Cash, cards and the stuff in between.
Japan has a reputation for being cash-only and confusing. It isn't anymore. Here's exactly how we paid for a near-three-week family trip: what we used cash for, what we tapped a card for, how the kids' IC cards doubled as pocket money, and the small mistakes that are easy to avoid.
We travelled in September 2025. Money rules and rates move, so we've kept the numbers loose and flagged anything time-sensitive. Last reviewed June 2026.
Carry both, lean on neither.
Japan used to run on cash. That story is out of date. Cards now work in the convenience stores, the big chains, department stores, hotels and most city restaurants. For a family, one bank card plus an IC card covers the overwhelming majority of what you'll spend.
But cash hasn't vanished. Small family-run restaurants, especially the ones where you order from a ticket machine at the door, temples and shrines, market stalls, festivals and the odd rural spot are still cash or IC only. The fix is simple: keep some yen on you and you'll never be the family holding up the queue.
Our own rhythm was easy. Cash for the small everyday stuff, a card for the bigger tickets. More on exactly how we split it below.
Use the convenience-store ATMs.
We pulled cash out as we went rather than carrying a big stack, and almost always at a 7-Eleven. They are on practically every corner, open around the clock, and the machine switches to English with one tap.
Two networks reliably take foreign cards: 7-Eleven (Seven Bank) and Japan Post, the latter handy out in the countryside. A lot of local bank ATMs will simply reject an overseas card, or only work in business hours, so don't gamble on a random machine when a konbini is usually a minute away.
Two things to expect. There's a small withdrawal fee on top of whatever your home bank charges, so take out a sensible chunk rather than tiny amounts over and over. And if the screen asks whether to bill you in Australian dollars or yen, choose yen (see the next section for why).
Visa or Mastercard, tapped.
Day to day we ran a simple split: cash for the little things, card for the bigger ones. Restaurants, hotels and the larger shops all went on a Visa or Mastercard, usually tapped straight from Google Pay on our phones. Contactless is normal now in the cities.
Stick to Visa or Mastercard. They're accepted almost everywhere a card is taken. Amex is patchier, so don't make it your only card. Carry two cards on different networks and a little cash, and you've got a fallback for the rare terminal that's fussy.
The one habit worth drilling in: whenever a terminal or ATM asked if we wanted to be charged in Australian dollars instead of yen, we always said no and paid in yen. Paying in your home currency sounds helpful but quietly bakes in a worse exchange rate. Always choose the local currency.
Last thing before you fly: tell your bank you're heading to Japan, or flip the travel-notice switch in its app. Cards that work fine at home sometimes get auto-blocked on the first foreign transaction.
The card that's also a wallet.
A Suica, Pasmo or ICOCA is a prepaid tap card for trains and buses, but here's the bit people miss: it also pays at vending machines, convenience stores, lockers and plenty of shops. It's the single most useful thing in a family's pocket.
We went with physical cards, and for us that wasn't really a choice. We're a Google Pixel family, and a foreign Android phone can't load a mobile Suica (that trick needs Japanese hardware, and the Apple Wallet version is iPhone only). Honestly, physical was better for the kids anyway. We popped a card in each boy's lanyard and they tapped themselves through every gate.
Top-up is the one catch. Reloading a physical card at a station machine is usually cash only, so keep a few notes back for it. And each card maxes out at ¥20,000, which is plenty for daily spending.
For the kids: children aged six to eleven ride at half fare on a child IC card, but you have to buy those at a staffed ticket counter with the child's passport, not from a machine. Under-sixes travel free.
Our favourite money moment of the trip: we never told the boys their "train cards" worked anywhere else. On the last morning we let them in on the secret and turned them loose to spend whatever was left on the balance. Two kids, a row of vending machines, and the most thrilling shopping spree of their lives.
Don't change money at the airport back home.
The exchange booth at your home airport is almost always the worst rate going. You can order yen before you leave for convenience, but you pay for that convenience in the rate. We didn't bother. We just landed and withdrew our first yen from a 7-Eleven, then topped up as we went.
A multi-currency travel card like Wise or Revolut is a tidy option too. They hold yen at close to the real exchange rate and give you a few low-fee ATM withdrawals, which beats airport counters comfortably. If you go with Revolut, just note its weekend exchange surcharge and time top-ups for weekdays.
One bit of good news for travellers from Australia, the UK and the US: the yen has been weak for a while, so Japan has felt genuinely good value. Rates move, so check today's before you read too much into any number.
Worth knowing if you plan a big spend.
We didn't chase tax-free shopping ourselves, the family budget went on experiences, not gadgets. But tourists can claim back Japan's 10% consumption tax on bigger purchases, so if you're eyeing electronics, cosmetics or a department-store haul, it's real money worth knowing about. Bring your passport, it's required either way.
Heads up, the system changes on 1 November 2026. Before that date, you show your passport in store and buy tax-free on the spot, above a roughly ¥5,000 threshold. From 1 November 2026, you pay the full price including tax, then claim the refund at the airport as you leave the country. If your trip straddles that date, check which rule applies. We cover it, and the other Japan costs that shifted this year, in what to sort before you fly.
Correct as we understand it in 2026. Tax rules shift, so confirm the current process before relying on it.
Quick answers to the worries.
The same handful of money questions come up before every first trip. Here's our honest take on each.
- Do you tip in Japan?
- No. Tipping is not a thing here, and leaving money can cause confusion rather than gratitude. Good service is simply the standard. Keep your coins.
- Is it safe to carry cash?
- Yes. Japan has some of the lowest street crime in the world, and a famously honest lost-and-found culture. We never once felt nervous carrying yen. Use the usual common sense, but a cash-heavy day is genuinely low stress here.
- Can the kids use their IC cards as money?
- Yes, and this delighted ours. A Suica, Pasmo or ICOCA works at vending machines, convenience stores and loads of shops, not just train gates. Let them spend the leftover balance on the last day.
- What do I do with all the coins?
- They pile up fast. Vending machines are the cure, they take coins happily and they are everywhere. The kids treated them as a game. You can also load loose change onto an IC card.
- Can I pay with my phone?
- Tap-to-pay with Google Pay or Apple Pay works at most card terminals. Just know that a foreign Android phone cannot load a Suica (that needs Japanese hardware), so you still want a physical IC card for the trains.
- Which ATMs take foreign cards?
- Default to 7-Eleven (Seven Bank) and Japan Post. They reliably accept overseas cards, run around the clock and switch to English. Plenty of local bank ATMs will refuse a foreign card, so do not rely on a random machine.
Plan it the way we would.
We planned this trip ourselves, paid for it ourselves, and wrote down what worked and what did not. All of it is on the site, free, with nothing to sign up for.
- Where to go, and how long to give each place
- What to book ahead, and what to skip
- Getting around with kids, without the guesswork
- What it actually cost us
The planning guides
Flights, trains, money, food, insurance and where to stay. Written after the trip, not before it.
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