Best places/cheapest places to exchange USD and euro?!?

Jennifer Maddingly

Jennifer Maddingly

Make tokyo Unforgettable
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so I've been getting some travelers recently and they've been giving me other currencies. The problem is that a lot of exchange places take huge chunks out of the actual exchange rate!! Does anyone know anywhere in Tokyo that won't skim so much off the top? Or anyone wanna trade for yen??

Thanks!
 
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I usually exchange other currencies at Sakura Exchange. They have branches in Shinjuku, Shibuya and Ikebukuro. Exchange rate is pretty good compared to other places.
 
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西新宿 - If you know where the discount ticket sales shops are, there are exchange centers there with some of the best rates you can get. At least for major currencies...
 
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e-smile said:
Is it better not to change currency in the airport on arrival and go to the place you're mentioning ?
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Absolutely. 95% of the time, the airport rates are terrible. They are a last minute choice for people that didn't plan.
The exchange center in the cities are much better choices...

It may not matter if you're just exchanging a small amount, but it's still enough of difference to me that I won't exchange unless I know it's the best rate.

Larger, bulk currency amounts, obviously, you want the best rate.
 
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TAG Manager said:
Absolutely. 95% of the time, the airport rates are terrible. They are a last minute choice for people that didn't plan.
The exchange center in the cities are much better choices...

It may not matter if you're just exchanging a small amount, but it's still enough of difference to me that I won't exchange unless I know it's the best rate.

Larger, bulk currency amounts, obviously, you want the best rate.
Click to expand...
oh dear ! Every year I exchange from 20万 to 80万 in the airport thinking it would be the same in the city :facepalm:
 
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e-smile said:
Hi,
Can I have more details about the location ?
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I don't know where she went in 3-Chome, but the places I use are at this spot:

https://goo.gl/maps/wHwrBjNqRSk

There a few shops lined up together on the corner, check each one for the rates and see who's got a better deal.
 
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Just wanted to chime in that my personal best exchange is to just take money out at the atm. My bank reimburses me for all atm fees and doesn't charge any fee to withdraw in a foreign currency. They simply convert it at the current market rate. Obviously that isn't something that helps @Jennifer Maddingly in this instance but wanted to throw it out for other visitors.

Your banks policies will vary but for me it's the best way. I just have to be careful of the max Atm withdrawal per day limit of 50000 yen.
 
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I am surprised of your max atm withdrawal of 50 000 yen as I remember withdrawing 100 000 yen in one time at an atm recently in Shikoku island.
 
Karbon said:
I am surprised of your max atm withdrawal of 50 000 yen as I remember withdrawing 100 000 yen in one time at an atm recently in Shikoku island.
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I think that's just a security set up that can be changed on demand. Even in my home country I have a max withdrawal around 50 000 yen a day.
 
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wraithfive said:
Just wanted to chime in that my personal best exchange is to just take money out at the atm. My bank reimburses me for all atm fees and doesn't charge any fee to withdraw in a foreign currency. They simply convert it at the current market rate. Obviously that isn't something that helps @Jennifer Maddingly in this instance but wanted to throw it out for other visitors.

Your banks policies will vary but for me it's the best way. I just have to be careful of the max Atm withdrawal per day limit of 50000 yen.
Click to expand...

I usually do this for international travel...but in Japan I get so frustrated becuz of my daily bank max and the timing used to reset the max. This affected my p4p options for the day. I was playing roulette on whether money would come out the atm and it was so frustrating!
 
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The withdrawal was made on an atm inside of a bank, may be that's the reason why the amount is higher.
 
e-smile said:
I think that's just a security set up that can be changed on demand. Even in my home country I have a max withdrawal around 50 000 yen a day.
Click to expand...
It's usually a policy of your bank to help prevent fraud. In theory you can call them and ask for the limit to be waived any time you need to. I've never had the urge to spend that much time on the phone to find out.
 
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wraithfive said:
It's usually a policy of your bank to help prevent fraud. In theory you can call them and ask for the limit to be waived any time you need to. I've never had the urge to spend that much time on the phone to find out.
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exactly, I rarely had to withdraw more than that in the same day and when I had such a need I just withdrew the needed amount in advance.
 
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ur19877 said:
I usually do this for international travel...but in Japan I get so frustrated becuz of my daily bank max and the timing used to reset the max. This affected my p4p options for the day. I was playing roulette on whether money would come out the atm and it was so frustrating!
Click to expand...

That happened to me once on my trip too. I had another card so was able to get what I need. But the reset was every 24 hours so I was mostly able to juggle things so I had what I needed. I might try calling the bank and asking for a higher daily limit before my next trip though.
 
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If you have a Visa card, the limit is set internationally at 50 000 yen, $500 etc, I'm not sure but you need to get in touch with their international division if you want to raise it, previously the limit was set by the ATM though
 
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