2000 yen note

Hi all.

My wife and I are visiting japan in just under 3 weeks for a 15 day holiday.

I ordered 500,000 yen for our spending money which arrived today and when checking it I had 75x2000 yen notes (\150,000).

I have read on some places that it is difficult to spend the 2000 yen note. Is there any truth to this?

Many thanks in advance

It is not a problem to use them at restaurants and shops, but most machines (ticket machines, vending machines, etc.) do not accept them.

I have the same problem-27 of them when I specifically asked for high denomination bills. I'm going to go to a Citibank branch and see if I can exchange them for 10,000 yen notes. I assume they're as common as a $2 bill here in America. As a matter of fact, the only place I've ever seen a 2000 yen note is in Chicago.

I always end up with 2000 yen notes when I exchange currency. I've never had a problem using them as per uji's response, and sometimes you get some interesting reactions from the store clerk. I was told once that it was the first one they'd ever seen.

If only they'd abolish the 1 yen coin....

Yes, I didn't have a problem using them, but I'm sure it's more of a hassle for local merchants as they don't have a slot for them on their cash registers. I'll still try to exchange them at a Citibank in Tokyo if possible. And I often wonder if they (Japan Bank sends them overseas on purpose to get rid of them!)

Someone told me they're a hit in Okinawa since one side shows a castle in Okinawa. I've heard they're not much of a hit in any other prefecture and it's been 13 years since the bills launched and some teenagers there can't recognize them as real money!

Maybe I can exchange them at UFJ or Mizuho or even central post office. I just don't want my wallet to be crammmed with so many bills. I hope they don't give me a hard time.

I was also given 2000 yen notes when I did a money exchange in the United States. I had no problems spending them, but they are not in common use in Japan. I always got a odd look when I used one of them. I think is similar to using two dollar bills in the United States. They are accepted at the cash register, but the teller will usually lift the till and put them below, because they do not have a slot in the bill area to put them in.

Wow! So that's where they are! Living in Japan as a local, I haven't seen them in years since they made those notes in the year 2000.

But I don't think it's a problem at all if you have 350,000 yen worth of non-2000 yen notes. To begin with, I don't even think you need 350,000 yen worth of cash for just 3 weeks if you have a credit card.

Why not carry a wallet with 2 pockets in it. You can put the 2000 yen notes in one pocket and the other notes in the other pocket. Try to use the 2000 yen notes as much as possible when paying to a cashier, so that you can save the other notes for machines.

By the way, you may want to keep one 2000 note as a souvenior.

Uco, do you think they'd give me a hard time at a bank if I were to try and exchange them-a bank I don't have an account with?

Yes, I think that could potentially be a problem. It might be easier and less wasteful of sightseeing time to exchange them in the US before you go.

Personally though, I wouldn't bother. As mentioned, they aren't a problem to use at stores. The only problem are vending machines, but you can usually avoid using those or pay with an IC card and avoid cash altogether.

I second the wow. Amazing you got so many. They're a very rare site. A Japanese friend of mine has one, she doesn't spend it, she just keeps it, as they're so rare she's only ever come across two in her life.

I'd recommend you sell them to collectors! LOL.
Shouldn't be any problem actually using them. Even a lot of vending machines take them.

In Okinawa area, 2000 note is still in circulation, I heard.
Because the note have a picture of Shurei-mon gate that is a symbol of Okinawa.
Maybe the U.S.Marines is used to it, I think?

Uco, do you think they'd give me a hard time at a bank if I were to try and exchange them-a bank I don't have an account with?

I'm not sure, but I think it has little to do with having an account or not. Banks have automatic exchange machines (not for foreign currency, but for exchanging yen to yen), and it's a matter of questioning if these machines accept so many 2000 yen notes or not at a time. Then if you go to the counter, you usually have to wait for a long time until your turn comes.

And again, it's not even worth it. You'd be wasting way less time spending those bills than to exchange them.

Note that I know nothing about banks in the U.S., so I can't judge if it's better or not to exchange them while you're there.

Thanks Uco, I'll just puzzle and surprise people all over Japan by spending them everywhere.

Just for your information, foreign currency must be ordered in all but the major branches of banks. After that, they're either mailed to you or you pick it up at the local branch of your bank. So the option of exchanging them in the US is not readily available.

not sure why you'd contemplate exchanging them for 10000 yen notes anyway, since they're not accepted at every vending machine either. seems like a lot of fuss for nothing.

Why the heck do you guys ever exchange cash in the USA? You guys are getting a horrible exchange rates!

Use ATMs in Japan or get USD traveler's cheques and exchange them at the airport bank.

I bought the yen when it was at 103, which actually was more like 98 actually. It is now at 95 and who knows how high it may be when I actually go. What if it goes up to 78 like it was not too long ago? Sometimes you have to risk paying a higher service charge when the rate is favorable.

Just for your information, foreign currency must be ordered in all but the major branches of banks. After that, they're either mailed to you or you pick it up at the local branch of your bank. So the option of exchanging them in the US is not readily available.

Presumably, you residing in Chicago would mean that you are near one of the major branches that may be able to do that exchange for your. At the very least I would consider contacting the bank or exchange agency that you used and see if they could exchange the bills for you especially considering that you specifically requested high denomination bills.

When I was in kyoto last year, I had a few of them 2000 yen notes, I done a gion tour ( which I highly recommend check out waraido walking tours) and the tour guide actually got excited when I paid her with a 2000 note, she told me they are hard to come by, Iat xmas when I was there I didn't have any and I am preparing for my next trip and still yet to receive any when converting, my chain of thought has now totally changed after reading this thread.

Why the heck do you guys ever exchange cash in the USA? You guys are getting a horrible exchange rates!
Use ATMs in Japan or get USD traveler's cheques and exchange them at the airport bank.
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If you buy travelers checks you pay for service that may well be as bad as the exchange rates are, so honestly that's not necessarily a solution, it will very much depend on the case.

As to completely relying on credit cards, I think the recent Mastercard problem should be always in our minds when making that decision.

By the way, 2000 yen notes were very rare to begin with, ever since they were issued in the year 2000. Somehow, they were never commonly available, at least in most parts of Japan, and yet because of its very unique design (no human faces) they were not actually disliked.

So ever since they were first issued, people would go "Wow!" whenever they spot them, and THEN they (or should I say "we" including me) would keep them as their own little rare treasure.

Soon enough, we stopped seeing them. I thought they were all in the indivisuals' drawers in their homes. I never imagined there were so many in banks abroad. Lucky tourists!