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Converting currency vs bank withdrawal 2015/1/28 03:31
I'm leaving on my working holiday in a couple months and I have no idea about converting my British money to Japanese. If I withdraw it from my UK account while in Japan, will the money be converted at the day's conversion rate? Will I be charged? (My bank is Natwest, if that helps any.) Is it a better idea to convert it somewhere else before I go, and if so, any UK people know the best place to do it?
Totally stumped!
Thanks!
by Cojimonster  

Re: Converting currency vs bank withdrawal 2015/1/28 10:48
It's probably best to convert money here in the UK and taking the cash with you to Japan. You'll get more favourable rates here.

I've used http://www.moneycorp.com/ before for converting GBP to JPY and it's worked very well.

It can be quite a hassle to withdraw money with a foreign card. Only 7-11s and post offices will accept them, I think.
by Hologfx rate this post as useful

Re: Converting currency vs bank withdrawal 2015/1/28 11:35
the exchange rate at the airports in Japan is also very good.

but do not exchange money at your hotel if you can avoid it. their rates are not very good.
by akamai4u rate this post as useful

Re: Converting currency vs bank withdrawal 2015/1/28 17:21
Ask your bank about their charges
by Winter Visitor rate this post as useful

Re: Converting currency vs bank withdrawal 2015/1/28 20:50
It can be quite a hassle to withdraw money with a foreign card. Only 7-11s and post offices will accept them, I think.

That's really all you need, especially since you can use Google Maps to easily find the nearest 7-11 or post office. Only if you're in the middle of the inaka can it be a challenge to find the nearest post office with an ATM, since small ones sometimes don't have one (but if you're venturing in the middle of the inaka, you can probably read Japanese and use the jp-post website to find it).
by Firas rate this post as useful

Re: Converting currency vs bank withdrawal 2015/1/28 21:27
The ATMs at the airport when you land will have the bank rates when you withdraw money. I believe you can use a Citibank ATM machine. Or at least that was my case coming from the U.S.
You'll always get a better rate if you use an ATM. 7-11s are all over the place so you shouldn't have a hard time finding one.
You don't mention how long you're staying in Japan but if you're working there, you will eventually have to use an ATM.
When we were there in January, we were never charged a fee either by a 7-11 ATM or a Post Office ATM. Our bank did charge us $1.50 every time we used the ATM though.
by lilien rate this post as useful

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