Japan has moved fast on cashless payment, but it is still a partly cash-based country. Small restaurants, temples, local buses, market stalls, and some family-run shops may take cash only. The simplest advice you can give visitors is this: carry some yen, even if they plan to pay by card most of the time. A good rule of thumb is to keep enough cash for a day of small purchases and let cards cover the bigger ones.
Tell them to arrive with a little cash
Your guests do not need to change large sums before they fly. Airport exchange rates are rarely the best, and withdrawing from an ATM on arrival usually gives a fairer rate. Suggest they land with a modest amount of yen for the train, a first meal, and a convenience store run, then top up from an ATM once they are settled. Point them to your arrival checklist so cash sits alongside their other first-day essentials.
Which ATMs reliably take foreign cards
Not every Japanese ATM accepts overseas cards, and this trips up a lot of visitors. Two networks are dependable and everywhere:
- 7-Eleven (Seven Bank) ATMs. Found in nearly every 7-Eleven convenience store, open long hours, with an English menu. These are the easiest option for most travelers and accept the major international card networks.
- Japan Post Bank (Yucho) ATMs. Located in post offices across the country, including rural areas. They also offer English and take foreign cards, though branch hours can be more limited than a convenience store.
ATMs attached to ordinary Japanese banks are less reliable for foreign cards, so steer guests toward these two networks first.
Contactless, tap-to-pay, and IC cards
Contactless card acceptance is growing quickly in Japan, especially in cities, chain stores, and larger restaurants. It is not universal, though, so a tap-to-pay card should not be your visitors' only plan. Many phones set up for overseas contactless will also work at terminals that display the symbol.
The smoothest way to handle small daily spending is a prepaid IC transit card such as Suica or PASMO. These cover trains, buses, and a huge number of shops and vending machines with a single tap. Guests can top them up with cash at station machines whenever the balance runs low, which keeps their cash flowing into a form that works almost everywhere. If your visitors want to load one onto a phone before they arrive, send them to IC cards for foreign phones for the device details.
Have them call their home bank first
Remind guests to notify their home bank or card provider that they will be traveling in Japan. Banks sometimes flag or freeze a card when charges suddenly appear from abroad, and a frozen card on day one is a miserable start. A quick call or an in-app travel notice usually prevents this. It is also worth them checking their daily withdrawal and spending limits before they leave.
Rough withdrawal fees
Two costs usually apply to an ATM withdrawal. The ATM operator may charge a small fixed fee per withdrawal, and the visitor's own bank often adds a foreign transaction or ATM fee on top. Because of the fixed portion, it is generally cheaper to make fewer, larger withdrawals than many tiny ones. Warn guests to decline the machine's offer to convert the amount into their home currency, sometimes called dynamic currency conversion, since taking the charge in yen is normally the better rate.
A quick summary for your guests
- Arrive with a little yen; top up at 7-Eleven or Japan Post ATMs.
- Keep an IC card loaded for trains, buses, and small shops.
- Expect contactless to work in most, but not all, places.
- Notify the home bank before departure and choose to be charged in yen.
When guests are heading home, leftover coins and a nearly empty IC card are easy to deal with; your departure day notes cover that so nothing goes to waste.
General information, checked 2026-09-07. Fees, exchange rates, and acceptance can change, so treat specific numbers as a guide rather than a guarantee.