Job Discussion Forums

KnockoutNed · Joined: 03 Dec 2009 Posts: 87

Right now I'm in Thailand and all of my currency is in Thai Baht, about $5,000. I am moving to Japan on Monday and wondering what to do...

Should I just convert all of it into JPY and bring it on the plane with me?

I can't really think of any other options... maybe doing a wire transfer to my account back home and only bringing *some* of the money to Japan and using my debit card to pull out the rest.

Will I be able to open a bank account without a working visa? I won't have one for about 2 more months.

Any advice is appreciated!

aynnej · Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 6:32 am Post subject:

Japan is still pretty cash based. I'd recommend converting to yen and taking it on the plane (perhaps using a money belt). There are ATM's here where you can use foreign debit cards, but you have to seek them out. Most accept only Japanese cards or Citibank.

As far as opening a bank account, my employer helped me with that when I first arrived. I can't remember if I needed my visa info to open the account, but I suspect I did. The form was fairly complicated. If your Japanese isn't great, you'll probably want to bring a Japanese friend to help you.

seklarwia · Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 7:28 am Post subject:

Well you need to have done your alien registration at your local ward office before you can open a bank account.

You can do that whilst you still have a tourist status, but whether you need a long-term residence status on your registration card/certificate before a bank will accept it... I don't know since I already had a visa before I arrived.

I know in every other country I've lived in, tourists are not normally allowed to set up bank accounts. I would imagine that it's no different here; afterall, why would a tourist need a local bank account.

The cheapest option would be to just change it and carry it on you. That way you are only paying for the exchange from baht to yen rather then from baht to US$ and then from US$ to yen plus any other banking charges for making international withdrawls.

Another problem with sticking the money in your US account and withdrawing here is that you are at the mercy of the ever changing exchange rates. When I came here in 2009, the currency exchange proved a killer for many. I remember loads of the US arrivals were pretty screwed when they realised that their $5000 suddenly wasn't getting them anywhere near the 500,000 yen they had planned for and they were taking out loans left, right and centre. In fact my dispatcher had to drop the maximum loan limit to cope with the demand which didn't really help those who were expecting a 250,000 loan and were now being told they could only get 200,000.
I doubt there are going to be any such major swings against you going from US$ to yen at the moment, but it is something to bare in mind.

GambateBingBangBOOM · Joined: 04 Nov 2003 Posts: 2021 Location: Japan

Just convert it into yen (assuming you can convert that much- don't assume that they have an unlimited supply of foreign currency) and keep it in your wallet (once you're here, keep most of it in a locked suitcase or something until you have a bank account). If you're really unsure, then keep half of it in your wallet and the other half in your sock or something until you have a place. But as a previous poster mentioned, Japan is a still largely a cash based society (other than bill payments). Carrying around a large amount of money for a few days or a couple of weeks shouldn't be a problem.

Why won't you have a working visa for another two months? DO you have a job? Are they paying you in cash until you get a bank account?