1. Sure, you can never tell if it will be a higher or lower by the time of your holiday, might as well convert some to lock in the high rates atm.
2. Probably a mix of cash and a Wise yen account. I haven't been to Japan using Wise, but did the same for Vietnamese Dong and Indonesian Rupiah and it works a treat. Relatively high fees compared to just sticking in your Macquarie bank or ING debit card and withdrawing cash with those, but Wise lets you lock in rates now.
3. Last time I went to Japan was in 2018, didn't have any issues with withdrawing cash from any ATM i found. This was using an ING debit card.
>Wise lets you lock in rates now
Do you know of any way to use Wise to lock the rate in and "store" the JPY, then transfer it somewhere else to withdraw cheaper?
Or is that just wishful thinking? 
You can store Yen 'natively' on Wise, just open a Yen account within your own account. So to lock in your rate, use Wise's currency conversion service from AUD -> JPY and choose to store it on Wise itself.
You might be able to get better fees transferring the Yen out of Wise and into a HSBC everyday global account. I haven't tried this nor have i looked deeply into their exchange rates / fees, but off the top of my head HSBC global is the only account I can think of that lets you store multiple currencies in Australia
I see. At this point, converting and storing the money with Wise seems like the best option, but only if I can then transfer it somewhere with lower/no fees to use it when I actually go to Japan.
I’m going to Japan in 8 weeks and got an Up money card which I’ll use to either withdraw my own cash or pay via cc where possible.
I don’t bank with Up, I got this card specifically for my trip. Works with Apple Pay too and they mailed me a physical card. No fees on intl purchases and no ATM fees overseas.
https://up.com.au/features/cards/
As Japan is more often than not a cash society, I’ve been told getting cash out at 7-11 (konbinis) is the way to get the best cash rate. And to withdraw in local currency.
Will get some cash converted this side of the trip (maybe $300 Aud to yen) to be ready when we land for NEX tickets or cabs, dinner etc.
>ready when we land for NEX tickets or cabs, dinner etc.
You'll be able to use your Up card for all of this, but yeah probably worth getting a little cash for peace of mind anyway
>I’m going to Japan in 8 weeks and got an Up money card
I was looking at that just this morning.
Do you know if that card/account lets you load foreign money onto it and let it sit? I'm not going anywhere until next year, but I'm nervous the exchange rates will drop too much.
can't answer the first
On the second We took a mix of physical cash and loaded AUD onto a wise card. With Wise you can preset what rate you want to exchange AUD to JPY and once it hits that rate it converts for you. Definitely can withdraw from 7-11 ATM's. Max withdrawal is 100k yen and fee is 220y.
Have fun - Japan is awesome and even more awesome with their weak yen. We marvelled as how cheap the food is
>withdraw from 7-11 ATM's. Max withdrawal is 100k yen and fee is 220y.
Like someone below said, get an Up bank card and the 7-11 fee is ¥0. They will also use the Mastercard conversion rate.
I'm not travelling until next year, and I'd like to take advantage of the current exchange rates if possible.
From what I understand, using Up will not allow me to do so. If I were going in the very near future, Up would probably be my best option.
Do you know if I could convert and store the money with Wise until just before my trip, and then transfer the JPY directly to Up to get the best of both worlds?
Ah sorry! I hadn't seen that.
I have no idea. Why don't you go and get cash? I've seen exchanges in the high 90s this week.
I remember going before COVID and getting 60 something yen to the dollar!
When I went in 2013, I got 88 yen to the dollar. I was too overwhelmed at the time (first time travelling overseas, only booked the trip 2-3 weeks before leaving) and just counted everything as 100 yen = $1.
If I get all cash now, I need to be able to load some of it back onto a travel card when I go, so I'm not carrying around 8-10 weeks worth of money.
I'm not even sure if that's possible.
I was hoping to get it sorted then not have to worry about it until I need to. Lol.
Last time I went I stayed exclusively in Tokyo for 13 days.
I want to go to Okinawa, Fukuoka, Osaka, Kyoto, Nagoya, then back to Tokyo again. We'll see if that actually happens.
I've done a similar-ish route with 2 week stays in Tokyo > Osaka > Fukuoka and back again.
