Where is the best place to get Japanese yen exchanged? It’s not Hawaii’s banks, where there is typically a lower than market exchange rate and a steep transaction fee. For instance, today’s exchange rate is ¥144 to $1. Going to the American Savings Bank with $100 would get you ¥14,090, approximately 97% of the value on the exchange alone. Then, there’s a 2% additional service charge, minimum $5. This puts you at ¥14,090 at a cost of $105. Also, you’ll need to already be a customer.
However, if you feel the need to have yen before your travel, going to your bank is better than going to the airport kiosk where the rates and fees are always the worst.
My personal solution is to get your yen in Japan at any of the Seven-Eleven ATMs. You can even find them at the airport. Here’s a screenshot of what I paid for ¥10,000 yen.
On this particular day, the exchange rate was ¥14667 per $100. Because I’m making the exchange in an even number of yen, mathematically I’d take the reciprocal ratio, or .00682 yen per dollar. As you can see, there’s a premium of approximately 1.3% on the exchange itself along with another approximately 1% for a foreign transaction fee. The 2.3 percent premium is significantly better than the 8 percent premium that I would have paid at a Hawaii bank. As a side note, prior to the pandemic, there wasn’t even a foreign transaction fee assessed by Seven-Eleven. Now the fee is ¥110 per ¥10,000, still negligible.
A big note here, check with YOUR financial institution to see if they also charge a transaction fee. Mine (Hawaii State Federal Credit Union (HSFCU) debit) doesn’t. In Japan, Seven-Eleven is everywhere. Here are the exchange networks you can use at Seven-Eleven ATMs. You can learn more at this [link]. Many of the financial networks, particularly those catering to travelers like mileage cards, don’t charge extra fees, but a credit card (versus a debit card) might treat it as a cash advance.
For those whose heads are already spinning with too many details, here’s the short version. Check to see if you have a debit card that doesn’t charge a foreign transaction fee and has one of the symbols above. Use Seven-Eleven ATMs instead of doing a currency exchange in advance. You’re more likely to get a better rate.
Another tip, once you’re in Japan, stop thinking about rates in ¥144 to the dollar. Start thinking about it in yen instead. For the past few months, ¥100 yen cost approximately $0.70. When you go shopping, think of ¥100 yen as a dollar. Then apply a 30% discount to the price to come up with an estimate of US cost. Math magic.