Where to exchange money in Japan and get a fair yen rate

The official mid-market rate is your benchmark

Every exchange offer should be measured against something. The daily reference rate published by central banks is that something: a mid-market figure with no profit margin built in, updated each working day. In mid-2026 it puts the yen at roughly 159 to the US dollar and 184 to the euro.

No counter or bank will match this exactly — the spread is how they earn. The useful question is how wide it is. Open JPY Converter, look at the mid-rate, and compare it with the rate you are being offered. Within about 2% is a good deal. More than 5% below the mid-rate means you are paying a substantial premium for convenience.

Your options, from cheapest to most expensive

Card payment in yen is generally the best value. Modern travel cards and most mainstream debit cards apply something close to the interbank rate. The one rule: always decline dynamic currency conversion. If the terminal asks whether to charge in your home currency, choose yen. Accepting typically costs 3–7%.

ATM withdrawal is next, and is how most visitors get their cash. Seven Bank ATMs — in essentially every 7-Eleven, so thousands nationwide, many open 24 hours — accept foreign cards and have English menus. Japan Post Bank ATMs are equally reliable, and machines in Lawson and FamilyMart usually work. Ordinary Japanese bank ATMs often reject foreign cards outright. Expect a small fixed machine fee plus whatever your own bank charges, which is why one larger withdrawal beats several small ones. Decline DCC here too.

City exchange desks — currency shops in Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ginza and around major stations — are competitive by international standards and worth using if you prefer to carry cash from home. Rates vary noticeably between neighbouring shops, so it pays to glance at two.

Airport counters are the most convenient and the most expensive. Japan's airport rates are less punishing than in many countries, but you are still paying for the location. Change a small amount for the train into the city, and get the rest from an ATM later.

Hotel front desks should be a last resort: limited amounts and the weakest rates of the lot.

Where the rates in JPY Converter come from

The app uses official central bank reference rates for all 23 of its currencies, updated once per working day. That covers everything from the euro and the US dollar to the New Taiwan dollar and the Vietnamese dong — which matters if you are travelling to Japan from Taipei or Ho Chi Minh City and want the same benchmark treatment.

These are mid-market rates: no markup, no spread, nothing added. That is exactly what makes them useful as a yardstick. The app is not offering to exchange your money — it is telling you what the money is actually worth, so you can judge what someone else is offering.

For the pair figures themselves see the USD to JPY and EUR to JPY guides. For how much cash to change in the first place, see cash or card in Japan.

Practical tips before you fly

A few habits that keep the cost of getting yen close to zero:

• Tell your bank you are travelling so a Tokyo ATM withdrawal is not flagged as fraud on day one.
• Check your card's foreign transaction fee before choosing which card to bring. A card with no foreign-transaction fee changes the maths completely.
• Withdraw in larger, less frequent amounts to dilute fixed per-withdrawal fees — while staying within what you are comfortable carrying.
• Do not over-change on arrival. Converting leftover yen back at the end of a trip costs you the spread a second time.
• Keep the app usable offline. Rates are stored on device, so you can check the mid-rate standing in front of an exchange counter with no signal at all.