10'000 Yen Notes

Hi, I am assuming that since there are only three banknotes in circulation the 10'000 must be fairly common. Is that true? Would a bank machine give you 10'000 yen notes? Thanks.

10'000 must be fairly common. Is that true?

Yes, it is true!

Would a bank machine give you 10'000 yen notes?

Certainly!

there is no problem in using a 10 000 yen note to buy small items. it's not like the west.

also you can trust the ticket machines to give you correct change - notes, too. you don't get 10 000 yen in small change.

there is no problem in using a 10 000 yen note to buy small items. it's not like the west.

The west? I think you refer to North America when writing "the west". Because at least in Switzerland, which I consider part of "the west", you can get 20,000 yen (200 Swiss Francs) and 100,000 yen (1000 Swiss Francs) notes at ATMs. And it is possible to pay with 100,000 yen notes in a lot of shops and restaurants. It is not uncommon to use 20,000 yen notes for small purchases.

In southern Europe in particular I found that people would make a big fuss about having to give change for larger notes- when I was in Italy about 9 years ago I had the worst time trying to get rid of a 50,000 lira note (worth about 5000 yen). First the man in the post office refused to accept it as payment for about 15,000 lira worth of stamps, meaning I couldn't buy stamps, and then at the youth hostel the woman was very reluctant to accept it as payment for my 12,000 lira dinner. I had similar experiences in Spain and Portugal.

In New Zealand you might get looks if you tried to pay for something less than $10 with a $100 note, but nothing like the resistance I met when in Italy.

i wasn't referring to north america, and i certainly don't think of switzerland if someone says "the west" but thank you for caring.

The big fuss thing has been discussed before somewhere on this Forum, but in Japan as well, some shopkeepers do make a big fuss when you hand out large bills, cab drivers probably being the worst. Or often people would at least nicely say, "Do you happen to have any small change?" implying that instead of 10000 yen, they want you to pay, for example, 10357 yen for an 1357 yen item.

As a courtesy to the shopkeeper, I always try to say, "Sumimasen, komakai no ga nakute. (Sorry I don't have any small change.)" as I hand out a bill. But I can't recall having the impression that people in the States or southern Europe make a big fuss over large bills. Maybe they think I might not speak their language.

You are welcome! I am just allergic to incorrect over-generalizations of "the West" vs. "Japan". There are too many stereotypes out there already.

Just talking about the States v Japan, there is a difference with using large bills in the US. Most convenience stores and gas stations, among other service places, will have signs that they won't take $50 or $100 bills. I've frequently used 10000 yen notes in Tokyo at many convenience stores without a problem.

Another interesting point is that while you can fish around for exact change to pay for your items here in Tokyo, if you do that in the US, lots of people in line behind you can get huffy and roll their eyes at you.

I'm still not used to carrying so much money on my person, and I am always going to the ATM here. I used to pay for things in the US with my debit card, or credit card, pretty much exclusively, unless I were at a bar. I've only recently gotten used to paying with exact change.

So far, though, I haven't seen any places where you can't use 10000 yen notes.

10000 notes are very common.
I have even seen atms that only give money in denominations of 10000. Almost any shop will take 10000 notes, the only excepts may be things like small street stands at festivals. I have seen many times (and have done myself) people paying for items under 500 yen with a 10000 note. I haven't encountered any issue or dirty looks here like I get in the states for trying to break a high note.

Yeah I noticed a difference in exact change in Japan vs states as well.
In Japan it feels like you are almost expected to give exact small change. If I don't have enough to make it exact the cashier usually glances at me to see if I'm digging for it before taking the money. In he states you have to usually stop them and tell them you have change while the people behind you huff.

If I don't have enough to make it exact the cashier usually glances at me to see if I'm digging for it before taking the money

The cashier makes sure whether you are finished rather than expecting you to pay exact.

But there are quite a few situations, where 10,000 yen are not appreciated. For example, taxis or small temples with with a 100-500 yen admission fee. Generally smaller establishments which do not get a lot of cash flow.

I just remembered another place where 10000 yen bills aren't appreciated or even refused: Buses.

In Japan, a lot of bus drivers seem to keep on having shortage of small change. Nowadays most buses have machines that will change 1000 yen bills to coins, and drivers also carry 5000 yen worth "bus cards" but cannot give you anything back if you hand out a 10000 yen bill.

On a related note, I once hopped on a bus in New York some decades ago, and realised they only accept "tokens" that can only be bought at subway stations!

By the way, in Japan as well, taking time digging for small change from your purse is not appreciated by the long queue behind you. I think this is quite universal. People aren't that patient. So I always dig for change _while_ I'm waiting in line.

But where there are long queues, the cashier tend to have a lot of change (which are coins from their many customers) while small shops often need to run to the back to get some change.

I just remembered something else.

Being Japanese, whichever country I go to, be it the U.S. or Europe, I tend to hand out, say, 105 for something worth 85 if I don't have 80 with me. A lot of shopkeepers around the world hate this and tell me to just pay like 200 dollars instead.

you and me together Uco! I had store staff-here in Canada-- glare at me but I think it was mainly because they couldn't make the math in their head.