If you landed in Japan with a stack of dollars, euros, or pounds in your bag, you have more options than the airport counter in front of you — and that counter is usually the worst one. This guide is for travelers exchanging physical foreign cash for yen, not for people simply withdrawing yen from an ATM with a card (we cover that trade-off separately). We'll walk through where the rates are actually good, what you need to bring with you, and the one rule about carrying large amounts of cash that catches people off guard.
Why the rate changes depending on where you stand
Every exchange counter buys your currency at one price and sells yen at another, and the gap between those two prices — the spread — is where they make their money. Airport counters at Narita, Haneda, and Kansai post the widest spread, commonly 5–7% worse than the interbank rate, because they're paying for the only location in the building and you've just stepped off a long flight with no other option in sight. City bank branches tighten that to roughly 2–3%. Discount currency shops narrow it further still.
None of this shows up as a separate "fee" line most of the time. It's baked into the rate you're quoted, which is exactly why two counters charging "no commission" can still hand you very different amounts of yen for the same $200 bill.
The best rates are at discount ticket shops, not banks
Japan has a cluster of shops — Daikokuya is the name most visitors run into — that started out buying and selling used concert tickets, gift cards, and foreign currency side by side, and now function as some of the sharpest currency exchange counters in the country. You'll find them concentrated around Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ginza, and in Osaka's Umeda district, usually a storefront with exchange rates posted in the window in large numbers. Rates here typically beat standard bank branches by a noticeable margin on major currencies — USD, EUR, GBP, AUD, and a handful of others.
The catch: these shops are built around high-volume, common currencies. If you're carrying something less widely traded, a bank or the post office is more likely to actually accept it, even if the rate is a little worse.
Banks and the post office: slower, but reliable
Larger branches of Japan Post Bank (look for a 外貨両替 sign, or call ahead — not every branch offers this) and city banks will exchange major foreign currencies at the teller window, not the ATM. Expect a flat exchange fee in the neighborhood of ¥630–735 per transaction at the post office regardless of how much you're changing, plus whatever spread is built into their quoted rate. Hours are standard Japanese banking hours — mostly closed by mid-afternoon on weekdays, closed weekends — which is the main reason people don't rely on banks as their main source of cash on a trip.
Since February 2024, Japan requires ID — your passport — for every currency exchange transaction regardless of the amount, under tightened anti-money-laundering rules. Exchanges of ¥2,000,000 or more have additional paperwork on top of that, but that's far beyond what a typical traveler changes. Bring your passport to the counter every time; a hotel key card or a photo of your passport on your phone usually isn't accepted.
What to skip
Two places people assume will help, and won't: convenience stores and most hotel front desks.
A 7-Eleven, Lawson, or FamilyMart cannot exchange your foreign banknotes for yen at the register — full stop. What they do have is an ATM that accepts foreign-issued cards, which is a completely different transaction (withdrawing yen against your card, at your card network's rate) covered in our guide to Japan ATMs that accept foreign cards. Don't walk in expecting to hand over euros and get yen back.
Large hotels sometimes offer currency exchange at the front desk, and it is almost always the worst rate you'll be offered anywhere, often worse than the airport. Treat it the way you'd treat minibar prices: fine in a genuine emergency, not a plan.
The ¥1,000,000 rule has nothing to do with exchanging money
This one trips people up because it sounds related: if you're carrying cash, checks, or other means of payment worth more than ¥1,000,000 (or the equivalent in any currency) when you enter or leave Japan, you must file a customs declaration — a separate form from the usual landing paperwork, available at the airport. It's not a tax and it doesn't stop you from carrying the money; you just have to declare it. This has nothing to do with how much you can exchange at a counter in one visit, which is a different limit entirely (see the ¥2,000,000 reporting threshold above). Most travelers never come close to either number, but if you're bringing a large amount of cash for a long stay, know the two rules are separate.
A realistic plan
Exchange a small amount — enough for a train ticket and a meal, say ¥5,000–10,000 worth — at the airport counter the moment you land, so you're not stuck. Do the rest of your exchanging once you're in the city, at a discount shop if you're changing USD, EUR, or another major currency, or at a post office or bank branch (passport in hand) if you're not near one or your currency is less common. If you have a debit or credit card that works at Japanese ATMs, you may not need to carry much foreign cash at all — our guide to how much cash you actually need in Japan breaks down what a typical day costs and how much of it really has to be cash.
| Where | Typical spread | Passport needed | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airport counter | ~5–7% | Yes | A small emergency amount on arrival only |
| Discount shop (e.g. Daikokuya) | Narrowest, often ¥1–2 better per unit than banks | Yes | USD, EUR, GBP and other major currencies, in the city |
| Bank branch | ~2–3% | Yes | Less common currencies, weekday daytime only |
| Japan Post Bank (select branches) | ~2–3% + flat ¥630–735 fee | Yes | Smaller towns where a discount shop doesn't exist |
| Hotel front desk | Worst, often beats only "nothing" | Usually | True emergencies only |
| Convenience store | N/A — doesn't exchange cash | — | Card withdrawals via the ATM instead |
Chopi: "Wait, so we're actually the ones who go to the bank for this — just backwards?"
Log: "Right, before a Palau trip we go to a Japanese bank or the airport to buy US dollars, since Palau only uses dollars and there's no ATM guarantee once you're there. Same counter, same passport-every-time rule, just yen leaving instead of coming in. We always split the cash between two bags, too — if one gets lost, we're not stranded."
FAQ
Is it better to exchange money before I leave home or after I arrive in Japan?
Rates vary by home country and by the day, so there's no universal answer, but most travelers get a better rate inside Japan at a discount shop than at a home-country airport counter. If your bank at home can order yen with no markup fee, that's often competitive too — worth a quick price check before you fly either way.
Which currencies get the best rate in Japan?
US dollars, euros, and British pounds are the easiest to exchange and usually get the sharpest rates, since discount shops and banks handle high volumes of them. Less common currencies — some Southeast Asian or South American currencies, for instance — may only be accepted at a handful of bank branches, often at a noticeably worse rate, so it's worth converting those to USD or EUR before you leave home if you can.
Do I need my passport every time I exchange money, even for a small amount?
Yes. Since February 2024, Japan requires photo ID — your passport — for every currency exchange transaction, with no minimum amount exempted. Leave it in the hotel safe and you'll be turned away at the counter.
Carry enough cash to get through your first hour in Japan, and sort out the rest once you've had a chance to compare a couple of rates in the city — it's a five-minute errand, not something to stress over before you land.
