Every money question, answered

After a typical 1.55% handling fee on the pre-tax price, about 8.45% on general goods and about 6.45% on food and non-alcoholic drinks — not the flat 10% most calculators show.

Japan charges consumption tax at two rates: 10% on general goods and a reduced 8% on food and non-alcoholic beverages. Tax-free shopping refunds the tax actually charged, so food refunds less. Alcohol is always 10%.

Before tax. At 10% that is about ¥5,500 on the price tag, and at 8% about ¥5,400. Purchases must be in one store on one day, so consolidating helps if you are near the line.

The in-store discount ends. You pay the full price including consumption tax at the register and claim the tax back when you leave Japan, after customs confirmation. Sealed bags and the ¥500,000 consumables cap are abolished.

No. Refunds are processed by the retailer or a refund operator, who deduct a handling fee — department stores have historically taken about 1.55% of the pre-tax price, with figures up to 2.2% reported for the new system.

¥5,000 pre-tax, in one store, on the same day. This is unchanged under the new system.

Yes, at the point of purchase, same as today — the store registers your purchase electronically against your passport. From 1 November 2026 that registration is what customs confirms when you leave the country before the refund is paid, so carry the physical passport, not a photo of it.

Always choose yen. The home-currency option is dynamic currency conversion, where the merchant's payment provider sets the rate with a margin built in — estimates of the cost range from about 2.6% to as much as 12%.

At ATM screens after entering the amount, at hotel checkout, at department store terminals popular with tourists, and in currency dropdowns on booking sites that default to your home currency.

For a city-focused trip, roughly ¥3,000–4,000 per person per day in physical cash. Street-food-heavy itineraries and countryside legs push that toward ¥6,000–8,000.

Partly. The official cashless payment ratio reached about 58% in 2025. The remaining cash-first economy is concentrated in small izakaya, ticket-machine restaurants, shrines, festival stalls and rural buses.

7-Eleven (Seven Bank) and Japan Post Bank ATMs reliably accept foreign cards and have English menus. Expect a per-withdrawal fee typically in the ¥110–220 range plus your own bank's charge, so make fewer, larger withdrawals.

For a typical city trip (Tokyo–Kyoto–Osaka, one local restaurant meal a day) the model on this page lands around ¥3,000–4,000 per person per day in actual cash, which matches what experienced travellers report carrying. Street-food-heavy itineraries and countryside days push it to ¥6,000–8,000. Use the calculator rather than the single number — the answer depends on where you eat and whether you leave the cities.

No, but it is cash-first in exactly the places a visitor ends up. The official cashless payment ratio reached about 58% in 2025 (METI, March 2026); the remaining cash economy is concentrated in small izakaya, ticket-machine restaurants, shrines, festival stalls and rural buses. Cities and chains take cards; the memorable meals often don't.

Small izakaya and family-run restaurants, ticket-machine ramen and curry counters, shrine and temple admissions, festival and market stalls, rural buses, and some coin lockers and laundrettes. Convenience stores, department stores, hotels, trains in the big cities and chain restaurants take cards or IC cards. Plan cash around the first list, not the second.

About 8.45% on general goods and about 6.45% on food and non-alcoholic drinks, of the pre-tax price, after a typical 1.55% handling fee. Not the flat 10% that most refund calculators show: Japan charges consumption tax at two rates (10% standard, 8% reduced on food and non-alcoholic drinks, alcohol always 10%), and tax-free shopping refunds only the tax actually charged, minus the operator's fee.

¥3,000, up from ¥1,000, for departures from 1 July 2026. It is collected inside the airfare rather than paid at the airport, so most travellers never see it as a separate line.

Less than its reputation suggests: the cashless payment ratio reached about 58% in 2025 (METI). But the remaining cash-first economy is concentrated exactly where a visitor ends up — small izakaya, ticket-machine restaurants, shrines, festival stalls and rural buses — so the ratio does not mean you can travel without yen.

Each row on the data page names its source and the date it was last checked: METI for the cashless ratio, JNTO and japan-guide for the tax-free system, and department-store and refund-operator practice for the handling-fee range. Figures that are planning models rather than published numbers are labelled as estimates.

