Money in Japan: Cash, Cards, IC Cards, ATMs and Tax-Free Shopping

Japan spent two decades with a reputation for being cash-only and has spent the last five shedding it. Both halves of that story are now half true, which is the worst possible situation for a visitor: the big chains take everything, and the small places that you actually travelled to see take nothing but coins.

This is the overview guide for line B. It covers what to carry, what works where, and links to the detailed guide for each decision.

What actually takes a card

Read that table as a rule: the more interesting the place, the more likely it is cash-only. Entry fees at temples, a bowl of noodles at a counter with six seats, a ticket to a municipal museum — all cash, often exact.

How much cash to carry

The working answer for most trips is ¥20,000–30,000 on you, replenished every few days. That covers a day of entry fees, small meals, local transport and the reserve you need when a card is refused, without carrying an amount you would mind losing.

Japan is unusually safe for carrying cash — the practical risk is losing your wallet, not having it taken. The full arithmetic, by trip style and duration, is in how much cash to bring to Japan.

Getting cash: which ATMs work

This is the trap. Most ATMs operated by Japanese domestic banks do not accept foreign-issued cards at all, and the machine will decline without explanation. The ones that reliably work are:

• 7-Bank — inside every 7-Eleven. The most reliable network in the country, English interface, open around the clock.
• Japan Post Bank — in post offices and some stations. Excellent coverage in rural areas, but limited by post office opening hours.
• Lawson Bank — inside Lawson convenience stores.
• E-Net — inside FamilyMart.

Withdrawal limits, fees, the “select account type” screen that confuses foreign cards, and what to do when a machine eats your card are covered in which ATMs in Japan accept foreign cards.

IC cards: the one thing to buy on arrival

Suica, Pasmo, ICOCA and their regional siblings are stored-value contactless cards. You load yen onto them and tap: train gates, buses, coin lockers, vending machines, convenience stores and a growing number of shops. They are mutually interoperable nationwide, so the card you buy in Tokyo works in Osaka and Fukuoka.

Two things visitors get wrong. The card holds a maximum of ¥20,000, which is less than a single Shinkansen fare — it is for local transport and small purchases, not long-distance tickets. And a physical card carries a ¥500 deposit which is only returned if you hand the card back at a station in the region that issued it.

Availability of physical cards has been intermittent in recent years because of a semiconductor shortage, with tourist-specific and mobile versions filling the gap. Which version to get, how the deposit and refund work, and whether to put it on your phone instead: how Japan’s IC cards actually work.

Consumption tax and tax-free shopping

Japanese consumption tax is 10%, reduced to 8% for most food and non-alcoholic drink bought to take away. Prices displayed to consumers include tax, so the shelf price is the price you pay.

Short-term visitors can buy tax-free at licensed shops above a purchase threshold, with your passport presented at the till. Consumables are sealed and must leave the country unopened. The system is undergoing a significant change — moving from tax exemption at the till toward a refund collected on departure — so check the current mechanics before you plan a large purchase: Japan tax-free shopping.

Tipping

There is no tipping in Japan. Not in restaurants, not in taxis, not for housekeeping, not for a guide. Leaving money on the table will usually result in someone running after you to return it. Service charges, where they exist, appear on the bill in hotels and some restaurants.

The narrow exceptions — and what to do instead when you genuinely want to thank someone — are in tipping in Japan.

Practical habits that save money and embarrassment

• Always decline dynamic currency conversion. When a terminal offers to charge you in your home currency, say no and pay in yen. The exchange rate applied is consistently poor.
• Use the tray. Cash is handed over on the small tray by the till, not into the cashier’s hand, and change is returned the same way.
• Break large notes early. The ¥10,000 note is awkward in small shops. Break it at a convenience store at the start of the day.
• Tell your bank you are travelling, and carry a second card from a different network. A single blocked card in a country where many places do not take cards at all is a genuine problem.
• Withdraw larger amounts less often. ATM fees are per transaction, so four withdrawals of ¥30,000 beat twelve of ¥10,000.

Traveling on from Japan? The same questions, answered for the neighbours: our guides to the Vietnam currency, the Thailand currency and money in Korea.

Data checked: 2026-09-28