Value Village ／ Before you come to Japan
This answer is a draft. It stays unpublished until legal review and source verification are complete.
Japan uses less cash than it did, but a visitor still needs some — for small restaurants, shrines, rural areas and some taxis. Which ATM works with a foreign card, what it costs, and when the machines close are the questions that cause airport panic.
| ATM | Cards | Hours | Fee (ATM side) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seven Bank (7-Eleven) | Visa, Mastercard, JCB, Amex, UnionPay, Plus, Cirrus, Discover | 24 h | ¥0–220 depending on card network and amount | English, Chinese, Korean and more; limit ¥100,000/transaction for most cards |
| Japan Post Bank (ゆうちょ) | Visa, Mastercard, JCB, Amex, UnionPay, Plus, Cirrus | Post office hours; some 24 h | ¥110–220 | Found in every town, including rural; limit ¥50,000 per transaction |
| Lawson Bank (Lawson stores) | Major networks | 24 h | ¥110–220 | — |
| Aeon Bank (Aeon malls, some FamilyMart) | Major networks | Long hours | Varies | — |
| Airport / station international ATMs | All | Long hours | Varies | Queues on arrival |
| Ordinary bank ATMs (MUFG, SMBC, Mizuho, regional) | Mostly Japanese cards only | Often close at night and on Sundays; fees after hours | — | Do not rely on these |
[Verify] ATM acceptance and fees with Seven Bank and Japan Post Bank; cashless ratio with METI's annual figures.
Most bank ATMs do not. 7-Eleven (Seven Bank) and post offices are the dependable ones, 24 hours in the former case.
ATM withdrawal in Japan is usually cheaper than airport exchange counters or pre-ordered cash, even with fees.
Over 40% cashless (42.8% in 2024) and rising; cards and IC cards handle most city spending. Carry a cash buffer for the exceptions (see the cash-and-cards article).
Seven Bank and Japan Post ATMs switch to English (and several other languages) at the first screen.
Each withdrawal carries fixed fees on both sides; Japan is safe enough that ¥50,000–100,000 per withdrawal is the economical choice for most visitors.
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https://www.sevenbank.co.jp/intlcard/
https://www.jp-bank.japanpost.jp/en/
https://www.meti.go.jp/policy/mono_info_service/cashless/
⚠️ Editorial note: the source URLs above were identified by search. Our working environment cannot reach go.jp domains, so the contents have not been checked against the text. Verify every source before publication and record who checked it and when.
What we share here are ideas and everyday practices passed down among people living in Japan, together with general information drawn from public sources. They are not official recommendations, and they are not professional instruction. Practices vary between households and regions.
This is general information. Results vary from person to person and depend on your own conditions and surroundings.
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