Spend them as you go at convenience store self-checkouts, which have a coin tray that counts the whole handful. On the last day, Pocket Change kiosks at major airports convert leftover yen to digital money, or use an airport donation box.

Generally no. Currency exchange counters outside Japan accept notes but refuse coins, so whatever metal is in your pocket when you fly is effectively a souvenir.

Spend them down as you go — pay with coins at the konbini from day one and the mountain never forms, and vending and ticket machines take them happily. On the last day, Pocket Change kiosks at major airports, big electronics stores and some stations convert leftover yen including coins (up to 50 per go) into PayPal, Amazon gift cards or transit top-ups. Exchange counters outside Japan generally refuse coins, so whatever leaves the country in your pocket is a souvenir.

Only a token amount, if it helps you feel calm. Withdrawing yen in Japan from a 7-Eleven or Japan Post ATM is normally the better rate than a currency counter at your home airport, and those two networks are the reliable ones for foreign cards. The real preparation is not exchanging cash - it is carrying two cards from two different banks, and knowing that the machine at a small station may never have accepted foreign cards at all.

It is worth five minutes. Japanese card failures have three causes and your bank owns one of them: an issuer fraud block on an unfamiliar country. A travel notice, or at least the bank's app installed on your phone so you can answer the “was this you?” prompt, removes that cause. It does not help with the other two - Japan's 3-D Secure requirement online, and machines that never took foreign cards.

Six categories you can skip: currency converters (memorise one anchor and always pay in yen), tipping calculators (Japan does not tip), JR Pass calculators (since the 2023 price rise the nationwide pass rarely pays off for a Tokyo-Kyoto-Osaka trip), dedicated phrasebook apps (Translate plus five words covers it), Wi-Fi finder apps (a dead category once you have an eSIM), and a second or third transit app just in case.

The rate at the moment each expense happened, not the rate on the last day. Converting everything at one closing rate quietly moves money between people: whoever paid early, when the yen was cheaper or dearer, absorbs the difference. Lock the rate per expense and the yen total and everyone's home-currency share both stay honest.

A small appetizer served automatically at izakaya and billed per person, typically ¥300–600. It functions as a seat charge with food attached. In western Japan it is called tsukidashi.

Most izakaya will not remove it, even if you do not touch the dish, because it is a seating charge rather than an order. Some places used to foreign customers may waive it if you ask politely before anything is served.

No. It is a standard charge that lets a venue with no tipping and no minimum spend hold a table for you. A charge well above the normal range with no explanation at a nightlife bar is a different matter.

Otoshi (お通し; tsukidashi in western Japan) is a small appetizer served automatically at izakaya and casual drinking places and billed per person, typically ¥300–¥600. It is a seat charge in the shape of a dish, and yes, you pay it — it is the floor that keeps the lights on. What you don't pay: a charge far above that range with no explanation (¥1,000+ per head at an ordinary bar) is not otoshi culture, and the right response is to leave politely and not return.

Free, with no account, no install, no trial and no paid tier. There is nothing to upgrade to. The site carries no display ads; it exists because the same person writes the Japan money guides here, and some of those link to things worth booking.

No. One person starts the trip and shares a link; everyone else opens it in a browser and picks which traveller they are. There is no account to create, so there is nobody to chase for a password on the last night of the trip.

In your own browser, and inside the share link itself. Nothing is uploaded - there are no SplitJapan servers holding your trip, which also means nobody can reset it for you if you clear your browser data and lose the link. Keep the link.

Yes. Logging expenses works with no signal, because the maths happens in your browser. The only thing that needs data is fetching a fresh exchange rate - and rates are locked at the moment you enter an expense, so an offline entry simply uses the last rate it had.

The rate at the moment each expense was entered, locked to that expense. This is the part that causes arguments in other tools: if you convert everything at the rate on the last day, whoever paid early is quietly subsidising everyone. Locking per expense means the yen amount and each person's home-currency share both stay true.

It calculates the minimum number of transfers that clears every balance - one line like “Emma pays Ben ¥9,230” instead of forty small IOUs between six people. You settle once, at the end, in each person's own currency.

