Where/When to Get Japanese Yen for Trip in April

Lnecromen13 on 30/01/2015 - 11:58

Hi,

My boyfriend and I will be travelling to Japan in April and I was hoping to get some advice from the travellers on here about the best way to exchange AUD into YEN, especially with the Aussie dollar falling at the moment.

Should I exchange now or later?
Where should I exchange? I know everyone says to use the 28degrees card but I'm looking for an exchange that doesn't require signing up for a credit card. We currently have banking with both Westpac and Commbank.

I've been told to exchange here before we go as the currency exchange in Japan is even more skewed to diminish the AUD, is this true?

I suppose I'm looking for somewhere to exchange into cash, and somewhere to exhange onto a card to use as a backup. This is our first time travelling so I'm a little overwhelmed by all the planning, any help is appreciated :)

Thank you in advance

Travel

Comments

  • DealzEddy123 on 30/01/2015 - 13:14
    +2

    whats wrong with signing up for a credit card.
    Get a Citiplus transaction account (not a credit card) which will let you withdraw yen when you're in Japan.

    Otherwise exchagne ur AUD cash at :

    KVB Kunlun
    120 Collins Street

    they're your best bet for rates in Australia as they specialise in Asian currency especially CNY AND JPY. also asian run so probably smaller margins than banks

    • nismo on 25/04/2015 - 18:17
      +1

      Thanks for posting about KB Kunlun, didn't know about them. Grabbed some Yen (En) at the Melbourne branch last week, ¥92.1 per $1 AUD - yes please!

  • DealzEddy123 on 30/01/2015 - 13:25

    also do you really want to be carrying large amounts of cash when you travel? the benefit with having a credit card or Citi ATM card is that you can take out a couple hundred at a time without worrying about losing all of it.

    and finally how much do you intend to be spending?

    In my opinion if you're going to be spending say, around $3000, the small differences in exchange rate… say between 2-5% only ends up being around $60-$150

    Is it worth stressing so much about it? I usually just exchange when im in the country unless I'll be spending more than say 3k in cash

  • Shibuya on 30/01/2015 - 13:25

    KVB Kunlun + 1.
    I too will be heading there in mid April.

  • Gunther on 30/01/2015 - 14:19
    +1

    Citibank Plus transaction account +2

  • nkbswe5 on 30/01/2015 - 14:36
    +1

    I was in Japan last week and it was my first time travelling overseas.
    I found getting a Citibank Plus transaction account - a DEBIT card - was the best option. As suggested already.
    You can withdraw at 7-11 and Lawsons I believe, which are ridiculously easy to find wherever you are.

    The card itself has no fees - no withdraw fees overseas, no yearly fees or whatever. The downside is somewhat dodgy/lazy customer service and you don't accumulate interest if you leave money sitting in the account.

    I literally took no money with me and just withdrew at the airport and I was good to go.

    If you're deadset against signing up for a new card, I guess take the Collins St advice :)

    • necromen13 on 30/01/2015 - 15:35

      Did you get charged any fees from Visa for using the card? The CB T&Cs says that they don't charge fee but that the 3rd party provider might, so I was curious if that's the case.

      And did you get a decent exchange rate?

      • nkbswe5 on 04/02/2015 - 19:27

        The exchange rate wasn't the best out there, but it was by far the most convenient. It was maybe 1c - 2c less than it could've been from memory.

        Some stores charge for using a VISA, I'm pretty sure Yodabashi did because they claimed 5% off for using VISA cards but the receipt only took off really 1% off the total price after tax. But withdrawing I didn't get charged.

  • necromen13 on 30/01/2015 - 15:37

    Thank you for the replies guys, I didn't know Citibank had a debit card as well with no fees, will be looking into it.

    Might also try KVB to get some cash before the trip and have some backup on the card.

  • Smiley82 on 30/01/2015 - 16:05

    Any recommendations in Brisbane for somewhere similar to KVB Kunlun?

    I have a large amount of Yen I'm looking to cash back, so trying to find the best rates.

    Thanks in advance.

    • DealzEddy123 on 31/01/2015 - 22:19

      there may be a KVB Kunlun is bris? check their website

      edit: nope their aint

  • gabbasan on 30/01/2015 - 16:15

    I've been to Japan a few times, most businesses will operate mainly with cash. Depending on where you are travelling not many places use card.
    Normally we take some cash with us (exchanged at Auspost because its easy) and if you have cirrus or plus bank card you can withdraw from atms located at most post offices (Checkout your fees attached to your card for international withdrawal).
    Check out the whirlpool thread http://whirlpool.net.au/wiki/japantravelfaq it's pretty handy for info on this and a number of other basic things over there.
    Japan is an awesome place to travel to most people are very helpful even if you are gaijin, you'll have a blast over there.

  • [Deactivated] on 30/01/2015 - 19:41

    +1 Kvb Kunlun, sydney branch at: http://www.kvbkunlun.com/en/html/contactus/Contact_address_s…

    I've used them abt 8-9 times, if you can speak mandarin take both an English and Chinese service ticket when you arrive, sometimes one queue moves faster than the other. Experienced a 90 min wait once around lunch - best to go earlier in morning if possible, sometimes little or no queue in non peak times.

    Avoid changing cash at a Japanese bank in Japan, rates are awful. Travel cards are a good option but you will need cash for some restaurants / ticket machines

  • Kiwires on 03/02/2015 - 21:34

    Keep this website handy to locate your nearest Citibank ATMs: http://www.findmyciti.com/jp/ if you decide to go with their Debit Card. Highly recommended.

  • Luminary on 05/02/2015 - 12:07

    +1 for KVB Kunlun. The rates on the Citibank card is so good it's bad. Spent way more than I should have because I was just swiping away haha. This may also be of use to you for planning. http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=2332509

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