Using your ATM card while travelling in Japan simply couldn’t be easier. You’ll get one of the best rates for converting foreign currency to JPY.

You can use your normal ATM card or credit card to withdrawal cash in Japan from your foreign account at 7-Eleven convenience stores from the 7-Bank ATM.

All 7-Eleven convenience stores in Japan have the Seven Bank International ATM, well everyone I’ve been to anyway, and I literally would have visited hundreds.

7-Eleven Japan convenience store signs
7-Eleven Japan convenience stores are found all over the country. Signage contains the name “Seven&i Holdings”, the parent company.

How do I use the Seven Bank International ATM?

There are a few different language options, English included. After you select your language it works just like a normal ATM, follow the prompts, it is super easy. See my article on getting the most Yen for your dollar for more detail and a link on how to use the ATM.

Seven Bank International ATM inside a Japanese Seven Eleven convenience store.

What fees will I be charged for using the Seven Bank International ATM?

You need to check this with your bank. For an example, as mentioned in my post about getting the most Yen for your dollar, one of my banks charges $4.50 for an international ATM transaction fee plus a 2% foreign currency charge, the other bank only charges a $2.50 international ATM transaction fee.

What foreign currency exchange rate will I get using the International ATM in Japan?

This one is a little tricky to answer concisely, but lucky for you I have just completed a little experiment which should help shed some light on this question. For this experiment, I withdrew cash from my Australian ING Everyday account using the Savings option in the International ATM.

  • Test 1, 15th April 2011: Withdrew JPY 10,000; exchange rate (AUD to JPY) closed for the day at 88.15; AUD 114.82 was taken from my account (plus the additional $2.50 International ATM fee). So eventually, I got my Yen for a very nice AUD to JPY exchange rate of 87.09.
  • Test 2, 18th April 2011: Withdrew JPY 20,000; exchange rate (AUD to JPY) closed for the day at 87.85; AUD 228.40 was taken from my account(plus the additional $2.50 International ATM fee). Effective exchange rate was 87.56 AUD to JPY.
  • Test 3, 21 April 2011: Withdrew JPY 50,000; exchange rate had closed for the day at 87.99; AUD 575.41 was taken from my account(plus the additional $2.50 International ATM fee). 86.89 AUD to JPY was the effective rate.

So there are some obvious irregularities with the exchange eventually received, but as you can see it is all within roughly 1% of the market rate. This is an excellent rate, compared to the rate (up to 10% drop from market rate) you will receive at a foreign currency exchange vendor or bank.

Update (5th May 2011): A few days I did another withdrawal, this time using an Aussie Credit card, here are the results:

  • Test 4, 2 May 2011: Withdrew JPY 10,000; exchange rate had closed for the day at 89.09; AUD 113.00 was taken from my account (plus an additional $4 Overseas Cash Advanced fee and a $3.39 Overseas Taxation fee). 83.06 AUD to JPY was the effective rate.

I strongly recommend not using an Aussie Credit Card for overseas cash advances, the fees are far too high.