Yes, as a tracker: mark a purchase as tax-free and it keeps a running total per person, which matters because Japan's ¥5,000 minimum is per store, per day, pre-tax - and from 1 November 2026 the refund is claimed when you leave the country rather than discounted in store.

Tricount and Splid are free and unlimited if everyone will install an app. SplitJapan is a web page with no accounts or installs, built specifically for yen-denominated group trips, but it is young and has no real-time multi-editor sync.

Since its acquisition the free tier has been squeezed: free users are limited to a handful of expense entries per day and currency conversion sits behind the Pro subscription.

The one that does free currency conversion and that your friends will actually open. Splitwise's core design is still good, but its free tier now limits expense entries per day and puts currency conversion behind Pro — and conversion is essential the moment you are spending yen. SplitJapan (ours, so read the comparison table with that in mind) is free, needs no account and no install, logs in yen and settles in each person's currency; the honest comparison on this page includes its weaknesses.

With a web page instead of an app: one person starts a trip and shares a link, everyone else opens it in a browser and picks their name. There is nothing to install and no account to create, so nobody has to be chased for a password on the last night. Data lives in the browser and in the link itself.

iPhones have Suica built into Apple Wallet and can top up with Apple Pay. Most Android phones bought outside Japan lack the FeliCa chip and cannot use Mobile Suica at all, so a physical card is the answer.

Not for tourist-oriented Welcome Suica. The physical card expires after 28 days and the mobile version after 180 days, and the remaining balance is not refunded. Spend it down before you fly.

Topping up a physical card at station machines is effectively a cash transaction; foreign credit cards do not work there. Phone-based Suica can top up from Apple Pay instead.

If you have an iPhone, you already have one: add Suica in Apple Wallet before you land and skip the queues. If you have an Android phone bought outside Japan it almost certainly lacks the FeliCa chip, so get a physical card (regular unregistered Suica and PASMO sales resumed in March 2025) and treat it as a cash wallet. Either way, a Suica makes trains, buses, vending machines and konbini effortless — just don't leave a balance on a tourist card that expires.

Yes. The tourist-oriented Welcome Suica card is valid for 28 days and the Welcome Suica Mobile app version for 180 days. When they expire, any remaining balance is gone — a refund effectively requires a Japanese bank account. Spend it down on your way to the airport.

Usually not. Mobile Suica needs FeliCa hardware (Osaifu-Keitai), and most Android phones sold outside Japan simply lack the chip. iPhones sold worldwide have had it for years, which is why Apple Wallet can add a Suica natively. Foreign-Android users should get a physical card instead.

Yes, and the useful part is not Apple Pay with your home card — it is that Apple Wallet can hold a native Suica. Add one before you land, top it up from your card, and it works on trains, buses, vending machines and most shops with no extra app. Your home card via Apple Pay works where cards are accepted; the Suica works in the cash-first places too.

A tourist Welcome Suica: effectively no — the balance is lost at expiry and a refund needs a Japanese bank account. A regular Suica can be refunded at a JR East ticket office for a ¥220 fee, so spend it down or keep it for next time rather than queueing for a small refund.

One payer per venue, log the expense before you stand up, never settle mid-trip, and settle once at the end. Restaurants often will not split bills and much of the spending is cash that leaves no statement.

Repaying in cash all week creates change and coins for everyone, so the group ends up with several coin piles instead of one clean settlement.

One payer per venue. At restaurants one person pays the whole table — it is faster, it works at cash-only places, it is what the staff hope you will do, and the otoshi seat charge lands on one bill anyway. Rotate loosely if it feels fairer. The rule that matters more: nobody settles mid-trip. Repaying each other in cash all week creates four coin mountains instead of one; settle once on the last night.

Log every expense in yen, the currency it actually happened in, and lock the exchange rate at the moment of the expense. Then each person's balance shows in their own home currency. Converting everything at one closing rate quietly moves money between people — whoever paid early absorbs the difference — which is the argument most group trips end on.

About seven: Google Maps, Google Translate with the offline pack, Suica (built into Apple Wallet on iPhone), Visit Japan Web as a bookmark, your eSIM provider's app, the GO taxi app registered before you leave home, and a bill splitter if you travel as a group.

No, it is a website. Register before your flight and screenshot the QR codes, because airport Wi-Fi queues are real.

