Yen or visa debit?

Hey guys, I will be in japan for 26 days in march, in several different parts. Just wanting to know if its better to exchange all my cash for yen upon airport arrival? or have some on card? I ear having yen (cash) is the most convenient, not to mention i will save foreign exchange fees with my bank. it will be around 3k so Im not sure if that's the safest to exchange it all when i arrive? im sure i will not be able to reverse exchange the remaining upon departure? any insights on this? thanks!!

You will need some cash, which you can withdraw as needed from Seven-Eleven ATM (available in most 7-11 stores and other places such as airport etc). And use card (debit or credit) in other places that do accept it.

Why on earth do you think you will not be able to exchange on departure???

Anyway, without knowing where you are from, it is impossible to provide advice about best exchange options. it varies by country. I did a write-up on this a while back, and while the rates have changed, most of the findings are still valid.
https://japancustomtours.co.jp/exchange.htm

There may be other options. I use my Visa credit card where it is accepted, and it has no foreign exchange fees. I don't run a balance, and I also get cash back from my purchases, which is basically free money.
As far as debit cards and your bank charges, that varies a lot too. Having your money in a credit union can avoid most of the big bank rip-off fees.
Plus are you really going to need all that cash? If you have to buy yen and then buy back your home currency, you are taking a double hit.

fee's vary from issuing banks, so some do have fee's.

I have done 7 or 8 trips and have always carried Yen. It just removes any possibility of trouble getting money. Also my debit card charges a transaction fee on "foreign" transactions so using the card would be very expensive.

Me too, I have always used yen, if I don't spend it all, I save it for next time.

Thanks guys. I will check with my bank. I�fm in the US, I�fve only traveled to Canada and they charged me foreign exchange fees to my card so that�fs why I just assume it would be the same in japan. Furthermore, I read somewhere that having yen in japan is way more convenient than using cards, so that�fs what also prompted my question. Thanks everyone

Whatever it is you do, DO NOT USE TRAVELEX counters. They are conveniently located, but they are a rip-off. Use the bank counters, such as Mizuho, because they'll give you an exchange rate about 2.5-3 yen less than the official rate, which is about the best you'll find. Travellex will give you 6-7 yen less than the official rate and charge you a bundle to buy it back. I never buy whatever Yen I have left over, whether it's 2-3000 or 30-50,000. I know I will return within 6-7 months at most and will use it on my next visit. But please, do no use Travelex....

When it comes to exchanging it "all" when you first arrive, you must ask yourself if, first, will you be returning to Japan in the future. If so, then I wouldn't worry too much. But if you're not, then I would make a preliminary estimate of the amount of Yen you will need and exchange that and keep the rest in USD. You can always exchange more at a later time. If you exchange it all at once, without knowing of you're going to use it all or not, you incur in the initial "buy Yen" fee the bank imposes on you and then you incur the "sell Yen" fee when you try to get USD for that Yen you didn't use. You get double-whammied and lose money without having done a thing with it. Just a thought.

Shop around. Get a credit card with low cash withdrawal charges. Job done.

You will just have to check your cards and see what the fees are. I know my debit card I had a pretty high debit card % based transaction fee for international travel, but my ATM withdrawal fee was fixed at $3. So instead of paying a percent for every little expensive, I just payed $3 a few times to pull out 30000 yen at a time, which makes for a very cheap fee.

I also checked through all my credit cards and one had zero foreign transaction fee. So I made sure to use that Mastercard as much as possible. Another one of my cards had 3% fee. So if I had not payed attention and used the wrong card for the whole trip it could have cost me maybe $100+ in fees.

I also found that pulling money out at the ATM ended up slightly more favorable than trading cash. Cash exchange has a rate spread that the traders use to make profit. So while there are no fees, you might get 2% less money at counter vs ATM.

But again, the main thing to do is check with your banks and cards and work out which is the best fees. Compare airport rates with those of Visa, etc. to see if Cash is better for you personally.

@JohnB - they might not be from USA, so while JPY/USD spreads are low, something like JPY/AUD spreads in japan are much wider. Without knowing what kind of "3k" they are exchanging, it is hard to give the best advice. Might be SGD3,000 of FJD3,000 - we don't know.

A profile look says....yes.

I don't normally check profiles, but fair enough :)

So many people have replied but I thought I add my experience. I always carry Yen with me, often at least \250,000 for a three week period (I like to spend LOL). However I also use Visa a lot as well. Some places will offer a 5% discount if you use Visa so you have to do some research which stores apply this. As I live in Canada, my bank might charge a fee but they are always hidden so I will never know, and that's why the 5% discount helps a lot.

Thanks everyone. I contacted my bank and there is a 3% foreign exchange fee per transaction, being there for a month, that will add up rather quickly. I am just going to exchange the cash upon arrival and carry around yen everywhere I go. Assuming cash is king in japan as well.

Cash is absolutely king. I leave most of mine locked in my suitcase at the hotel & just carry enough for that day. I use online exchanges & change my money before I go. Often you will get a really good rate with no charges.

Thanks Stan. What websites do you use? I was planning on going to travelex but if there are better exchange options/rates, I would love to know

Unless you�fre going to end up with spare yen you�fre almost certain to need to use an ATM and/or your credit or debit card.
Shop around for one which had low or no fees for overseas use.
Look at other banks or card issuers if your own bank is no good.
This advice is good for holidays to ANY country, so a little bit of looking now will pay off for every trip you make to anywhere.