Avoiding Japanese Converter Charge

[nyappyrebecca]

I went to Japan last summer for a couple of weeks and I knew there was going to be a converter charge from the ATMs in Japan. I was stunned at how much they charged me. I know that you can get money converted at airports, but I don't want to carry too much cash on me at once. And the exchange rate is bad enough this year. Is there any way to solve this?

[gerald_ford]

I went to Japan last summer for a couple of weeks and I knew there was going to be a converter charge from the ATMs in Japan. I was stunned at how much they charged me. I know that you can get money converted at airports, but I don't want to carry too much cash on me at once. And the exchange rate is bad enough this year. Is there any way to solve this?

Hm, honestly, not really. That's the price of doing business in two currencies as it were. Speaking from experience, as much as I dislike carrying around a bunch of bills, I think you're still much better off getting conversion done well ahead of your trip to Japan. ATMs aren't too convenient there anyways (nor does every store take credit), so cash is still the order of the day.

Like you said, the exchange rate is pretty bad right now, but your best chance of getting a relatively better rate is to convert at a local bank in the US, and avoiding airports or currency conversion stores. The conversion rate isn't so bad as the extra fees they put on top.

Best of luck in any case.

[nyappyrebecca]

Does anyone know if they accept travelers checks or not?