Do you still need cash in Japan?

Yes — but less than the old guidebooks say. Cards and phone payments now work at chains, hotels, department stores, and most restaurants in big cities. Cash still rules at ramen ticket machines, small izakaya, temple entries, market stalls, coin lockers, some taxis outside the big cities, and a long tail of beloved little places that are precisely why you came. A good rule: carry ¥10,000–20,000 at all times and you will almost never be caught out.

Know the money

Bills come in ¥1,000, ¥5,000, and ¥10,000 (the ¥2,000 note exists but is rare). Coins run ¥1, ¥5, ¥10, ¥50, ¥100, and ¥500 — and the ¥500 coin is worth about $3.30, one of the most valuable circulating coins in the world. Treat coins as real money: a pocket of change can pay for a vending machine run, a coin locker, and a shrine offering. A small coin pouch is the single most underrated piece of Japan travel gear.

Getting yen: skip the airport exchange desk

The cheapest yen for most travelers comes out of an ATM with a no-foreign-fee debit card. 7-Eleven ATMs (in nearly every konbini) and Japan Post ATMs reliably take foreign cards, have English menus, and are everywhere. Withdraw in larger chunks — ¥50,000 or ¥100,000 at a time — to amortize any per-withdrawal fee. Airport currency desks and buy-yen-at-home services typically cost 3–8% more than the mid-market rate; the ATM route usually costs under 1–2%.

If an ATM or card terminal offers to charge you in dollars instead of yen, decline. That option — dynamic currency conversion — carries a markup of several percent. Always pay in yen and let your bank do the conversion.

The IC card is the real cash killer

Suica and its regional siblings (Pasmo, ICOCA) are prepaid transit cards that also pay at konbini, vending machines, station shops, and many cafes. You can add Suica to Apple Wallet before you even land and top it up from your phone. For sub-¥1,000 purchases, tapping an IC card is faster than cash and accepted in most of the places that refuse credit cards. Between an IC card and a modest cash reserve, you are covered for essentially everything.

Cash etiquette, quickly

Use the small tray by the register for handing over money rather than passing bills hand-to-hand; take your change and receipt from the tray too. There is no tipping anywhere — not restaurants, not taxis, not hotels — and attempting it creates polite confusion. Counting your change is fine; short-changing tourists is virtually nonexistent.

How much for the whole trip?

For a one-week trip, most people are comfortable cycling through ¥50,000–70,000 in cash, with cards and IC payments carrying the rest — see the daily budget guide for the full math. Carrying ¥100,000 in a wallet feels alarming to Americans and completely normal to locals; Japan’s street safety makes cash a low-stress affair.

The last piece is knowing what the yen in your hand are worth. Check the live converter when rates move, and use amounts like ¥5,000 and ¥10,000 as anchors until the conversion happens in your head automatically.