JCT Tips - Currency Exchange
We see a lot of people confused or misinformed about exchange rates and where to swap their money into yen. Sometimes it is easy to make an exchange at an airport, but some of the exchange places do not provide the best option or value for money. The following provides a bit of guidance.
The examples below use the difference between the buy and sell rates for cash (notes). We have taken quotes from public sources and actual rates will change from time to time, and vary between country and the exchange service you use. The important measure is not necessarily the rate on a given day, but the spread in the buy and sell rates - generally the lower the better.
Summary:
For
- US dollars: exchanging in Japan is an acceptable option, but make sure you pick the right place to convert your money.
- Australian dollars: exchanging in Australia might give you an extra 8%.
- Canadian dollars: exchange in Canada and you will probably pay the "cash rate" around 4% to 5%. In Japan the cost is in excess of 10%! Get the extra 5% and exchange in Canada.
- British pounds: the "Thomas Exchange" looks very competitive, but otherwise the English and Japanese banks look pretty similar.
- New Zealand dollars: we are happy the 8% spread from our local banks is low because we don't even get onto some of the airport exchange rate boards, but based on the Narita rates, we get an extra $80 per $1,000 going direct (including via Japanese ATMs).
Airports:
Most people travelling to Japan will be arriving at Narita. Haneda (Tokyo) and Osaka/Kansai are two other common arrival points. As an international gateway, there are several money exchange places that offer a service for people arriving and departing. Narita airport no longer includes a link to exchange rates (as at mid-2017), but a representative rate can be found at MUFG http://www.bk.mufg.jp/gdocs/kinri/list_j/kinri/kawase.html The following table shows the cash buy and sell rates, and the spread as extracted on 17 Aug 2015.
| Currency | Code | Sell | Buy | Spread |
| US dollars | USD | 127.23 | 121.43 | 4.8% |
| Euro | EUR | 142.81 | 134.81 | 5.9% |
| Canadian dollars | CAD | 103.86 | 86.66 | 19.8% |
| UK pound | GBP | 206.33 | 182.33 | 13.2% |
| Swiss franc | CHF | 132.47 | 122.67 | 8.0% |
| Danish krone | DKK | 20.89 | 16.29 | 28.2% |
| Norwegian krone | NOK | 17.46 | 12.86 | 35.8% |
| Sweedish krone | SEK | 17.09 | 12.29 | 39.1% |
| Australian dollar | AUD | 101.47 | 82.07 | 23.6% |
| New Zealand dollar | NZD | 90.19 | 72.79 | 23.9% |
| South Korean Won | KRW | 1213 | 913 | 32.9% |
| Hong Kong dollar | HKD | 18.48 | 13.62 | 35.7% |
| Singapore dollar | SGD | 94.87 | 83.21 | 14.0% |
| Thai baht | THB | 4.00 | 3.06 | 30.7% |
The two images below show the rates at Narita from February 2015. The first board quotes 122.94/111.97 and the second quotes USD rates as 121.90/116.10. It should be fairly easy to see that the first exchange has a spread of 9.8% between rates while the second one is only a 5.0% spread. Assuming the middle is the real rate, the difference here is 2.5% or $25 on USD1,000 for the sake of knowing which window to walk to. In this case the MUFG rates are better.
A couple of the other currencies are worth looking at:
-
Australian dollars: 103.18/77.26 or a 33.5% spread.
-
British pounds: 194.79/166.87 or a 16.7% spread.
-
Canadian dollars: 105.61/78.61 or a 34.3% spread.
In Japan - Banks:
MUFG (24 Mar 2015)
- US dollar 122.61/116.81 (5.0%)
- Euro 135.11/127.11 (6.3%)
- British pound 191.15/167.15 (14.4%)
- Australian dollar 103.97/84.57 (22.9%)
- Canadian dollar 104.39/87.19 (19.7%)
SMBC (24 Mar 2015)
- US dollar 122.82/116.82 (5.1%)
- Euro 135.08/127.08 (6.3%)
- British pound 190.18/168.18 (13.1%)
- Australian dollar 105.80/82.80 (27.8%)
- Canadian dollar 106.37/85.17 (24.9%)
Before you leave:
The following rates are picked off various banks web sites. We have included New Zealand because that is where we are based, and we are pretty happy with the local rates (compared to our neighbours in Australia). In case you get confused about which rate is which, it is always the one where the bank wins and you lose (sorry about that).
US Dollars
Quotes retrieved 24 Mar 2015.
- Bank of America 126.5/113.4 (11.5%)
- Wells Fargo xxxx/113.8
- (still hunting more/better reliable information)
Canadian Dollars
Quotes retrieved 17 Aug 2015.
- Bank of Montreal 99.63/91.06 (9.4%)
- TD Canada Trust 98.28/91.84 (7.0%)
- Scotiabank 98.85/91.63 (7.9%)
Australian Dollars
Quotes retrieved 24 Mar 2015.
- Commonwealth Bank 104.42/89.15 (17.1%)
- Westpac 103.04/89.02 (15.7%)
- ANZ 104.71/89.60 (16.8%)
British Pounds
Quotes retrieved 24 Mar 2015.
- Natwest 193.41/167.50 (15.4%)
- RBS 193.41/167.50 (15.4%)
- Post Office 198.06/170.00 (16.5%)
- Thomas Exchange Global 182.92/175.00 (4.5%)
New Zealand Dollars
Quotes retrieved 24 Mar 2015.
- BNZ: 96.84/89.84 (7.8%)
- Westpac: 97.14/89.45 (8.6%)
- ANZ: 96.54/89.32 (8.1%)
- ASB: 97.31/89.89 (8.2%)
Hotel Currency Exchange:
Don't - I am yet to see any hotel have anything close to a reasonable conversion rate.