Money in Japan: cash, Suica and one scare

I arrived in Japan thinking that, being such a technologically advanced country, I'd barely need cash. I was pretty wrong, and here's what I learned about money along the way.

The first thing I did on arrival was get a Suica card, which is probably the best practical decision of the whole trip. You can load it onto Apple Wallet even before traveling, something I didn't know until I was already there.

My first scare came at a small temple that only accepted cash — something we found out with our wallets almost empty of yen, at a bad moment. From that day on we always carried some cash on us just in case.

With the JR Pass I did the maths and saw it didn't pay off on my route: I used individual tickets for the long journeys and a Suica to get around inside the cities. If you're unsure, add up the journeys on your route and compare them with the pass price.

In Japan, technology and cash coexist a lot more than I expected, and having both ready from day one avoids more than one bad moment.

Taxis, which in Spain we tend to use fairly freely, in Japan we reserved almost for emergencies: they're spotlessly clean and punctual to the second, but also fairly expensive compared to the train.

Cash, ATMs and a transport card

Japan remains a very cash-dependent society: temples, markets, family restaurants and many small businesses only accept yen in hand. Always carry between 5,000 and 10,000 yen for everyday use.

Not all Japanese ATMs accept foreign cards: regular bank ones usually don't. The ones that almost always work are at 7-Eleven stores (Seven Bank), Japan Post Bank and Lawson, found in any city.

To get around, a rechargeable IC card (Suica, Pasmo or ICOCA) is practically essential: it pays for trains, buses, vending machines and most konbini. A Suica costs around 1,000 yen to start, of which 500 is a refundable deposit. And there's no tipping in Japan: a simple "arigatou gozaimasu" is more than enough.

The Japan Rail Pass

You buy it before traveling and activate it on arrival, choosing the day it starts counting. Approximate prices for the national pass in standard class: 7 days, about 53,000 yen; 14 days, about 84,000; 21 days, about 105,000 (prices since October 2026). It doesn't cover the fastest trains, like the Nozomi or the Mizuho. When it pays off is explained in Japan Rail Pass: is it worth it?, and the real costs in how much it costs to travel to Japan.