Money in Japan
The parts of this that do not change week to week: what the notes are, which ATMs take a card from home, that the card you tap at the gate also pays in shops, and what the tax already in the price is.
The notes
Four denominations are currently issued: ¥10,000, ¥5,000, ¥2,000 and ¥1,000. The ¥2,000 note is one of them, which surprises people who have never been handed one. Bank of Japan
A new series was issued on 3 July 2024: Shibusawa Eiichi on the ¥10,000, Tsuda Umeko on the ¥5,000, Kitasato Shibasaburo on the ¥1,000. National Printing Bureau
The older notes did not stop working. Of the 56 kinds issued since 1885, 25 are still legal tender; the 31 that are not lost it under special measures in 1927, 1946 and 1953. Anything from the last seventy years still spends. Bank of Japan
Cash from a card you brought
Two networks publish which foreign cards they take, and both are everywhere in Osaka: the post office and the 7-Eleven on the corner. A card carrying one of these marks can still be refused; both banks say so themselves.
Japan Post Bank
VISA · PLUS · Mastercard · Maestro · Cirrus · JCB · China UnionPay · DISCOVER
- Per withdrawal
- ¥50,000
- Bank charge
- ¥220 incl. tax for some foreign cards
- Services
- Cash withdrawal only. No balance enquiry.
- Hours (bank ATMs)
- 07:00-23:00 Mon-Sat, 07:00-21:00 Sun and holidays
- Hours (FamilyMart ATMs)
- 00:05-23:55 daily; from 07:00 on the third Monday
Seven Bank (7-Eleven)
VISA · PLUS · Mastercard · Maestro · Cirrus · UnionPay · American Express · JCB · DISCOVER · Diners Club
- Per withdrawal
- ¥100,000
- Magnetic stripe card
- ¥30,000
- Bank charge
- Varies by brand; the page does not print an amount
- Hours
- VISA and Mastercard 00:00-24:00; other brands stop for a few minutes around midnight
The transit card is also money
The balance on an ICOCA pays at station convenience stores and restaurants, at drink vending machines, at coin lockers and at shops in town. Anywhere showing Kitaca, PASMO, Suica, manaca, TOICA, Hayakaken, nimoca or SUGOCA takes ICOCA too. JR West
The card will not hold more than ¥20,000, so it is a wallet for the day, not for the trip.
The tax is already in the price
Consumption tax is 10% (7.8% national and 2.2% local). A reduced 8% (6.24% and 1.76%) applies to food and drink other than alcohol, but not to eating in, and to newspapers published at least twice a week on a subscription. Rates as of 2026-04-01. National Tax Agency
The agency's page also announces a further, temporary cut on food from 2027-04-01 to 2029-03-31. It states the period but not the rate, and points readers to a separate site for it, so no rate is printed here.
What this page will not tell you
- An exchange rate, or where to change money. Rates move every day and a page built last week would be wrong today.
- Whether a particular shop takes cards, or how much of Osaka is cash only. We have no source for that we would stand behind.
- Which SIM or eSIM to buy. Those products are replaced every season, so a dated page is wrong within months.
Sources
- Bank of Japan: banknotes and coins in issue
- Bank of Japan: which older notes are still valid
- National Printing Bureau: the 2024 series
- Japan Post Bank: ATM service for cards issued overseas
- Seven Bank: which overseas cards work
- Seven Bank: hours and limits by brand
- JR West: ICOCA as electronic money
- National Tax Agency: consumption tax rates
Read 2026-09-24. Every figure above is the publisher's own; none is averaged, rounded or turned into advice. Banks change fees and limits, so check the bank's page before you rely on one.
