Cricket808285

Are ATMs for American debit cards available in Kyoto?

hawaiiantraveler

yes, look for a post office(there is one across the street of Kyoto station) or 7-11 stores

Aloha!

stormygirl

exactly, normal atms at banks will not work for US or European cards. We found 7-11's in Tokyo worked but not in Kyoto for us so finally found out about the post office, which was good as we were out of cash! They are inside the post so you need to make note of opening hours.

Alec

All 7-11 ATMs are the same so those in Kyoto will work as well as Tokyo (tried and tested). There is a Citibank ATM at its branch in Kyoto (near the junction of Shijo-dori and Karasuma-dori) open 24 hours. Other ATMs that take foreign cards include All Card Plaza just north of junction of Shijo-dori with Teramachi-dori, and Post Office ATM on 7th floor of Takashimaya dept store (10-19 weekdays, 10-17 weekends).

BigRuss

Not understanding Stormygirl's post: I'm American, have American bank debit card and had no problems with banks in Japan. The issue is the cash network. But in Kyoto, there are not tons upon tons of ATM machines, as we discovered wandering about last year on a rainy Saturday.

stormygirl

We were just there in December and the atm's in the 7-11 in Kyoto would not work with our debit cards as they had in Tokyo. We went in to a few banks and the atm's there did not work either. There was no problem using the debit cards as payment where they were accepted but of course most places are cash only- is that clearer BigRuss?

Alec, I'm not sure why we had a problem in Kyoto but we did- there were 4 of us and none of the 7-11 machines worked. But we had no problem with the atm's at the post office. Glad you had better luck

Alec

Must have been some kind of computer glitch - these things happen. But all 7-11 ATMs are on the same system and if your card works on one, it should work with the rest.
Just another piece of advice if you are going to rely on ATMs for cash in Japan: If you find a working ATM, stock up on cash there and then, and don't wait until you begin to run out, esp evenings and weekends.

RufusTFirefly

We used 7-11 atms in Kyoto, Tokyo, Nagoya with no problem. Must have been some sort of temporary glitch. Never had a problem with post office ATMs either--but they are only available when the PO is open.