The official currency of Japan is the Japanese Yen, which is the third most traded currency in the foreign exchange market. One Japanese yen is 0.0070 GBP as of 22nd January 2020.
Tipping in Japan is not customary. Their culture is one that is firmly rooted in dignity, respect and hard work – therefore good service is considered the standard and has resulted in Japan being labelled as the culture “which always over-delivers.”
Some restaurants in Japan would even refuse to accept a tip, a simple thank you for the service and food suffices. There is also no expectation to tip taxi drivers in Japan.
There are, however, a few exceptions to this rule; in some cases, the staff that work for tourist companies in Japan are accustomed to receiving a small gratuity.
View our tipping guide for more help on tipping abroad.
When travelling, our experts would recommend always bringing a small amount of cash with you on every trip, for initial taxi transfers or hotel deposits etc. A large portion of your Japanese Yen should be put onto a Caxton multi-currency card, for safe and secure spending.
Japan is still mainly a cash society, especially in smaller towns, thus, it’s advisable to bring cash when exploring rural areas. However, in the larger cities and towns most establishments accept credit/debit cards, making a prepaid card still an essential travel companion.
Post offices or 7-Eleven ATMs have been frequently mentioned as the best places to withdraw cash in Japan from an international card.
Most international banks and money outlets now charge a fee for using ATM machines, as do most card providers. Taking a travel pre-paid card and a credit card is recommended as Caxton do not charge for international ATM use regardless of sum or number of times, (but check with your card provider about charges.)
Japan is known to be a safe country with friendly and helpful people, but this shouldn’t stop you from being smart whilst you travel. If the majority of your cash is on a prepaid card, this will be automatically protected. However, in case the worse happens, here are the list of major debit/credit card ‘lost and stolen’ numbers:
HSBC/First Direct - +44 1442 422929
Natwest - +44 1268 500 813
Lloyds - +44 1702 278270
Barclays - +442476842099
Santander - +44 1908 237 963
Whilst in Japan, you may as well spend any remaining Yen, if only small amount, on some traditional Japanese souvenirs, such as:
Beat the queues with the Caxton Cash Delivery service. With next day cash delivery to your home and 58 different currencies, it couldn’t be easier to get your holiday money sorted. Simply Login to your Caxton account and select ‘Cash Delivery’ to get started.
Check out our Travel Money Guides for around the world:
Alternatively, if a Yukata isn’t your style, you can use Caxton’s buy back guarantee to get rid of any unused Japanese Yen. By doing this you ensure that if the exchange rate moves against you, you won't lose out.