s the possibility that losing a few years worth of interest on that negates any benefit of the good exchange rate.

Also, while I’m here, I know flights from UK to Japan are currently taking the long flight routes due to avoiding Russian airspace so it’s adding a few hours to the flight time. Is there an obvious stopover we could do for a few days to break up the flight, or would you advise just getting one long flight over with, to spend all available time in Japan? We have young teens so a 14 hour flight is doable, but would be the longest flight they’ve ever done, and not particularly pleasant for adults. I’m torn between thinking it’s a good opportunity to see another county / city for a few days (maybe Dubai or Singapore?) but it would still be 2 long flights and once you factor in the extra travel time to and from airports, and waiting around at the airport etc that’s time we could have just had in Japan.

Sorry that’s so long!

Japan is very much a cash based society so I would take a mix of both yen and credit cards. Some debit cards like cirrus, maestro, link and delta are not widely accepted in Japan. Japanese post offices, 7-Eleven stores and JP Post Bank have cash machines that will accept some foreign cards during business hours.

It is more likely you would get a flight from Singapore to Japan than from Dubai to Japan. TBH I'd go direct rather than stopover, I do not remember the jet lag to be horrendous.

There is NO tipping in restaurants in Japan.

When we were there about 5 years ago, it was all cash. May have changed since Covid. It's a very safe country. We carried a lot of cash around at all times.

Have fun. It is an amazing place.

Uk to singapore is about 13 hours and then another 7-8 to Japan so I wouldn’t do that.

i have three friends that went recently. All the direct flights are too expensive so they went

1. via Abu Dhabi on etihad. Adds a few hours on but not too many, is about 7+9 hours I think. Didn’t stop over.
2. via Frankfurt on lufthansa. Didn’t stop over.
3. via Beijing on China eastern (I think). Chinese airlines are allowed to fly over Russian airspace so I think this is the quickest route currently. On the way back they got 24 hours in Beijing as part of a transit visa (easy to arrange as long as it’s not more than 24 h) and did an organised tour plus hotel stay which they enjoyed

as pp said, very much a cash based society. When I was there (early noughties) cash points were only open office hours only!!!!

Thanks all, so if you’re all saying I’d definitely need cash, would you advise getting some exchanged now while the rate is good? I can get 184 yen at today’s rate. I know it’s impossible to predict rates but that’s pretty much a 5 year high I believe.

Yes definitely a cash society - it's also very safe and you needn't worry about carrying a lot of cash.

184 is good but check variation through the month (google historical trends) as when I lived there and used to send money back there was always a better rate at different times of the month. Can't remember when, sorry!

Personally I'd get the flight over and done with without stopovers. It's a great country and with so much to see you'll want as much time as possible.

I'd definitely get some yen exchanged now at that good rate of 184. Even if the rate changes a bit, it'll still be a better deal than paying conversion fees each time with cards in Japan. And you'll definitely need cash there.

As for flights, I'd agree with others and just do the long direct one. Stopovers break up the time but also cut into your time in Japan. The priority should be seeing as much as you can there!

It may have been a cash society but when I went last year I didn't use any cash at all.

In terms of the flight I split it up in Doha but to be honest if I went again I would rather just get it all over with in one go

I spend quite a bit of time in Japan, I barely use cash most places take card. as for flights, the BA flight on the 787 was comfortable, long but wasn't awful. Or you could go via Dubai spend a day or two then do the 9 hour flight to Japan.

My carer is slightly Japan obsessed so has been a few times.

We are in the midlands so flights from Birmingham.

He has been via Paris on Air France and Amsterdam on KLM.

His next trip is via Doha on Qatar. It's two more reasonable 6-7 hour flights but he has a long break at Doha airport, although it looks like there is a lot to do there and if you are there over a certain time you can do a tour bus of Doha without a visa.

As for money, yes you need cash. Not just to use in shops but also for all the vending machines.

https://interestingengineering.com/lists/17-interesting-vending-machines-in-japan-youll-be-surprised-to-know-exist

@sashh oh yes I’ve heard about the vending machines. Good point if they only take cash, the kids are definitely going to want to use those! I’ve seen you can get hot drinks in cans from them, so the novelty is going to make us want to try everything available!

Definitely leaning towards the direct flight just to get it out of the way.

Thanks all.

Extra from Carer.

