Cash or Card in Japan (2026): How Much Yen to Carry, Where to Withdraw, and What Still Refuses Cards

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Short version: Carry ¥10,000 to ¥20,000 per person at any time and withdraw from a 7-Eleven ATM (24 hours, every foreign card, ¥110–¥220 fee) or a Japan Post ATM (often free in daytime) when it runs low. Pay by card or phone everywhere that offers it: convenience stores, chain restaurants, department stores, hotels, train tickets, taxis. Keep cash for small independent restaurants, shrines and temples, markets, ramen-shop ticket machines, coin lockers, bus fares outside the IC system, and anything in a small town. Do not exchange money at home or at airport counters; the ATM rate beats both. Always decline “dynamic currency conversion” and choose yen.

The honest state of cashless Japan in 2026

Japan went from a cash country to a mostly-cashless one in about five years, pushed by the pandemic, IC cards and QR payments. Roughly two in five retail transactions are now cashless nationally, and in central Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo the share is much higher. For a tourist the practical picture is:

Place	Card / phone pay	Cash
Convenience stores (7-Eleven, FamilyMart, Lawson)	Always: cards, Apple/Google Pay, IC cards, QR	Accepted
Supermarkets, drugstores, department stores	Always	Accepted
Chain restaurants, cafés, fast food	Almost always	Accepted
Hotels (all sizes)	Always	Accepted; accommodation tax sometimes cash-only at small inns
Trains, subways, buses in cities	IC card (tap), or card at machines	Accepted at machines
Shinkansen and JR tickets	Card at machines and counters, SmartEX app	Accepted
Taxis	Cards and IC in almost all city taxis; apps (GO, Uber, DiDi)	Accepted
Attractions, museums, USJ, Kaiyukan	Card online and at the gate	Accepted
Tax-free shopping (Don Quijote, Bic Camera, Uniqlo)	Always	Accepted
Small independent restaurants, izakaya, ramen	Hit and miss. Maybe 60% in Osaka city, less in Kyoto’s old districts	Often required
Ramen and udon ticket machines	Some newer machines take IC; most are cash	Usually required
Temples and shrines (admission, omamori, goshuin)	Rare	Required
Markets (Nishiki, Kuromon stalls)	Some stalls; QR more than cards	Often required
Street food, festival stalls	Rare	Required
Coin lockers	Newer ones take IC; many are coins	Often required
Rural buses, small-town shops, onsen towns	Patchy	Carry cash
Vending machines	Many take IC; some take cards; most take coins	Mixed

The pattern: the bigger and newer the business, the less you need cash. The more memorable and local the experience, the more you do.

How much cash to bring and carry

Bring from home: nothing, or at most ¥10,000 worth for peace of mind. The airport ATMs are in the arrivals hall before you reach the trains, and they give a better rate than any exchange counter.

Carry per day: ¥10,000 to ¥20,000 per person covers a normal sightseeing day with a cash lunch, a few shrine entries, a coin locker and a street snack, with margin. Top up when you drop below ¥5,000.

For a 7-day Kansai trip, two adults, mid-range, paying by card wherever possible:

Cash item	Estimate
Temple and shrine admissions (Kyoto and Nara, 3 days)	¥6,000 – ¥10,000
Cash-only lunches and snacks (4–5 meals)	¥8,000 – ¥12,000
Market and street food	¥4,000 – ¥6,000
Coin lockers, small buses, odd machines	¥2,000 – ¥3,000
Hotel accommodation tax at a small inn, if cash-only	¥1,000 – ¥4,000
Buffer	¥10,000
Total cash over the week	¥30,000 – ¥45,000

That is two or three ATM visits. Everything else, hotels, trains, big meals, shopping, USJ, goes on a card.

