Will my credit cards (Visa and Master) work in Japan?
Hi! I am going to study in Japan for 6 weeks this summer, and I was wondering if my American credit cards will work there? Or should I just carry cash? Any tips and ideas about living in Japan would certainly help me a lot too! Thank you very much for your time!
Japan - 3 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
Nice trip! You should exchange your currency into yen. Now you can do this at the airport. Find out what's the different between the two going rate. When I went to Europe. Each exchange for dollar to euro I lost money. For every 20 dollars I lost 7. :(
2 :
When I went, I had a Visa card, a bunch of traveler checks, and cash. Some places I could use the Visa, which was quite nice, but a lot of places you can't. However, if you go to an ATM in a post office, you can use the ATM to get money off of it. For some reason, other ATMs I found didn't take my card (I'm assuming they just weren't prepared to deal with foreign cards), but it was still convenient. The checks I could exchange at either a post office or certain banks (Mizuho Bank was the only one that I found would do it, but they're EVERYWHERE and if you go into a different bank and ask, they'll point you to the nearest one that will.) As for cash, it's accepted everywhere, and you'll NEED it if you're going to be riding a train or subway, but, as I'm sure you know, it's not secure. So just carry what you need for a few days and keep the rest on your card or in traveler's checks. ALSO, if you're going to go with travelers checks, make sure you have a phone number and address to give them. They'll make you fill out a little slip. If you don't have that info, there'll be a problem. ESPECIALLY if you don't speak Japanese. Then there'll be a problem that you don't understand the solution for! Oh, and carry your passport on you in case they ask for ID. In summary, I'd suggest a combination of the three. When you first get there, make sure you find the banks and post offices in your area and the hours they're open so that you don't find yourself without money and screwed one day.
3 :
Credit cards issued in the US work fine in Japan. However, before you leave for Japan, make sure to call your card issuer's customer service to let them know you will be out of country; otherwise, you may not be able to use your credit cards overseas. If they detect "unusual transactions" (e.g., transactions overseas), they may suspend your cards. Although more merchants accept credit cards now than ever, Japan is still cash-oriented society. So, I would bring both credit cards and cash. As you may know, when you exchange money, they charge you a fee. So, plan carefully when you get yen; otherwise you would pay a fee again to convert it back to USD when you come back. In this sense, credit cards are easier. Your card issuer will bill you in USD (i.e., converted) along with a "foreign transaction fee," which is about 2.5%~3%. With credit cards, at least you would not have to convert yen back to USD, paying fees twice. I'm from Japan, but I live in the US. When I visit my family in Japan, I use my credit cards for big purchases (e.g., hotel, Shinkansen), and use cash for small purchases (e.g., food, subway tickets). I was in Japan last month, and I used Amex since their fee was lower than what my Bank of America Visa would have charged.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Other work opportunities in Japan, apart from teaching, for Westerners
Other work opportunities in Japan, apart from teaching, for Westerners?
I'm fine teaching and all I just wanted to know if there are any other possibilities open to Westerners? I have a BA degree. I'm mainly wanting to come for the cultural experience of Japan, the work is just basically to help me get by financially, and is of secondary importance.
Japan - 5 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
There are other "non-teaching" jobs in Japan. e.g. IT fields, Finance Fields, Entertainment field, etc. I would recommend checking companies in these fields that have branches in Japan and ones that you can apply your BA degree in. You can also check with recruiters that can look for jobs for you in your area.
2 :
It's simple. You need to be good at something employers want AND speak Japanese. Or you can do a crappy service job. Or you can do freelance work (but you'll have visa issues). It's very much the same as in any other country, including the US. The one thing not really open to you is the life-time employee track at the big manufacturing companies. They hire from Japanese university graduates, and need people brought up in the Japanese way of co-operating. (A foreigner brought up in Japan would/should have no problem here, although some companies still have bad practices.) If you're fine teaching, but your goal is Japan, then come to Japan and spend a few years building contacts in the profession you want, while getting the skills you need for that.
3 :
Try going to the web site below. You need a good command of English to teach English.
4 :
If you have fluency in Japanese and English, you can work basically for any company and make a killer salary. Finance (Goldman Sachs, etc) is always looking for beautiful, confident, educated people with Japanese language ability. Anywhere else you can leverage a US degree plus the ability to function in a Japanese setting for way more than you'll make as an English teacher. If that doesn't work, though, be a private tutor---they make way more than English teachers and you get to pick your own hours.
5 :
Too bad the only job for westerners is teaching English. If you were Indian like me, you could work in the IT field or Mechanical field.
I'm fine teaching and all I just wanted to know if there are any other possibilities open to Westerners? I have a BA degree. I'm mainly wanting to come for the cultural experience of Japan, the work is just basically to help me get by financially, and is of secondary importance.
Japan - 5 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
There are other "non-teaching" jobs in Japan. e.g. IT fields, Finance Fields, Entertainment field, etc. I would recommend checking companies in these fields that have branches in Japan and ones that you can apply your BA degree in. You can also check with recruiters that can look for jobs for you in your area.
2 :
It's simple. You need to be good at something employers want AND speak Japanese. Or you can do a crappy service job. Or you can do freelance work (but you'll have visa issues). It's very much the same as in any other country, including the US. The one thing not really open to you is the life-time employee track at the big manufacturing companies. They hire from Japanese university graduates, and need people brought up in the Japanese way of co-operating. (A foreigner brought up in Japan would/should have no problem here, although some companies still have bad practices.) If you're fine teaching, but your goal is Japan, then come to Japan and spend a few years building contacts in the profession you want, while getting the skills you need for that.
3 :
Try going to the web site below. You need a good command of English to teach English.
4 :
If you have fluency in Japanese and English, you can work basically for any company and make a killer salary. Finance (Goldman Sachs, etc) is always looking for beautiful, confident, educated people with Japanese language ability. Anywhere else you can leverage a US degree plus the ability to function in a Japanese setting for way more than you'll make as an English teacher. If that doesn't work, though, be a private tutor---they make way more than English teachers and you get to pick your own hours.
5 :
Too bad the only job for westerners is teaching English. If you were Indian like me, you could work in the IT field or Mechanical field.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
If I buy an American ipod touch, will it work in Japan
If I buy an American ipod touch, will it work in Japan?
An ipod touch bought in America is MUCH cheaper than one bought in Japan, which is where I reside now. My concern, though, is that once I buy it and ship it over to Japan, I won`t be able to use all of its features... specifically, accessing the internet.
Music & Music Players - 1 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
it will work its called the worldwide web for a reason and the internet only works witha a wifi just letting you no
An ipod touch bought in America is MUCH cheaper than one bought in Japan, which is where I reside now. My concern, though, is that once I buy it and ship it over to Japan, I won`t be able to use all of its features... specifically, accessing the internet.
Music & Music Players - 1 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
it will work its called the worldwide web for a reason and the internet only works witha a wifi just letting you no
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)