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[yapc::asia::2008] Did I mention I was going to Japan? 6 Comments More | Login | Reply /

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  • Japan is a very cash-oriented place, and it's not as easy to find a foreign-friendly ATM as it is in other places I've been to. Bring a few hundred euros worth of cash with you when you go to make your life a little easier.
    • Japan is very cash-oriented, but it is much easier to find foreign-friendly ATMs now than it was a few years ago.
      • Define "a few years ago". When I was there in 2007 it was still significantly harder than I'd expect. Most of the major Japanese banks do not work with US ATM standards, at least. Maybe it's different for European standards. I ended up having to either find an American bank branch (Chase) or a Japanese post office. Fortunately, the post offices are very common, but still not nearly as common as Japanese banks.

        I compare this to Taiwan, where since I first went there in 2000 pretty much every large Taiwanese bank was on the same networks as my bank. In Taiwan I could find a usable ATM every few blocks without too much trouble, so I could just wander around freely without thinking about money. In Japan, I had to plan ATM visits as part of my daily schedule.
        • Usual Bank ATMs are sometimes useless in terms of pulling money from foreign BANK accounts like you describe, but Post Office ATMs, as well as Seven Bank (those you can find in 7-11 convenience) might be more useful and you can withdraw from networks such as PLUS, VISA, Master Card and Citrus. http://www.jp-bank.japanpost.jp/en/ias/en_ias_index.html [japanpost.jp]
        • By "a few years ago" I meant 2002. If I'd heard about your problem last year I would have told you to ignore most of the banks and do what Miyagawa-san suggested in another reply: use the post office or 7-11.

          7-11 are particularly good because they are more common than banks, accept foreign cards, and (unlike many major banks) are open 24 hours.
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