Exchange rate at Narita airport

Are exchange rates for USD cash notes at Narita airport the same as in Tokyo city?

At other airports the rates are indeed different than those in the city (e.g. Don Meuang in Bangkok, where the rates are very bad compared to those in the city).

Rates at Narita airport are published here:
http://www.narita-airport.or.jp/exchange_e/index.html

What is confusing about that page is that the data is presented as if there is only one rate at the airport, when in fact there could be different rates at different exchange counters.

If the rate in the city is better then it would be best to only exchange a small amount at the airport (to pay for the train ticket) then exchange the rest in the city.

I've read that post offices give good rates and that the rates at airport post offices are the same as in the city. Is there an airport post office in Narita arrivals terminal 1? If so then one could exchange all cash at once at the airport instead of once at the airport and later in the city.

I intend to exchange thousands of USD to spend in Japan so I would prefer to get the very best rate possible.

That link rate based Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ bank.
But in NRT(T1/T2) other bank branches exist.
http://www.narita-airport.jp/en/guide/service/list/svc_11.html

Save yourself a few percent (and the risk of losing or having thousands of dollars stolen) by using your ATM card instead of changing cash.

http://traveljapanblog.com/wordpress/2013/06/changing-us-dollars-into-...

Thank you guys for the extra information.

So there are currency exchange counters of many banks on floors 1, 3, and 4. But the key question still is do their rates differ from the rates in Tokyo city? As I've already said, the rates at some other airports do differ to rates in the city based on my own observation and comparison.

There is also a "Postal service" on 4F:
http://www.narita-airport.jp/en/guide/service/list/svc_23.html

Is that a post office and would they exchange USD currency to Yen as a post office in the city would?

I know that using ATMs is another option, but not everyone uses bank cards.

I intend to exchange thousands of USD to spend in Japan so I would prefer to get the very best rate possible.

Long story short, I would recommend bringing a few hundred in USD travelers checks and exchanging those at Narita for a few days worth of walking around money. Pay most other things with a travel oriented credit card (one that doesn't charge a foreign transaction fee), and then top up on cash at the postal or 7-11 atms as needed.




Are exchange rates for USD cash notes at Narita airport the same as in Tokyo city?

No, the rates to exchange USD tend to be BETTER at narita rather than at the hotels in Tokyo.

What is confusing about that page is that the data is presented as if there is only one rate at the airport, when in fact there could be different rates at different exchange counters.

There are a few different companies, but if IIRC they pretty much use similar rates.

If the rate in the city is better then it would be best to only exchange a small amount at the airport (to pay for the train ticket) then exchange the rest in the city.

They aren't usually, but either way I would only exchange a few days worth of money at a time because I don't like carrying around large amounts of cash.

I've read that post offices give good rates and that the rates at airport post offices are the same as in the city.

Yes, but the rates are no longer as good as they used to be as most banks charge about a 3% exchange fee these days where they used to charge 0%.

Is there an airport post office in Narita arrivals terminal 1?

Yes

If so then one could exchange all cash at once at the airport instead of once at the airport and later in the city.

Yes, but that is relatively pointless as the cost to exchange is the same for all postal atms.

Save yourself a few percent (and the risk of losing or having thousands of dollars stolen) by using your ATM card instead of changing cash.

It depends on your home bank, but most charge a 3% transaction fee these days making the atms cost roughly the same as exchanging cash at Narita. Best method is to exchange USD travelers checks at roughly 2% and then use credit cards as much as possible.

Is that a post office and would they exchange USD currency to Yen as a post office in the city would?

I believe they need to have a Postal Bank branch at the office for you to exchange cash. Otherwise, atms are your best bet (faster, easier, and in english).

The rates even differ in the airport by several percent.

If you can change your funds to yen within about 3% of the mid point (buy/sell) then you're probably doing ok. USD is one of the better currencies, and you will probably get a better rate in Japan because of the availability of yen notes.

It looks like Greenport Agency has better rates than Mitsubishi UFJ, assuming that their advertised rates are the same as the ones they use at the airport. Here is their rates page:

https://gpa-exchange.jp/rate/

They don't have a counter on 1F (arrivals), but a counter at each end of 4F.

Here are the 1F and 4F floor maps of Narita terminal 1 showing currency exchange counters:
http://www.narita-airport.jp/en/guide/service/list/map/11_t1_1f.html
http://www.narita-airport.jp/en/guide/service/list/map/11_t1_4f.html

I assume that 3F currency exchange counters cannot be accessed on arrival since they are in the restricted "air side" for people who are departing.

So just taking the short trip up to 4F on arrival could save me around a thousand Yen, and there may be less of a queue too as most other people would only stay on 1F to change their money.

No, the rates to exchange USD tend to be BETTER at narita rather than at the hotels in Tokyo.


I didn't mean hotels. How about at banks or post offices in the city?

In Bangkok, the rates at the airport are worse than in the city even for the same bank.

It looks like Greenport Agency has better rates than Mitsubishi UFJ, assuming that their advertised rates are the same as the ones they use at the airport. Here is their rates page:
https://gpa-exchange.jp/rate/

I consider those rates to be virtually identical unless you are exchanging several thousand dollars at once, which I generally don't recommend for safety reasons. But it may be worth it to you. Btw, if that 1000 yen you'll save is significant then you'll probably end up saving more by using credit cards instead (presuming they don't have transaction fees) as good ones exchange at close to the exact rate of the day. I'd recommend the Capital One Venture Card for example.

I didn't mean hotels. How about at banks or post offices in the city?

Banks tend to have terrible rates, if they'll even exchange for non-customers in the first place. I've done it before and it was a huge headache.

Post office have reasonably good rates, around 2% the last few times I've done it. Personally I'd rather spend less time and effort and do it at the atm instead for about 3%.

handling charge is generally 3 yen per one dollar at banks. GPA is not a financial bank, and offers a little bit cheaper charge of 2.6 yen per one dollar.
I believe that Post office also charge you a similar rate.(some site says 2.8 yen)

if you believe that 0.4 yen per one dollar is a great difference. you should go to GPA. (0.4 yen is only 0.3% of the current exchange of 120 yen /dollar.)

if you go to Daikokuya, the charge might be 2 yen.

Having hunted around for some useful answers on this topic (because it gets asked frequently), I have started putting together some information on the rates that you can get in various places (before you leave home and once you arrive).

For USD it looks like the main banks offer reasonable rates and Travelx, although they need to make a living, charge too much.

GBP is about the same in Japan or the UK (with at least one notable exception), and Aussie dollars are best exchanged at home before travelling, although the margins are still large. Still working on Canadian dollars, and for my local NZD I'll keep using my cash card at ATMs.

JapanCustomTours I was reading this as still trying to work out how best to deal with money coming from the UK, what are the notable exceptions you mentioned? Thanks!

if you go to Daikokuya, the charge might be 2 yen.

Daikokuya's rates look quite good, even better than GPA's. If their handling charge is cheaper than the others than we have a winner.

Here is the rate page of Daikokuya: http://gaika.e-daikoku.com

The only problem is that theu are not at the airport. At least some money needs to be changed at the airport to catch a train from Narita.

So maybe the solution is to change just a little at the airport for the train and change the rest at Daikokuya in the city.

Here's a search result list of Daikokuya shops that exchange currencies:
http://standard.navitime.biz/daikokuya/CondAreaSpotList.act?page=0&acode=13&count=28&cond=0.0.0.0.1.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0&isDefaultSearch=false