Job Discussion Forums

kimbo · Joined: 08 May 2003 Posts: 24

I don't have as much money as I would like saved for when I goto either Tokyo or Osaka. Therefore I will be relying a little bit on the old Credit Card. I have heard that there aren't many places that accept credit cards in Japan. Can somebody please deny or confirm this please?? Any other advise is welcomed.

CokoSensei · Joined: 27 Apr 2003 Posts: 11 Location: Canada

Credit Cards are accepted in most to all department stores! Visa, MC Laughing

AND Amex too!!! Don't worry about it.

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

BenJ · Joined: 11 May 2003 Posts: 209 Location: Nagoya

what about electronic bank cards? Is Japan a cash-based society or a credit card / EFT-based one?

Are there Mastercard/Visa ATMs around to get cash out at?

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

BenJ,

If you are working in Japan, you will have a bank account here. Your employer sets it up for you because he pays in direct deposit. With that account comes a typical ATM card.

There are also savings departments at the post office. I don't use one, but people say they are more user-friendly ATMs because of more English on the machine. Anyone else have experience with these?

As for getting money out of a bank with a Master/VISA card, I don't have experience doing that, but I would expect you'd have to pay some exchange rate, and there might be fewer opportunities to find such machines. I really don't know. Wouldn't Master Card or VISA be able to tell you this?

Mosley · Joined: 17 Jan 2003 Posts: 158

If you're looking to use a credit card for cash advances, beware! If you don't have a Japanese-issued card, you can't use the machines. In my case, I had to go to my bank's main branch in the prefectural capital during banking hrs.(9-3). I had to have my passport & alien card! It took me a half-hour to get a lousy $500. Japan, a G-7 member, eh? By contrast, I once needed some money on a tiny Pacific island. I showed nothing but my card & was out of the bank in 3 mins. w/the cash!

Celeste · Posted: Mon May 19, 2003 2:11 am Post subject:

I would agree with Mosley about the difficulty of cash advances (or foreign ATM transactions in general). In my city, there is one ATM that I know of that can accept foreign cards, and it is at the airport. Fortunately my house is only 2 subway stops from the airport. When I first came here, that was the method I used to access my start up funds. (That and the big pile of CASH I brought with me.) Just in the short time that I have been here (8 months) I have found that there are a lot more places that can take a foreign card. Though at some restaurants and smaller businesses, they still seem to have trouble processing Japanese cards (they actually phone for confirmation at a few places still and have the old fashioned carbon slips). I use cash because it's usually easier.

kimbo · Joined: 08 May 2003 Posts: 24

is it hard for a foreigner to get a Japanese credit card?

Celeste · Posted: Mon May 19, 2003 6:18 am Post subject:

I don't know if foriegners can get Japanese cards or not, but judging how persistant the AMEX peddlars at the local Costco are every time I walk by, my guess would be probably yes.

nakanoalien2 · Joined: 04 Mar 2003 Posts: 52 Location: Nakano, Japan

Glenski - I am surprised that you have no trouble with CCs in Hokkaido (not doubting, just surprised).

When I lived in Ikuta (Kanagawa-ken) I was just 35 minutes from Shinjuku, but none of the local shops or restaurants seemed to take credit cards. That was 1998/99 and things have changed a bit. In Tokyo, CCs are generally accepted at department stores and larger restaurants. I've gotten used to cash anyway. Sushi-ya are notoriously less accepting. Also, some izakaya (yes, even in Tokyo) do not accept CCs. Still, compared to your average North American suberb, CCs are less accepted in Japan.

As for Japanese CCs for foreigners, I have a Japanese AMEX, but it was issued via my company so I don't know if there is any problem if you apply on your own.

As Das Fads · Joined: 06 Mar 2003 Posts: 44

I find that credit cards are also a major issue in Ibaraki. I live in one of the biggest cities in the prefecture and only the major department stores take cards. In general I find that most clothing, electronic stores and hairdressers will accept credit cards. Most restaurants and supermarkets won't. Many stores will advertise that they accept credit cards but in fact they will only accept credit cards issued by the store e.g. the XUYUZU store will only accept XUYUZU visa. I've been caught out with that a few times.

Also, does anybody know if you can do the split payment thing on a foreign credit card (like the Japanese cards), spreading the payments for goods over several months.

Lucy Snow · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 218 Location: US

When we lived in Ibaraki, using our credit cards was hit and miss. One store would accept Visa but not Master Card. The biggest bank in the region wouldn't do cash advances on credit cards, even though we had ID coming out of our ears. Some stores wouldn't accept credit cards from foreign banks, even though they had the credit card logos in their windows. We pretty much resigned ourselves to using cash like the Japanese.