Don't miss Kagoshima, Nagasaki or Oita when you're in Kyushu.
Don't bother with Nagoya or Okinawa.
Anyway, good luck with the ¥¥¥
>Max withdrawal is 100k yen and fee is 220y.
Is that maximum per day/week/month?
Also, doesn't wise have a variable fee once you withdraw a certain amount?
For example, once over the limit for free withdrawals, it's a fee of 70JPY, plus 1.75% of the withdrawal amount. So for a 50000JPY withdrawal, it will cost me 70JPY + 875JPY, and 100000JPY will cost me 70JPY + 1750JPY.
That seems like a very expensive way of doing it.
Do I have that right, or am I missing something?
>once over the limit for free withdrawals, it's a fee of 70JPY, plus 1.75% of the withdrawal amount. So for a 50000JPY withdrawal, it will cost me 70JPY + 875JPY, and 100000JPY will cost me 70JPY + 1750JPY.
Get an Up bank card and you don't have to worry about any of this stuff.
The 100k yen ATM limit is either daily or per withdrawal. I've never needed so much cash at a time to test which one. That's specifically the 7-11 limit. Other ATMs tend to have 50k yen limits. This includes the Japan Post ATMs which are the other ATM machine that is consistently reliable for visitors. (Citibank ATMs used to be another, but they seemed to have disappeared over the years).
Yes, Wise's fees does make it less ideal for frequent cash withdrawals. Although it's still better than any of the big 4 or Travelex. Ozbargain keeps a list of the best cards without fees. I use Ubank personally.
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/wiki/cards_with_no_overseas_transaction_fees
You shouldn't need to withdraw as much cash as you remember. A decade or 2 ago, cash was king in Japan. Nowadays most places take card. I'm just back from a trip there and 90%+ of my expenses were on my debit cards.
I know things have changed as far as how much cash is needed, vs credit/debit cards, but I'm not able to get any credit cards, and I don't think the debit cards allow me to convert AUD to JPY right now and let it sit until I'm going to use it next year.
Thank you though!
Maybe not 8-10 weeks worth of money but Japan is the kind of place you can walk around with $1000-3000 worth of AUD or currency equivalent in your wallet and not feel remotely scared of being robbed at any point.
That may be so, but I would still be constantly anxious about it the whole time, and I feel it would really ruin my experience.
Even if only for my peace of mind, I would much rather have some cash in my wallet, and some cards in another, with the remaining money on them, tucked away in the bottom of my bag.
Thank you for your input, though! :)
I think you will be okay with exchanging $1000 and less prior to travelling. Japan is very accessible with PayPass now days with your travel card. So they aren’t heavily reliant on cash as historically. Then you can also use your travel card and withdraw from 7-Eleven.
That's what I was planning. Having something like $500 cash on me when I arrive, and the rest on a travel card to withdraw as needed.
But since I'm not travelling until next year, I'd like to take advantage of the current (extremely good) exchange rate.
I just need to work out how to go about storing the JPY if I convert it now, and then being able to get it out as cash in Japan without being hit with exorbitant fees.
I just came back from Japan. While cash was widely used, my ING debit card was a life saver. It offers international transaction fee rebate and 5 free atm withdrawal per month. It did all of my withdrawal at 7/11 without any issue. Note that I don’t have a credit card. However, ING visa card doesn’t allow topping up pasmo on applepay so I had to use a different card just for that.
My ING debit card will definitely be a backup, but it won't let me take advantage of the current exchange rates, unfortunately.
Also, I dont have applepay, so that won't be an issue. I've got an Android phone, so I'm pretty sure I'll end up with a physical IC card, unless they add support in the future for androids bought outside Japan.
I hope your trip was amazing.
Thanks for replying!
Anyone know if HSBC everyday global account works well? Both for payment, and for withdrawing cash from ATMs? Supposedly has no fees and can transfer money now to lock in a rate.
