Will dollar keep losing value?

I know this is kind of difficult to predict... In all honesty, I don't really know about these things, I probably should though. I was just wondering if somebody knows if the dollar will continue to decrease in value in relation to the yen, because I want to know if I should take exchange all of my money in Narita airport when I arrive in Japan next month, or if I should take out only what I need and wait for the dollar to get better? I'll be in Japan until January of next year.

Thank you in advance.

You basically answered your own question in the first sentence, people make and loose money every day trying to predict which way the currency markets will go.You can check the history of Dollar/Yen at this site:

http://www.oanda.com/currency/historical-rates/

You should also note that changing your money in the USA will usually give you worst rates than changing in Japan.

Without trying to predict 6mo yen/dollar exchange (I would be in a totally different tax bracket if I could do that reliably) you really only have two options anyway: transfer all of your money at once at the beginning of your stay or break it up into several transfers spread out over time.

Option 2 allows you to average out the high and low exchange rates over the time period, and helps protect you from changing all of your money at a bad rate. You can further help yourself by paying attention to the historical exchange and making your transfers during local swings that go in your favor.

Overall though, you'll save more money by figuring out WHERE to do your exchanges rather then trying to predict WHEN to make them. Pay careful attention to fees and commissions and try to get a rate as close to the listed rate as possible. Changing money at around 3% off the ideal rate is pretty average, but if you shop around you can probably get that closer to 2%.

The best way to use dollars in Japan is by using a Capital One credit card. They don't charge any foreign transaction fees and their exchange rate if very close to the actual rate.

I want to know if I should take exchange all of my money in Narita airport when I arrive in Japan next month

You probably don't want to exchange your cash at Narita. The exchange rate is terrible there.

http://www.narita-airport.or.jp/exchange_e/index.html

The rate for traveler's checks is decent but if I understand the note at the bottom of the table correctly, that rate is only for t/c's issued by Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.

You should just use the post office ATM to get cash. You need to check with your bank but you'll probably lose 3% from the actual rate.

The best way to use dollars in Japan is by using a Capital One credit card. They don't charge any foreign transaction fees and their exchange rate if very close to the actual rate.

Note that the OP will be in Japan for 6 months, so it probably won't be possible for them to use their credit card exclusively and they may still need to get cash. Cash advances on credit cards is generally not a good idea as the percentages are far higher than other methods. So be sure to check out capital one's cash advance rates as well if you want to explore that as an option.

You probably don't want to exchange your cash at Narita. The exchange rate is terrible there.

Narita USD/JPY cash exhange rate it 3.6% today. It's not terrible but you can do better if you shop around.

Actually, it can be a hassle but one of the best ways to exchange is take USD Travellers Checks to the Japanese post office. The last time I checked you could get very close to 2%.

Note that the OP will be in Japan for 6 months, so it probably won't be possible for them to use their credit card exclusively and they may still need to get cash.

That's why I mentioned she should get cash from the ATM. Sorry if I didn't make it clear but I didn't mean to say she should use her Capital One card at the ATM. She should use her regular ATM card from her bank.

I got it, but I wanted to make sure it was clear to the OP so they don't get caught up making cash advances by accident. Good recommendation on the Capital One card btw, I'm gonna have to look into it myself.

If you are waiting for dollar's return to the 90's or even mid-80's, don't hold your breath.
The days of those 20-30 yen fluctuations over a course of 3-6 months are long gone.

Sure there will be some slight weekly ups and down that see the rates change by a few percent but, unless some world-altering event (gatrillions in natural gas found under New York, aliens declare Obama their best friend, GE achieves cold fusion...) occurs in the USA, the dollar is never going to recover. We've pretty much run out of wars and "rouge" states to scapegoat. I wouldn't be surprised to see the dollar break 70 yen soon.

Be careful about sitting on your hands when you know you have to eventually exchange money. The USD has lost nearly 10% against the yen in the last 3 months alone.

Thanks to everybody who has answered my questions so far. I really appreciate all your answers. In all honesty, I think I'm going to use the post office to exchange my money periodically as opposed to in one big chunk. When I get there though, I'll have to change some cash in Narita for the first couple of days and what-not. I saw that the Japanese government did some kind of intervention to keep the yen from getting any stronger, but again, I'm not 100 percent sure as to what that means- but hopefully it's not all bad news.

Thanks again! :D