Google Maps for almost everything — train routes, transfers, walking. Its two Japan-specific blind spots: inside huge stations it treats the station as a dot (trust the physical signs underground), and small-restaurant hours are unreliable. One backup is plenty: Navitime's route search is genuinely good for rural rail. Buy tickets from official machines or sites, not third-party resellers.

Google Translate with the Japanese offline pack downloaded before you fly — that is the whole tip. Camera mode handles printed menus and signs. Skip dedicated phrasebook apps: Translate covers emergencies, and five memorised words (sumimasen, arigatou, kudasai, betsu-betsu, issho) cover culture.

No. Not at restaurants, taxis, hotels, hairdressers or ramen counters. Leaving money on a table usually results in staff chasing you down the street to return it.

Service economics appear as fixed line items instead: otoshi of ¥300–600 per person at izakaya, a 10–15% service charge at hotels and high-end restaurants, a posted table charge at some bars, and a roughly 20% late-night taxi meter between about 10pm and 5am.

Rarely and always optionally: private guides who work mainly with Western clients sometimes accept tips, and kokorozuke at a high-end ryokan is a fading tradition. If you do it, money goes in an envelope, never as bare notes.

Confusion, not gratitude. Staff will often chase you to return the money, because service is considered part of the job rather than something the customer pays for separately. The bill is the number on the paper — no percentage, no "does that include service". Leave nothing and thank them; that is the correct tip.

No. Not taxis, not restaurants, not hotels, not haircuts. Pay the meter; the driver will give exact change. Late-night rides carry a surcharge that is on the meter, not a tip.

Modelled at 2026 prices for mid-range hotels and mostly izakaya dinners, roughly ¥250,000–348,000 per person in land costs, excluding flights.

Usually not since the 2023 price increase. For that itinerary, point-to-point tickets are typically cheaper. Do the arithmetic for your own route before buying.

The transparent model on this page for four friends over 12 days lands at roughly ¥250,000–348,000 land cost per person (about US$1,700–2,300 at ¥150/USD), which is about ¥21,000–29,000 per person per day including accommodation, food, transport and the odd taxi. Sub-¥200k per person is achievable with hostels and fewer izakaya nights; ryokan stays with kaiseki dinners push the top end up fast.

Less than its reputation suggests once you see the arithmetic. Food and transport are moderate — a ramen bowl ¥900–1,300, a casual lunch set ¥1,000–1,500 — and the yen has been weak against most home currencies. Where the money goes is nights out (otoshi, drinks, izakaya) and accommodation choice; those are the two levers in the budget model on this page.

Sometimes. The phrase is betsu-betsu, and it usually works at chain restaurants and casual lunch spots. At busy izakaya it is often refused, and course menus or all-you-can-drink bookings are always one bill.

Point-of-sale systems track the table rather than the seat, so itemising shared plates means staff reconstructing your evening from memory during the dinner rush.

One person pays the whole table and the group settles privately afterwards. It is faster, it works at cash-only places, and it is what Japanese groups do.

You mostly don't — at the register. Separate checks (betsu-betsu) exist and "betsu-betsu de onegaishimasu" is normal Japanese, but at busy izakaya the system assumes one person pays the table and the maths happens afterwards, away from the register. The approach experienced travellers use: one payer per venue, log the total in yen while you put your shoes back on, settle once at the end of the trip in each person's own currency.

Three common causes: the card is not enrolled in 3-D Secure, which Japan requires for online card payments; your bank's fraud engine blocked a first-ever yen transaction; or the verification SMS cannot reach a data-only travel eSIM.

In-person payments do not use 3-D Secure, so a card that is not enrolled will pass at a till and fail online. Buying at a station counter is the reliable fallback.

Always yen. Accepting the home-currency option is dynamic currency conversion, which hands the exchange rate to the merchant's payment provider and typically costs several percent.

Because Japan requires 3-D Secure for online card payments and shops don't use it. If your card was never enrolled by your home bank — common for some US-issued cards — sites like SmartEX or Eki-Net reject it with a generic "cannot be used" message while the same card works fine at a register. Enrol via your card app before you fly, or use the offline escape hatch: ticket counters and station machines take the physical card in person.