ATMs in Japan
Dec 7th, 2016, 10:59 PM
#1
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ATMs in Japan
I just returned from a two-month trip to Japan covering from Shikoku, Honshu, and Hokkaido and would like to give inexperienced travelers to Japan a tip about finding ATMs that accept American bank issued debit cards.
In Japan outside the Major cities there are not many ATMs that accept American debit cards although there are many "conbini" stores (convenient) stores like Lawson, 7Seven, Circle K, etc. that have ATM machines in the store.
The only place I found that work consistently was Japan Post Office (ryu-bin-goku). Their ATM machines will give you up to 50,000 Yen at a time (that's currently about $500) in 10,000 Yen increments. The machine is inside the post office building and inaccessible from Saturday afternoon to Monday morning while the post office is closed. ,
Until I found this I panicked because I could not find any ATM that accepted my debit card in a small town while my cash reserve dwindles.
In Japan outside the Major cities there are not many ATMs that accept American debit cards although there are many "conbini" stores (convenient) stores like Lawson, 7Seven, Circle K, etc. that have ATM machines in the store.
The only place I found that work consistently was Japan Post Office (ryu-bin-goku). Their ATM machines will give you up to 50,000 Yen at a time (that's currently about $500) in 10,000 Yen increments. The machine is inside the post office building and inaccessible from Saturday afternoon to Monday morning while the post office is closed. ,
Until I found this I panicked because I could not find any ATM that accepted my debit card in a small town while my cash reserve dwindles.
Dec 8th, 2016, 04:52 AM
#2
I also just traveled in Japan, at times far enough off the tourist trail that the menus not only had no English and few pictures, but Japanese numbers. I never had difficulty getting money from ATMs in Seven Elevens. No one has ever recommended using the other convenience stores.
Dec 8th, 2016, 09:36 AM
#5
I usually go to Lawsons, and never had their AtMs reject my card. One thing I learned (the hard way) many years ago in Thailand many years ago was to always take two ATM cards and two credit cards.
I still find that a good practice, as there are countless times when one card will suddenly not work properly. On my last trip, one ATM card worked in Bangkok on my way over, then wouldn't work in the exact same machine three weeks later. Luckily the backup card worked fine in that machine.
I still find that a good practice, as there are countless times when one card will suddenly not work properly. On my last trip, one ATM card worked in Bangkok on my way over, then wouldn't work in the exact same machine three weeks later. Luckily the backup card worked fine in that machine.
