Payment in Japan
Japan is often referred to as a cash-based society, and this still rings fairly true, but things are gradually changing. Especially since COVID-19, Japan has gotten a lot better about accepting non-cash forms of payment, but I would still recommend carrying some cash with you at all times. Small mom and pop shops and restaurants, tiny bars, vending machines, shrines, and other fee-admission attractions will almost certainly only take cash, but otherwise, especially in the larger cities, my most-used form of payment is actually my Suica card! This makes it doubly convenient to have your transit card on your phone: you can quickly reload it using Apple Wallet, and after a few seconds, the funds are available in Suica, ready to pay for your Family Mart onigiri 🍙.
Many places take chip-and-pin credit cards, and contactless is becoming more popular, along with Apple Pay. To take out cash, you'll want to head over to 7-11, as their ATMs are among the few that will accept foreign cards (but you should also have luck with Aeon ATMs, too). Regardless of how you pay for things or take out money, whenever you are asked if you want to pay using Japanese Yen or your card's origin currency, always opt for Yen since their exchange rate will be trash. Also, consider bringing a no foreign transaction fee card with you. I use my Wealthsimple Cash card, which has no foreign transaction fees, pays interest on my deposited funds, and offers 1% cash back on all purchases. I use it for loading my Suica card, taking money out of ATMs, and purchasing items where credit cards are accepted.
For purchases over 5000 yen, many shops will offer tax free (look for the red Tax Free sign near the register). To take advantage, you will need to show them your passport. You should be carrying your passport at all times with you anyways, since you are required by law to show authorities your visa at any time. So, don't leave it at the hotel!
After a few days, if you’ve been using primarily cash as payment, you’ll likely have amassed quite the collection of coins. You can usually keep your small change stash to a minimum if you are vigilant about paying for things with exact change, but nevertheless, you’ll probably want to ditch the surplus coins at some point.
One way to do this is to find an IC card reload kiosk that accepts coins down to 10 yen (sadly, you won’t find one that takes 1 or 5 yen coins) and use your change to charge your transit card.
Another way, and I’d recommend only doing this if there’s no one behind you in line, is to find a 7-11 with a payment machine that lets you insert your own bills and coins. When you go to pay for your items, you can simply feed the machine all your pesky low-denomination coins! If it needs to return any change to you, it will do so in the fewest number of coins/bills possible.
Finally, if you’ve still got a few 5 or 1-yen coins after all’s said and done, why not make an offering at the nearest shrine?
