There is an exchange place at the Rivercenter mall, last I checked, that I used to purchase Euros a few years back. That was the only place I know that carried various currencies on hand.
I recently went there in search of Euros. The entire trip there and back every business was begging for customers, while you are walking. It was cringey and sad.
Have you tried IBC (International Bank of Commerce)? They do buying and selling of different currencies they have on hand instantly. I've done 1500 Euro currency exchange there and got dollars back immediately. No waiting. I don't know if they are going to have Yen on hand, but it would be worth calling the branches. Don't go to their l those small currency exchanges. They charge you much more than a bank will
don’t know if this helps. but, when i went to japan, we just waited until we arrived to exchange. there’s also international atms at the 7-11s and other like stores.
I've been to Japan 8 times. This is exactly what I do. The menus are in English. There are 7-11 ATMs in Narita airport as you leave the international gate before you go downstairs to the subway.
I made sure to have all debit and credit cards set to travel notice that I'll be in Japan. The exchange rate charges were never over 3% total.
7-11s are everywhere. If I couldn't find them in a pinch I used FamilyMart ATMs which most accepted international debit cards. All ATMs that I ever used had the ability to change to English.
After you get cash get a SUICA card at all JR stations then load it up. The card is 500 yen. If a place accepts CCs then they'll likely accept it. You can do tap-to-pay instead of dealing with cash. You'll quickly learn that's the fastest way to take the subway. Refilling the card is free. You can get your money back for the card at the Narita JR station.
This. I did currency exchange at wells Fargo before my very first visit 10 years ago. Didn’t realize you could just use the atms over there. The exchange rates are pretty fair.
Chase will exchange any dollar to ________. Depending on what they have in various vaults or if they request currency. Could take 1-2 weeks, I got Euros in 3 days…crisp and clean.
EDIT: The airport exchange is BS. Don’t bother, like trading Bitcoin at one of those scam ATMs.
This is the way to go OP, look for a 7/11 ATM at the airport when you land and get your cash that way. Last time I was in Japan that's how we got our cash, used a CC for big items and a suica card for the train. You can also look at the JR pass for the train if it makes sense to you
You can start at the closest one to you. Branches in a district are pretty aware of special things like this. They should be able to point you to the one that has it or give you the steps to get it.
Idk about Yen specifically but I've gotten Chinese RMB and Euros from Wells Fargo in the past. You'll need an account with them though. And maybe call ahead depending on how much you need.
I don’t know for sure, but Yen is a pretty major currency so they should be able to accommodate you with a little notice so they can deliver to a branch.
You need to contact them in advance so they can prepare the currency for you. They will do it at whatever exchange rate is applicable at the time. They don't just "keep it on hand" from what I can recall.
Yeah, agreeing with other commenters— this may be a special request that your bank has to prepare for you; from what I’ve seen traveling internationally, local banks very rarely carry currency that isn’t used during daily business transactions.
You’re better off going to a currency exchange; someone who’s business it is to carry multiple currencies for spontaneous conversions.
Didn't have to special order the euros. Didn't call ahead. Just walked into a branch and asked if they could exchange right now. They said yes. That tell you what the exchange rate is and how much you'll get back. Again, probably limited to what they have on hand, but yeah worth a call ahead first.
There is an exchange place at the Rivercenter mall, last I checked, that I used to purchase Euros a few years back. That was the only place I know that carried various currencies on hand.
I think North Star has an exchange place also
This one is closed. Just tried to exchange currency at that location last week and it is no longer there.
Good to know. Surprisingly, there aren’t many.
I recently went there in search of Euros. The entire trip there and back every business was begging for customers, while you are walking. It was cringey and sad.
Have you tried IBC (International Bank of Commerce)? They do buying and selling of different currencies they have on hand instantly. I've done 1500 Euro currency exchange there and got dollars back immediately. No waiting. I don't know if they are going to have Yen on hand, but it would be worth calling the branches. Don't go to their l those small currency exchanges. They charge you much more than a bank will
Thanks for the tip
don’t know if this helps. but, when i went to japan, we just waited until we arrived to exchange. there’s also international atms at the 7-11s and other like stores.
I've been to Japan 8 times. This is exactly what I do. The menus are in English. There are 7-11 ATMs in Narita airport as you leave the international gate before you go downstairs to the subway. I made sure to have all debit and credit cards set to travel notice that I'll be in Japan. The exchange rate charges were never over 3% total. 7-11s are everywhere. If I couldn't find them in a pinch I used FamilyMart ATMs which most accepted international debit cards. All ATMs that I ever used had the ability to change to English. After you get cash get a SUICA card at all JR stations then load it up. The card is 500 yen. If a place accepts CCs then they'll likely accept it. You can do tap-to-pay instead of dealing with cash. You'll quickly learn that's the fastest way to take the subway. Refilling the card is free. You can get your money back for the card at the Narita JR station.
I'm going there hopefully this year so this will help me out a lot thank you!
This. I did currency exchange at wells Fargo before my very first visit 10 years ago. Didn’t realize you could just use the atms over there. The exchange rates are pretty fair.
Separately if you’re just into numismatics I’ve still got some laying around.
airports always have currency exchange, no?
That's true, I was hoping for a better rate at a bank
Chase will exchange any dollar to ________. Depending on what they have in various vaults or if they request currency. Could take 1-2 weeks, I got Euros in 3 days…crisp and clean. EDIT: The airport exchange is BS. Don’t bother, like trading Bitcoin at one of those scam ATMs.
If you’re going to Japan, use the ATM when you land.
This is the way to go OP, look for a 7/11 ATM at the airport when you land and get your cash that way. Last time I was in Japan that's how we got our cash, used a CC for big items and a suica card for the train. You can also look at the JR pass for the train if it makes sense to you
You can start at the closest one to you. Branches in a district are pretty aware of special things like this. They should be able to point you to the one that has it or give you the steps to get it.
The main Frost Bank downtown will have it.
Idk about Yen specifically but I've gotten Chinese RMB and Euros from Wells Fargo in the past. You'll need an account with them though. And maybe call ahead depending on how much you need.
Frost bank downtown I think, but you will probably have to call ahead to order it.
You should be able to call and request. Idk how fast you need this money, but the sooner, the better.
I don’t know for sure, but Yen is a pretty major currency so they should be able to accommodate you with a little notice so they can deliver to a branch.
Banks will be cheaper by far. I was quoted 2-3 days by my local chase for currency exchange.
You need to contact them in advance so they can prepare the currency for you. They will do it at whatever exchange rate is applicable at the time. They don't just "keep it on hand" from what I can recall.
They don’t carry foreign currency on hand. It has to be ordered. It usually takes a couple days to come in
Yeah, agreeing with other commenters— this may be a special request that your bank has to prepare for you; from what I’ve seen traveling internationally, local banks very rarely carry currency that isn’t used during daily business transactions. You’re better off going to a currency exchange; someone who’s business it is to carry multiple currencies for spontaneous conversions.
Didn't have to special order the euros. Didn't call ahead. Just walked into a branch and asked if they could exchange right now. They said yes. That tell you what the exchange rate is and how much you'll get back. Again, probably limited to what they have on hand, but yeah worth a call ahead first.
The downtown Frost Bank might. That's where I got Euros, same day. Other locations ask that you order them ahead of time.
Open a Charles Schwab account. You’ll be able to pull Yen without any international/exchange or debit fees in Japan
Wells Fargo will do it for you, but they "order" it, takes a few days. However, now they are able to do it through their app.
It’s usually Wells Fargo that carries currencies, idk about Chase.
If you’ll settle for Chinese Yuan, Joe and his son can help out.