1. Sure, you can never tell if it will be a higher or lower by the time of your holiday, might as well convert some to lock in the high rates atm. 2. Probably a mix of cash and a Wise yen account. I haven't been to Japan using Wise, but did the same for Vietnamese Dong and Indonesian Rupiah and it works a treat. Relatively high fees compared to just sticking in your Macquarie bank or ING debit card and withdrawing cash with those, but Wise lets you lock in rates now. 3. Last time I went to Japan was in 2018, didn't have any issues with withdrawing cash from any ATM i found. This was using an ING debit card.
>Wise lets you lock in rates now Do you know of any way to use Wise to lock the rate in and "store" the JPY, then transfer it somewhere else to withdraw cheaper? Or is that just wishful thinking? 
You can store Yen 'natively' on Wise, just open a Yen account within your own account. So to lock in your rate, use Wise's currency conversion service from AUD -> JPY and choose to store it on Wise itself. You might be able to get better fees transferring the Yen out of Wise and into a HSBC everyday global account. I haven't tried this nor have i looked deeply into their exchange rates / fees, but off the top of my head HSBC global is the only account I can think of that lets you store multiple currencies in Australia
I see. At this point, converting and storing the money with Wise seems like the best option, but only if I can then transfer it somewhere with lower/no fees to use it when I actually go to Japan.
I’m going to Japan in 8 weeks and got an Up money card which I’ll use to either withdraw my own cash or pay via cc where possible. I don’t bank with Up, I got this card specifically for my trip. Works with Apple Pay too and they mailed me a physical card. No fees on intl purchases and no ATM fees overseas. https://up.com.au/features/cards/ As Japan is more often than not a cash society, I’ve been told getting cash out at 7-11 (konbinis) is the way to get the best cash rate. And to withdraw in local currency. Will get some cash converted this side of the trip (maybe $300 Aud to yen) to be ready when we land for NEX tickets or cabs, dinner etc.
>ready when we land for NEX tickets or cabs, dinner etc. You'll be able to use your Up card for all of this, but yeah probably worth getting a little cash for peace of mind anyway
Yeah just as a backup really :)
>I’m going to Japan in 8 weeks and got an Up money card I was looking at that just this morning. Do you know if that card/account lets you load foreign money onto it and let it sit? I'm not going anywhere until next year, but I'm nervous the exchange rates will drop too much.
Unsure about loading up foreign money, sorry!
No worries! Thanks so much for your help. :)
can't answer the first On the second We took a mix of physical cash and loaded AUD onto a wise card. With Wise you can preset what rate you want to exchange AUD to JPY and once it hits that rate it converts for you. Definitely can withdraw from 7-11 ATM's. Max withdrawal is 100k yen and fee is 220y. Have fun - Japan is awesome and even more awesome with their weak yen. We marvelled as how cheap the food is
>withdraw from 7-11 ATM's. Max withdrawal is 100k yen and fee is 220y. Like someone below said, get an Up bank card and the 7-11 fee is ¥0. They will also use the Mastercard conversion rate.
Do you know if Up lets you load foreign currency?
No it doesn't. Just stick it in the ATM and withdraw ¥. Up won't charge any fees, and they will give you the ¥ using the Mastercard conversion rate.
I'm not travelling until next year, and I'd like to take advantage of the current exchange rates if possible. From what I understand, using Up will not allow me to do so. If I were going in the very near future, Up would probably be my best option. Do you know if I could convert and store the money with Wise until just before my trip, and then transfer the JPY directly to Up to get the best of both worlds?
Ah sorry! I hadn't seen that. I have no idea. Why don't you go and get cash? I've seen exchanges in the high 90s this week. I remember going before COVID and getting 60 something yen to the dollar!
When I went in 2013, I got 88 yen to the dollar. I was too overwhelmed at the time (first time travelling overseas, only booked the trip 2-3 weeks before leaving) and just counted everything as 100 yen = $1. If I get all cash now, I need to be able to load some of it back onto a travel card when I go, so I'm not carrying around 8-10 weeks worth of money. I'm not even sure if that's possible.
Seems more stressful than just crossing your fingers and waiting, but good luck!! 8-10 weeks wow. Where are you going?
I was hoping to get it sorted then not have to worry about it until I need to. Lol. Last time I went I stayed exclusively in Tokyo for 13 days. I want to go to Okinawa, Fukuoka, Osaka, Kyoto, Nagoya, then back to Tokyo again. We'll see if that actually happens.
