How Much Cash to Bring to Japan

Last Updated on March 7, 2025 by Kay

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Although Japan has significantly improved over the years when it comes to accepting credit cards and digital payments, you will need cash when visiting the country. I live in Japan and never leave the house without cash on me.

In this article, I’ll explain why you need cash and help you figure out how much to bring.

Table of Contents

Why You Need Cash in Japan
How Much Cash You Need in Japan
What Cash Looks Like in Japan
Where to Withdraw Money in Japan
Where to Exchange Money in Japan
Is It Safe to Carry Large Amounts of Cash in Japan?

Why You Need Cash in Japan

In 2025, many shops, hotels, convenience stores, and restaurants in Japan, especially in large cities such as Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka take credit card and digital payments. However, there are still some places that will only take cash.

In particular, you will need cash for the following:

to top up your IC Card (electronic travel card)
vending machines
capsule toy machines
arcade games
claw machines / crane games
parking lots
shrines
gardens
flea markets and farmers markets
street food vendors (yatai)
some smaller restaurants and stores also might not accept credit cards or digital payments, especially ramen restaurants

Sometimes foreign credit cards issued outside of Japan might not be accepted by a vendor either.

The last thing you want is not to be able to pay for something, which is why having some cash on you is essential.

How Much Cash You Need in Japan

There are a lot of factors that will influence how much you need to bring to Japan. For instance, how long you’re staying (an obvious one) and where you’re traveling.

Are you going to be taking the train frequently? A train ride from Tokyo Station to Shibuya Station will cost around 208 yen one-way for an adult. (It’s about half the price for children ages 6 to 12, and free for kids five and under.)

Street vendor food is typically around 500 yen for one item, and a meal at a smaller restaurant is 1000 yen on average. Food at a convenience store might set you back about 500 to 1000 yen.

So keeping this in mind, I recommend having at least 5000 yen per adult in cash per day and 2000 yen for each child (500 yen for babies) if you’re in a big city.

You will need to add more to this depending on the activities you’re doing, where you’re staying, and what you want to buy.

Make sure to double-check whether vendors accept credit cards for any activity you want to do. This goes for hotels as well.

Prepare a budget for cash-only souvenirs like capsule toys (these range from 200 yen to 500 yen).

It’s easy to take out money in Japan (more on that below) so you don’t need to have all this money ready to go at once. You can take out more money as you need it, that way you’re not left with an excess when you’re done with your trip.

You can feel rest assured that large theme parks such as Tokyo Disney and Universal Studios Japan (USJ) accept credit cards. However, once when I visited USJ with my daughter there was a problem with the payment system and no shops throughout the theme park could accept credit cards!

💴 Kay’s Tip: Make sure your wallet has enough space for coins! You might also want to invest in a coin purse, but you can get them easily from 100 yen stores in Japan.

What Cash Looks Like in Japan

Japanese bills come in 1000 yen, 5000 yen, and 10,000 yen denominations.

In July 2024, Japan redesigned its bills (1000 yen, 5000 yen, and 10,000 yen). So you might see two 1000 bills that look different from one another.

Don’t worry, you haven’t been duped with fake bills. These are real! Some machines still have trouble accepting these new bills, though, so be prepared for that.

You might also come across 2000 yen bills when you exchange your currency for Japanese yen, which looks like this.

These are old and no longer in production but retailers will still accept them. (You might have more trouble with machines, though.)

Where to Withdraw Money in Japan

If you need to withdraw money using your debit or credit card, here are the best places to go:

In Japan, you’ll be charged about 220 yen per transaction. However, make sure you know how much your bank or credit card company charges for each withdrawal so you’re not surprised when you get the statement.

Where to Exchange Money in Japan

If you want to exchange your currency for Japanese yen, I recommend doing it in Japan rather than your country because the rates will be better.

I recommend having about 10,000 yen per person in your currency (so for example, 100 Canadian dollars) for when you arrive and then exchanging that at the airport for yen. Afterward, take out money from an ATM as you need it. (As long as you’re okay with the fees!)

You can exchange money at any major international airport as well as currency exchange shops like Ninja Money Exchange, Travelex, and World Currency Shop. Banks will also exchange currency but only until 3 PM on weekdays.

Is It Safe to Carry Large Amounts of Cash in Japan?

Japan is a relatively safe country, but I don’t recommend carrying more than around 50,000 yen in your wallet. Theft does happen and I’ve had my wallet stolen right out of my bag in Shibuya once.

You might also accidentally leave your belongings on the train or in a restaurant, and although the rate of return in Japan is high, sometimes you may not see it again.

If you have large amounts of cash, leave the majority in the safe in your hotel.