Japan ATM's
 

I am wondering about the accessibility of ATM<BR>machines in Japan. I have gotten printouts of<BR>where ATMs are from Citibank, Cirrus and Plus<BR>Internet sites, but have gotten conflicting<BR>info from travel guides as to whether or not<BR>our cards will work in their machines. Does<BR>anyone have any recent experience with using<BR>ATMs in Japan? Thanks!<BR>

Bonjour Steven,<BR><BR>I've read not too long ago in a Japanese newspaper that post offices ATMs were accepting most foreign credit cards. Here's a list of Post offices with ATM (+ maps): http://jcbinternational.com/plazatokyo_eng/e_post.htm

It's still a hit-and-miss affair when using ATMs with a non-Japanese card. Citibank branches (24 hours access) are compatible for sure, as are all Post office branches (limited hours). As for others, unless it says clearly 'valid for non-Japanese cards' you can assume you can't use it, even if it has VISA symbol on it, for instance. As carrying cash is safer than almost anywhere else, I'd withdraw a lot at a time and leave the rest in safe-deposit boxes most hotels provide.

I was in Japan in 1996, i could find machines who accepted VISA cards quite often but ATM machines who accepted non-japanese bank cards were rare. Like Alec said, better to bring cash.

I don't have a global answer but I've been in Kyoto two years ago and we found a Citibank ATM center with a large "24h/24" ad and we couldn't open the door to get inside the ATM center with our Visa cards. We had to wait for nice Japanese people to understand the problem and open it for us. So it might be dangerous relying too much on ATMs !

My experience is quite old but your first problem with ATMs in Japan will be finding one that has and English display. Your second problem will be one that accepts non-Japanese cards.<BR><BR>As a backup, we assumed that we could get a cash advance from our Visa card, something we had done successfully in China years earlier. Foiled again, as most banks didn't want to accept a non-Japanese Visa card.

As noted above you'll see lots of ATMs at Japanese Banks that won't take your card or have English instructions. Citibank machines work well and there is one of them near where you come out of Customs at Narita. I use one in the Ginza near the Imperial Hotel and you can ask your hotel where the closest Citibank branch is. American Express machines take our cards too. They are rarer, showing up in some tourist locations. There's one in a bank of ATMs in the basement of the Kyoto Tower near the train station. I think that Mitsubishi Bank may have machines that accept foreign cards.<BR><BR>