Japan has made me so so so nerdy with making sure I either give exact change or make sure I give a note PLUS that additional 13 yen, for example.
If you’ve read my ‘Preparing for Japan’ post, you’ll already know that, apart from the major stores and some attractions, Japan is still using cash much more than many other places I’ve lived or visited.
But those little 5 yen and those little 1 yen coins are the WORST!
Use them!
As I said above, if your shopping amount comes to 1,673 yen and you only have a 5000 yen note.. you NEED to remember to give that over with 673 yen , or 73 yen OR even 3 yen.
The convenience stores contactless payment system
Since the pandemic, most convenience stores have a contactless payment system where the money is put into a machine in front of the cash register. As it is a machine counting the money, it is easier to just dump it in the coin collection bin here and it will take the amount off your total.
Vending machines
My kids love nothing more than ‘feeding’ the vending machines and many coins stretch out the fun, right? Unfortunately they don’t take the 5’s or the 1’s though.
Gatcha Pon !
These are referred to as Gatcha Pon or Gatcha Gatcha in Japanese and they are the little balls in the vending machines with “toys” inside. I say “toys” like that because many of them are collectables and works of art themselves. They are truly extraordinary.
100 yen shops
If you gather enough together why not put them together and buy a single item at the 100 yen shop?
Technically, you’ll need 110 yen to cover the tax.
Here are some of my favourite 100 yen shop purchases.
Put it on your PASMO or SUICA cards
There are the Japanese travel cards travellers can put money on but -did you know that they can also be used on many of the vending machines, in many taxis and also in some convenience store? You can even use them in many stores inside the station.
Towards the end of your trip? Donate !
There are plenty of the options inside any airport to make a donation. But if you want to donate before you leave, there are donation boxes at the registers at Family Mart and also at McDonalds.
