Cash, traveler’s checks, or credit cards?
Major credit cards are accepted in Japan, but not nearly as widely as in the US. And, as a general rule, they are accepted more widely in large cities like Tokyo. And traveler’s checks are not accepted in small cities either. Japanese cash (yen) is accepted everywhere all the time. We will have a session on handling Japanese money during our pre-trip meetings so that you become comfortable with it. At this writing the exchange rate is 104 yen to 1 US dollar. So, if you are trying to compute relative values, just take the price in yen and move the decimal over two places to the left. Something that sells for 2,000 yen is worth, roughly, $20 US. It is always a good idea to have some Japanese currency in hand before departure. We advise that you have at least $100 worth of yen on your person before you board the aircraft. Also bear in mind that there are limited places to exchange money in Tateyama, and that we’ll be spending the weekend there when banks are closed. The best advice comes
