Japanese Currency Guide 2024: All About Bills and Coins - Japan Travel Guide MATCHA (2024)

About the Japanese Yen: Bills and Coins in Japan

You will need to use Japanese currency when traveling in Japan. This article provides basic information regarding the Japanese yen: denominations currently in use, typical exchange rates, and more.

Japan uses the Japanese yen, with the international symbol being ¥. Currently, there are 1,000 yen, 2,000 yen, 5,000 yen, and 10,000 yen banknotes in circulation. Coins come in one-yen, five-yen, 10-yen, 50-yen, 100-yen and 500-yen denominations.

Yen Exchange Rates

How much is your country's currency worth in yen? Look below for currency equivalent estimates (current as of August 2024).

Credit, Debit, and Other Cashless Options in Japan

Although many businesses and transactions remain done via cash in Japan, electronic payment is becoming much more popular countrywide. Department stores and chain supermarkets accept credit and debit cards. Many convenience stores and other businesses accept electronic payments like Pay Pay, along with a number of domestic payment apps and services.

Another popular way of paying is via IC card––using your Suica, Pasmo, Icoca, or other prepaid transportation cards to shop.

It is still important to carry around cash, but you may not need as much as you think you do.

A Closer Look at Japanese Yen

Japanese banknotes and coins come with various distinct markings.

On July 3, 2024, Japan issued new 10,000 yen, 5,000 yen, and 1,000 yen banknotes. The old banknotes are still in use.

We have compiled a brief overview of the new and old banknotes and coins for your reference.

The 10,000 Yen Bill

Picture courtesy of National Printing Bureau

The new 10,000 yen banknote features Eichi Shibusawa (1840-1931), a Japanese industrialist who made significant contributions to the establishment of 500 Japanese companies bringing innovative ideas to Japan's early modern business world.

The back of the banknote depicts the Marunouchi side of Tokyo Station.

The front of the old 10,000 yen bill, which is still in use, has the portrait of Yukichi f*ckuzawa (1835-1901), who was originally from the samurai class and became an intellectual and educator in the mid-to-late 1800s in Japan.

A 10,000 yen bill in your wallet is enough for a day of fun out in Tokyo or the city. You can enjoy a moderately-priced lunch, dinner, head to a museum, and go shopping for souvenirs with this amount of money.

The 5,000 Yen Bill

Picture courtesy of National Printing Bureau
The front of the new 5,000 yen banknote features Umeko Tsuda (1864 - 1929), who promoted modern women's higher education and founded Joshi Eigaku Juku (now Tsuda University).

The back of the banknote depicts wisteria flowers, which have been widely beloved since ancient times and are mentioned in ancient works such as the "Kojiki" and the poetry anthology "Man'yoshu."

The old 5,000 yen bill is of a violet hue and features Ichiyo Higuchi (1872-1896), Japan's first prominent female writer. Although she passed away at 24, she left behind several short stories and poetry that brought fresh insights into the Meiji-period literature.

On average, it costs around 5,000 yen per person when dining out at well-known restaurants and or spending an evening with drinks at an izakaya. If you want to have lunch at a traditional sit-down Japanese restaurant or sushi restaurant, you can expect to spend 5,000 yen.

The 2,000 Yen Bill

The design on the 2,000 yen bill features the Japanese literary classic, "The Tale of the Genji," and its author, Murasaki Shikibu. Making up just around 0.9% of the bills in circulation in Japan, you will see this bill rarely, if at all. Be careful because it cannot be used in vending machines.

If you want to indulge yourself and splurge at lunch in Tokyo, 2,000 yen is just about right. You might also want to charge 2,000 yen on your IC card for transportation if you are traveling more than an hour on a local train.

The 1,000 Yen Bill

Picture courtesy of 國立印刷局
The front of the new 1,000 yen banknote features Shibasaburo Kitasato, a Japanese physician and bacteriologist
who established the tetanus serum therapy.

The back of the banknote depicts "The Great Wave off Kanagawa," one of the representative works of the Edo period ukiyo-e artist Katsushika Hokusai from the "Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji" series.

The old 1,000 yen bill features the bacteriologist, Hideyo Noguchi, on the front.

With 1,000 yen, you can buy a casual lunch at a chain restaurant. One option is a lunch set, which typically contains rice, a main dish, soup, and similar menu items. You can also enjoy a bowl of ramen for 1,000 yen or less.

The 500-Yen Coin

The 500 yen coin is actually the most recent yen coin minted in Japan. It is the largest of the yen coins, and you can feel its weight even in your wallet.

Most bento boxes sold at convenience stores cost around 500 yen, and are a great option for someone trying to save money on food expenses. Inputting the keywords "one coin" into a search engine will return an extensive list of places where you can eat lunch for a single 500 yen coin. For those seeking a pick-me-up, a latte or coffee drink from an upscale cafe in Japan will be priced at around 500 yen.

The 100-Yen Coin

The 100-yen coin is the Japanese equivalent of the one-dollar bill. It is the most commonly used coin on a day-to-day basis and has a wide variety of uses in daily shopping.

100-yen coins are easiest to spend at vending machines, when paying at convenience stores, and also when playing games at arcades. At McDonald's, items on the "100-Yen Mac" menu, such as regular hamburgers, soft-serve ice cream, and small drinks, can be purchased with a 100-yen coin.

Items priced at 100 yen line the shelves at 100-yen stores: food, clothing, household goods and more. A basic omikuji paper fortune at a shrine or temple will usually cost 100 yen.

The 50 Yen Coin

The chrysanthemum, cultivated for its appeal as a decorative flower, can be seen on the 50-yen coin. When first released, 50-yen coins lacked holes in the middle. However, to make it easier to distinguish them from 100 yen coins at a glance, holes were incorporated into the design.

50-yen coins can be used to buy individually-packed candy known as dagashi, and these coins can also be used to buy discount drinks at places like Don Quijote.

The 10-Yen Coin

The design of the Phoenix Hall at Byodouin Temple in Kyoto, which is registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is featured on the bronze 10-yen coin.

A 10-yen coin doesn't buy much on its own, but it can be convenient can charge an IC card with 10 yen coins and use them at vending machines. In case of an emergency, you can use 10-yen coins at public payphones, which only accept 10 yen and 100 yen coins. You can get about 60 seconds of talk time during the day and about 80 seconds of talk time at night.

The Five-Yen Coin

Like the 50 yen coin, the design of the five-yen coin has a hole in the center. The words in Japanese for "five yen" and for "destiny" are both pronounced as "go en," so five yen coins are said to be lucky.

When visiting a temple or shrine in Japan, it is custom to make an offering using the five-yen coin due to this. You cannot use five-yen coins at vending machines, but cashiers in Japan will accept them.

The One Yen Coin

The one yen coin is made of aluminum and is extremely light, weighing in at just one gram. It is said that producing a one-yen coin costs three yen. There is a saying in Japan that "he who laughs at one yen will weep at one yen," meaning that all money has value, even something as small as a one yen coin.

One yen coins cannot usually be used at vending machines, ticket machines, and other automatic payment machines. However, feel free to use one yens when you are shopping in person.

Get Familiar with Japanese Money

This concludes our feature on the Japanese yen. We hope you found it useful. Enjoy shopping in Japan!