ATMs: which ones take foreign cards

Most Japanese bank ATMs do not accept foreign cards. Three networks do, and they are everywhere:

ATM	Where	Hours	Fee per withdrawal	Limit per withdrawal	Notes
Seven Bank (7-Eleven)	Every 7-Eleven, plus airports and stations	24 hours	¥110 (daytime) to ¥220 (nights/weekends), same regardless of amount	¥50,000 for most foreign cards (some ¥100,000)	The default. English menu, every card network, never closed.
Japan Post Bank (ゆうちょ)	Post offices and many stations	Post office hours; some lobby ATMs to 21:00 or later	Free in daytime at most locations; ¥110 evenings and weekends	Up to ¥100,000	Best fee. Fewer hours.
AEON Bank	AEON malls, some stations and supermarkets	Mall hours	¥0 – ¥110	Up to ¥100,000	Good if you are already at an AEON.
Lawson Bank (E-net)	Lawson stores	24 hours	Varies	Varies	Accepts some foreign cards; less reliable than 7-Eleven.

Kansai Airport: Seven Bank and Japan Post ATMs are in the Terminal 1 arrivals hall (1F) and on the 2F. Withdraw there before the train.

Your own bank’s fee is the bigger cost: typically 1 to 3% of the amount plus a flat ¥300 to ¥700 equivalent. Withdraw ¥30,000 to ¥50,000 at a time rather than ¥10,000 four times. Cards from Wise, Revolut, Charles Schwab (US), Monzo/Starling (UK), ING (NL), and similar travel-friendly banks have low or zero foreign ATM fees and are worth getting before a Japan trip.

Decline dynamic currency conversion

At the ATM, and at some shop terminals, you may be offered to be charged in your home currency “for convenience.” Always choose yen (JPY). The conversion offered is typically 3 to 7% worse than your bank’s rate. The yen amount is the real price.

Cards and phone payments

• Visa and Mastercard work everywhere cards are taken. American Express is accepted at most chains and hotels, patchier at small shops. JCB is Japan’s own and works everywhere; Discover cards run on the JCB network in Japan and work surprisingly well. UnionPay is widely accepted.
• Contactless (tap) cards work at most terminals. If a terminal asks for a PIN and you only know a signature, ask to sign; Japan still accepts signatures.
• Apple Pay and Google Pay with a foreign card work at any terminal showing the contactless symbol or the iD/QUICPay logos, which is most konbini, chains and department stores. They do not work at ATMs.
• IC cards (Suica, ICOCA) are themselves a payment method at convenience stores, vending machines, station shops and many cafés. Loading ¥3,000 and tapping is often simpler than a card. See IC Cards for Visitors. Note that you can only load a physical IC card with cash at machines; Mobile Suica and ICOCA can be topped up from a card in the app.
• QR payments (PayPay, Rakuten Pay, LINE Pay) are what locals use at small shops, and they are the reason many tiny places went “cashless” without taking cards. Foreign visitors mostly cannot set these up (they need a Japanese bank account or phone number), though PayPay has partnered with Alipay+ and some overseas wallets. If you see only a PayPay sticker and no card logo, assume cash.

Tell your bank you are travelling, or make sure the app’s travel notice is on. Japanese transactions trigger fraud blocks more than most countries.

Where cash is still king, specifically

• Kyoto’s temples and shrines. Kiyomizu-dera (¥500), Kinkaku-ji (¥500), Fushimi Inari (free, but the omamori and goshuin stamps are cash), Ryoan-ji, Ginkaku-ji, Nanzen-ji’s sub-temples: cash, coins preferred at the smaller ones. A day of temple-hopping is ¥2,000 to ¥4,000 per person in coins and small notes.
• Nara: Todai-ji (¥800) takes cards at the main gate now, but Kasuga Taisha’s inner area and the deer-cracker carts are mostly cash (some carts take IC).
• Ramen shops. The ticket machine at the door takes ¥1,000 notes and coins. Some new machines take IC and QR. Have a ¥1,000 note.
• Izakaya and small restaurants in Kyoto’s Pontocho and Gion, Osaka’s Shinsekai and Tenma. The good cheap ones are often cash.
• Markets. Nishiki Market: about half the stalls take something electronic, half do not. Kuromon: similar. Have ¥3,000 in small notes.
• Shinsekai kushikatsu, Dotonbori takoyaki stands, festival food: cash.
• Coin lockers at older stations: ¥100 coins. Newer ones take IC. A coin-changing machine is usually nearby.
• Small inns and guesthouses for the accommodation tax, and occasionally for the room itself.
• Taxis in small towns, and the odd Kyoto taxi whose card reader “is not working today.”
• Anything outside the big cities: Koyasan, Kinosaki, Ine, the Kumano trails. Withdraw before you go; ATMs are scarce and post offices close early.

