Japan's ongoing economic recession has brought some good news for travellers to the extent that there are now more discount deals available and, in certain cases, yen prices have remained stable or even fallen slightly. Unfortunately, such advantages have largely been wiped out by the recent strength of the yen, meaning that your foreign currency buys you that much less. However, with careful planning Japan is still a manageable destination for even those on a modest budget. The key is to do what the majority of Japanese do: eat in local restaurants, stay in Japanese-style inns and take advantage of any available discounts. That said, if you make the wrong choice of bar or take a longish taxi ride, it can blow your budget apart.
The
Japanese currency
is the yen (¥), of which there are no subdivisions. Notes are available in denominations of ¥1000, ¥2000, ¥5000 and ¥10,000, while coins come in values of ¥1, ¥5, ¥10, ¥50, ¥100 and ¥500. Apart from the ¥5 piece, a copper-coloured coin with a hole in the centre, all other notes and coins indicate their value in Western numerals. Note that, at the time of writing, ticket, change and vending machines have not yet been upgraded to accept the new ¥2000 notes and ¥500 coins (older, more silver-coloured ¥500 coins are OK). Also at the time of writing, the
exchange rate
was approximately ¥175 to £1, ¥118 to US$1, and ¥66 to A$1. Japan is currently experiencing negative inflation at a rate hovering between zero and minus one percent.
Money and information
bank
ginko
foreign exchange desk
Gaikoku kawase mado-guchi/ryogae jo
yen
yen...
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Costs
By far your biggest outlays are likely to be accommodation and transport. In the case of
accommodation
, you can keep costs down by staying in hostels or cheap Japanese inns and by sharing a room with two or more people
. As an...
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Consumption tax
A
consumption tax
(
shohizei
) of five percent is levied on virtually all goods and services in Japan, including restaurant meals and accommodation. Sometimes this tax will be included in the advertised price, and sometimes not, so...
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Changing money
Though credit cards are gaining in popularity, Japan is still very much a
cash society
; even in major cities you'll be settling most bills in ready money. Thanks to the country's low crime levels and a surprisingly undeveloped banking system,...
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Credit cards and wiring money
Credit and debit cards
are far more widely accepted in Japan than they were a few years ago. The most useful cards to carry are Visa and American Express, followed closely by Mastercard, then Diners Club, which you should be able to use in those...
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