He suggest you get a Fairfx card.

https://www.fairfx.com/

Apparently it works in every cash point in Japan and doesn't charge a transaction fee / interest.

We just got back in October and we did use cash but it wasn't a BIg Deal we definitely used our Starling cards a lot though. I can't even remember what the notes look like. I think you can use the Suica card in vending machines, but we only got a few drinks and i cant remember if we used cash, card or Suica.

The Suica cards can be used on buses and trams as well as the vending machines and convenience stores, but we just tended to use Starling.

We flew direct to HND, it was ok, but it was just DH and I.

Thank you.
I have a Halifax Clarity credit card that doesn’t charge for foreign transactions so that’ll be the main card we use.

I think 12 hours is the longest flight I’ve done, and 11 hours for the kids. It isn’t ideal, but if we focus on the saved hours just transferring through additional airports for a stopover, it should help. We’ll have 2 weeks, possibly 16 days maximum, so I’d rather spend it all in Japan.

I think I’ll definitely exchange some money soon, it’ll be easier to give the kids their own money in cash rather than trying to keep tabs on what everyone has spent.

OP i think cash for the kids is a good plan.

This overlaps with the other thread you're on but I shouldnt worry too much aboutthe Suica cards yet, I think availability will become clearer as you get closer to departure date. I have added it here as I am fairly sure you need yen to top up the Suica in a machine and there is no alternative.

Sorry it wasn't fairfx but another one, it was easy but it sounds like you are covered anyway.

OP

I've just checked my email, this is a copy and paste of what he has said:

Places in tokyo for teens

Areas

Akihabara
Ueno/Ueno Park
Asakusa
Odaiba
Kabukichou

Streets

Takeshita Street- fashion
Kappabashi Street - Everything cooking related shops

Places

Tokyo-Edo Museum - maybe not great for teens but fascinating history of tokyo
Maid Dreaming - maid cafe that very acceptable for tourists
Round 1 Stadium - various indoor sports with arcade. Various locations in tokyo.
Sunshine City - various things including an aquarium and planetarium.

Shops

Don Qiujote - variety store, fun to look around
Anything "Off" - second hand shops (the japanese take good care of things so most stuff in good condition)

• Book Off - books
• Mode Off - clothes
• Home Off - home goods
• Hard Off - video games, musical instruments and various electronic
• Hobby Off - various hobby stuff. Anime figures, toys, collectibles etc.

One thing they might not be into is going to see some Kabuki (traditional Japanese theatre) at the Kabuki-za. Look up "single act tickets".

One thing to miss: Kabukichou tower. Hugely hyped up but very little actually there.

F . I'm going in September.

@Specialnameforanoutingthread I am on several threads asking questions about other peoples trips, but haven’t asked about Suica cards. Thanks for the info anyway.

@sashh thanks for all that, very helpful.

@SingaporeSlinky Ooops! My apologies - I must have muddled you with someone....

I went to Japan in August. I used a mix of cash, starling and the suica card. I think the only time I really used cash was at the gatcha machines, games and to top up my suica; most places took card.

We went direct with Japan airlines and I would really recommend them. The flight is long but was manageable (and I hate flying!)

We just came back from Japan in December last year and hardly used any cash while we were there. Post Covid many more places are now set up to take cards. One of the few places that we couldn’t use cards was to top up our IC cards for subway travel so if you are going to do a lot of that then you will need some cash to go in the machines. Otherwise we barely used it, although ended up paying for some restaurant meals in cash in order not to have it left over. It was also possible to use cash on the city buses, and we occasionally used up coins that way.

We opted not to fly direct as it was £400 per person cheaper at the time to fly with Qatar Airways and go via Doha, short stop over each way. obviously the overall flight time was longer, but it was quite good to get out and stretch our legs in the middle.

Thanks @AlohaRose that’s good to know.
I think I’m going to change some money now anyway, it’ll definitely get spent, even if we use to it to pay for meals etc. Hope you had a great time?

Amazing time, yes. Very jealous that you get to do it all. Hopefully you will travel outside Tokyo as well?

@AlohaRose hopefully Tokyo, Kyoto at least. Trying not to have to change hotels too much but would like to visit Hiroshima, Nara and maybe Miyajima but trying to get my head around the best way to fit it all in. Lots of people have said you should stay overnight on Miyajima to see it once the crowds have left for the night.

@AlohaRose any tips for Doha? Just for the airport.