Exchanging money: don’t, mostly

• Home-country bank or exchange bureau: worst rates, 5 to 10% off mid-market. Avoid.
• Airport exchange counters in Japan: better than abroad, still 2 to 4% worse than an ATM. Only for a tiny amount if you are nervous.
• City exchange machines and shops (Travelex, the yellow Pocket Change machines, Daikokuya): similar to airport counters. Pocket Change machines are handy for dumping leftover coins into an IC card or gift card at the end of the trip.
• ATM withdrawal with a low-fee card: best. Within 1% of mid-market.

Leftover yen at the end: spend it at the airport, load it onto your IC card (physical cards can be refunded at JR counters for the balance minus ¥220, or just keep it for next time; the card is valid 10 years), or feed a Pocket Change machine.

Tipping and other money customs

• No tipping. Not in restaurants, taxis, hotels or tours. It confuses people and is sometimes chased after you to return. Service charges at upscale places are included in the bill.
• Pay at the register, not at the table, in most restaurants. Take the bill slip to the front.
• Cash goes in the tray, not into the cashier’s hand. Change comes back the same way.
• Coins matter. ¥1, ¥5, ¥10, ¥50, ¥100, ¥500. The ¥500 coin is worth more than you think. A small coin purse saves you from a pocket full of metal.
• Splitting the bill is normal (betsu-betsu) at casual places; less so at fancy ones.
• Receipts (レシート) are offered everywhere; say yes if you are claiming tax-free refunds or insurance.

Before you fly: the money checklist

1. One low-foreign-fee debit card for ATMs, plus a separate credit card for purchases. Two cards from two banks in case one is blocked.
2. Travel notice set on both.
3. Apple Pay or Google Pay set up with the credit card.
4. Know your daily ATM limit and PIN (4 digits; Japanese ATMs do not accept 6-digit PINs on some networks).
5. Plan to withdraw ¥30,000 at a 7-Eleven in the KIX arrivals hall.
6. A small coin purse.

New from November 2026: tax-free shopping now works as a refund at the airport, so you pay the full tax-inclusive price in the shop. Budget your card limit accordingly. See Japan’s New Tax-Free Refund System.

FAQ

Can I do Japan entirely cashless? In Tokyo or central Osaka, nearly. In Kyoto, Nara and anywhere rural, no. Plan on ¥30,000 to ¥45,000 of cash for a week in Kansai and you will be fine.

Which is better, 7-Eleven or the post office? Post office is cheaper (often free) in daytime; 7-Eleven is open 24 hours and has one on every corner. Use whichever is in front of you.

Why was my card declined at a shop that shows card logos? Most often: a fraud block from your bank (check the app), a terminal that needs a PIN you do not know, or a foreign card not supported by that particular acquirer. Try tap, try another card, or pay cash and move on.

Are there ATM fees inside the ATM itself? Yes, ¥110 to ¥220 at Seven Bank, shown on screen. Your home bank adds its own. The ATM fee is trivial; your bank’s percentage is the one to minimise.

Is it safe to carry ¥50,000 in cash? Yes. Japan is one of the safest places in the world to carry cash, and lost wallets are routinely returned. See Lost Something in Japan? for what to do if it happens.

Should I get a Wise or Revolut card just for Japan? If your current bank charges 3% plus a flat fee on foreign withdrawals, yes; it pays for itself in a week. Order it two weeks before you leave.

Does Japan have a currency declaration limit? You must declare if you carry more than ¥1,000,000 (or equivalent) in or out. Irrelevant for almost all tourists.

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Sources: Seven Bank, Japan Post Bank and AEON Bank international-card ATM terms (October 2026); Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry cashless payment ratio statistics; Payments Japan Association; Kansai Airports facility guide. Fees and limits are those published for foreign-issued cards and may differ by card network; your own bank’s charges apply on top.