change money

which is the best way to change from euro to yen?
1. credit card (commissions)
2. debit card (commissions)
3. cash
At the airport or down town Tokyo?
thank you!

It is different for everybody. I find my bank offers good rates on credit card money out of the post office or 7-11 atm. But they charge a $5 AUD transaction fee.

Most money exchange places will get about a 4-5% in fees/charges gobbled up versus the actual current exchange rate.

So you need to research your banks credit/debit card charges and compare to what you can get for money exchange.

Hi

I would advise not to change at the airport !
You will find good rates for cash around Shinjuku : 1 Chome Nishishinjuku precisely

For credit/debit card, I use 7 Eleven ATMs

hope that helps

I would not use credit cards as your interest charges start on the day of the transaction without any grace period. Both credit and debit cards will likely impose transaction and currency conversion fees. You may get a good conversion rate you may not, you will need to check with your bank.
The best is to use cash or make large currency transactions, something like once a week.
International debit/credit cards are usually only accepted at Japan Post, Japanese exchange branches of banks and 7-11 (which also carries a transaction fee).

I would not be opposed to changing currency at the airport, it's very convenient but you will get a slightly better deal in the city. There is often a bank very near every train station on the Yamanote, they will all exchange currency for you.

I withdrew from the ATM when I was at Narita. My bank charges 3% fee on top of 5 USD that the ATM machine charges per transaction.

The ATM machines at Haneda didn't like my debit card, so I had to exchange with Mizuho Bank there. They gave me good rates as well, within 3% of that day's rate.

My strategy is to carry minimal cash and use a zero-international-fee credit card wherever CC is accepted.

With some thoughtful estimation, you won't have too much cash left over and can spend it at the airport without worrying about converting it back to your country's currency.

First thing is to check if your issuing CC bank if there is a fee for using a CC for purchase, then you also need to check cash withdraw from ATM, check for fees over at your end, in Japan it's likely that CC may have other charges through ATM or CC purchase.

I know if you use a Hong Kong CC at a 7-11 network ATM, you can select to have the the current exchange rate in Japan as soon as you make the withdraw, or you can select to use the exchange rate back in Hong Kong.

I always use my Unionpay HSBC atm card if I need cash, and I only get charged HKD 20 (285 Yen or 2.6 USD) per withdraw at my side, plus the current exchange rate regardless of the amount I withdraw.

If you are going to use ATM's try doing so in larger transactions so that you minimize the transaction fees.