Living in Japan with bills to pay

I want to live in Nagoya, Japan. I have bills to pay in the United States, if I work in Japan and deposit yen in a bank account, will it transfer to dollars if I want it to so I can pay my bills online?

The first thing you need to check is to see if you can even pay whatever bills you have using a foreign bank account to begin with. In many cases you may find it maynot be possible.

The other option you have is maintaining a US bank account (transfer the address to a parent/sibling/relative) and transfer money from Japan into the bank account in the US, then pay via the US account.

If you are allowed to pay the bills using a foreign bank account, then the exchange should be automatic.

Tp pay my bills in New Zealand, I use the GoLloyd's overseas remittance service which is available to anyone in Japan. Using this service I transfer money from my Japanese account to my New Zealand account. It is converted to New Zealand dollars by the banking system on the way there at the current exchange rate.

Then I use online banking to pay the bill out of my New Zealand bank account. Google "GoLloyds" for details of the remittance service.

Do you have a Citi Bank near your hometown in America? if so then when you come to Japan open up an account.
Also you will have to deal with the currency rate Japanese Yen is low compared to the USD make sure you are making enough to live plus paying your bills.

I have the same question, I'm going to Japan for a year but I still have bills to pay at home. I will have enough money saved to support my bills but I would like my hands in everything, managing my own finances – I don't feel happy about leaving money in a British account to pay my bills when I can’t see it or check on it. So I was wondering what my options might be?

Plus I know that the (£) pound seems to be always stronger that any other currency, would the exchange rate be a problem if I find a bank that would transfer the money or pay my bills?

I had loan repayments to honor when I moved to japan also. If you have enough money saved up to cover the period of time your going for just organise with your bank to pay it up front. I did that, no dramas whatsoever and dont have to worry about repayments for that period of time.

The remittance service called "GoLloyd's" which I posted above is very widely used by foreigners living in Japan to send money home. If I transfer money by GoLloyds int he morning, it will be in my NZ bank account by the afternoon. It costs 2,000 yen per transfer and is the cheapest most hassle-free way to send money through Japan's antiquated banking system.

Seriously, don't make this harder for yourselves than it needs to be. I have been using GoLloyds service for 8 years and wouldn't use anything else.

I know I sound like an advert for the bank but I don't work for them, really! It's just that people keep suggesting complicated things when there is such a simple solution.

I see, sounds interesting had a look on the internet and I'm very interested........ But the question now is will I be able to make enough on a 'Working Holiday Visa' to support myself and keep paying my loan back home?????

That's a completely different question. Please remember that Working HOliday Visa is a scheme to allow people to travel extensively on a HOLIDAY, without too much financial burden. So the pay might not be too great. And another thing to keep in mind is the strong UK sterling!!

Sorry somehow I got confused with UK and US! Still, keep in mind the strong US dollar vs. Yen.

Yeah I understand, I do have enough money saved to support my bills back home, and as you said the WHV is only based on travelling, but I would still like to have my hand in all finical matters. So thanks anyway and I will look a bit deeper into it plus consult my travel company, thanks again.