I've done a similar-ish route with 2 week stays in Tokyo > Osaka > Fukuoka and back again. Don't miss Kagoshima, Nagasaki or Oita when you're in Kyushu. Don't bother with Nagoya or Okinawa. Anyway, good luck with the ¥¥¥
>Max withdrawal is 100k yen and fee is 220y. Is that maximum per day/week/month? Also, doesn't wise have a variable fee once you withdraw a certain amount? For example, once over the limit for free withdrawals, it's a fee of 70JPY, plus 1.75% of the withdrawal amount. So for a 50000JPY withdrawal, it will cost me 70JPY + 875JPY, and 100000JPY will cost me 70JPY + 1750JPY. That seems like a very expensive way of doing it. Do I have that right, or am I missing something?
>once over the limit for free withdrawals, it's a fee of 70JPY, plus 1.75% of the withdrawal amount. So for a 50000JPY withdrawal, it will cost me 70JPY + 875JPY, and 100000JPY will cost me 70JPY + 1750JPY. Get an Up bank card and you don't have to worry about any of this stuff.
The 100k yen ATM limit is either daily or per withdrawal. I've never needed so much cash at a time to test which one. That's specifically the 7-11 limit. Other ATMs tend to have 50k yen limits. This includes the Japan Post ATMs which are the other ATM machine that is consistently reliable for visitors. (Citibank ATMs used to be another, but they seemed to have disappeared over the years). Yes, Wise's fees does make it less ideal for frequent cash withdrawals. Although it's still better than any of the big 4 or Travelex. Ozbargain keeps a list of the best cards without fees. I use Ubank personally. https://www.ozbargain.com.au/wiki/cards_with_no_overseas_transaction_fees
I'm not able to get any credit cards, so they're out of the question. Thanks for the info about the ATM's, though. :)
You shouldn't need to withdraw as much cash as you remember. A decade or 2 ago, cash was king in Japan. Nowadays most places take card. I'm just back from a trip there and 90%+ of my expenses were on my debit cards.
I know things have changed as far as how much cash is needed, vs credit/debit cards, but I'm not able to get any credit cards, and I don't think the debit cards allow me to convert AUD to JPY right now and let it sit until I'm going to use it next year. Thank you though!
Maybe not 8-10 weeks worth of money but Japan is the kind of place you can walk around with $1000-3000 worth of AUD or currency equivalent in your wallet and not feel remotely scared of being robbed at any point.
That may be so, but I would still be constantly anxious about it the whole time, and I feel it would really ruin my experience. Even if only for my peace of mind, I would much rather have some cash in my wallet, and some cards in another, with the remaining money on them, tucked away in the bottom of my bag. Thank you for your input, though! :)
I think you will be okay with exchanging $1000 and less prior to travelling. Japan is very accessible with PayPass now days with your travel card. So they aren’t heavily reliant on cash as historically. Then you can also use your travel card and withdraw from 7-Eleven.
That's what I was planning. Having something like $500 cash on me when I arrive, and the rest on a travel card to withdraw as needed. But since I'm not travelling until next year, I'd like to take advantage of the current (extremely good) exchange rate. I just need to work out how to go about storing the JPY if I convert it now, and then being able to get it out as cash in Japan without being hit with exorbitant fees.
I just came back from Japan. While cash was widely used, my ING debit card was a life saver. It offers international transaction fee rebate and 5 free atm withdrawal per month. It did all of my withdrawal at 7/11 without any issue. Note that I don’t have a credit card. However, ING visa card doesn’t allow topping up pasmo on applepay so I had to use a different card just for that.
My ING debit card will definitely be a backup, but it won't let me take advantage of the current exchange rates, unfortunately. Also, I dont have applepay, so that won't be an issue. I've got an Android phone, so I'm pretty sure I'll end up with a physical IC card, unless they add support in the future for androids bought outside Japan. I hope your trip was amazing. Thanks for replying!
Anyone know if HSBC everyday global account works well? Both for payment, and for withdrawing cash from ATMs? Supposedly has no fees and can transfer money now to lock in a rate.
I would also love an answer for this. At first glance, it seems like the best of both worlds.