Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
on the red letterboxes) scattered across the capital.
All post can be addressed in Western script ( rōmaji )
provided it's clearly printed.
Major post o ces that are open 24/7 include
the Central Post O ce , on the west side of
Tokyo station, as well as ones in Shinjuku (see
map, pp.120-121), Shibuya (see map, p.115) and
other city areas.
If you need to send bulkier items or parcels back
home, you can buy reasonably priced special
envelopes and boxes for packaging from any
post o ce. The maximum weight for an overseas
parcel is 30kg (less for some destinations). A good
compromise between expensive air mail and
slow sea mail is Surface Air Lifted (SAL) mail, which
takes around three weeks to reach most destina-
tions, and costs somewhere between the two. For
English-language information about postal services,
including postal fees, see the Post O ce website
W post.japanpost.jp.
useful cards to carry are Visa and American Express,
followed closely by MasterCard, then Diners Club;
you should be able to use these in hotels,
restaurants, shops and travel agencies accustomed
to serving foreigners. However, many retailers only
accept locally issued cards.
ATMs
The simplest way of obtaining cash in Japan is by
making an AT M withdrawal on a credit or debit
card. Both the post o ce and Seven Bank (whose
machines are located in 7-Eleven stores) operate
ATMs that accept foreign-issued cards. Post O ce
machines accept Visa, PLUS, MasterCard, Maestro,
Cirrus and American Express, with instructions
provided in English; 7-Eleven ATMs accept all of
these, too, except overseas-issued MasterCard
brand cash cards and credit cards (including Cirrus
and Maestro cards). Withdrawal limits will depend
on the card issuer and your credit limit. If the
machine doesn't allow you to withdraw money in
the first instance, try again with a smaller amount.
Seven Bank ATMs are often accessible 24 hours.
You'll also find post o ce ATMs not only in post
o ces, but also in stations, department stores and
the like throughout the city - they're identified
with a sticker saying “International ATM Service”.
Their ATMs have more restricted hours than the
Seven Bank machines, but the ones in major post
o ces can be accessed at weekends and after the
counters have closed, though none is open round
the clock. If you need money out of hours, you can
also try Citibank ( W citibank.co.jp), which operates
a number of ATM corners in Tokyo. Most are
accessible outside normal banking hours, and some
are open 24 hours. If you're having problems, pick
up the phone beside the ATM and ask to speak to
someone in English.
Maps
Decent free maps of the city are available from
any of the tourist information centres (see p.38).
Bilingual maps on public notice boards outside the
main exits to most subway and train stations are
handy for getting your immediate bearings. Note
that in Japan, these are usually oriented the way
you are facing. So, if you're facing southeast, for
example, as you look at the map, the top will be
southeast and the bottom northwest.
There are also decent maps online . Google's
is typically excellent, while with a little hunting
you'll be able to find apps offering o ine-friendly
maps of the city; most useful, however, are those
portraying the Tokyo subway network, since such
maps are not visible anywhere once you're on the
trains themselves.
Changing money
You can change cash and travellers' cheques
at the exchange counters ( ryōgae-jo ; ྆ସॴ ) of
main post o ces and certain banks - the bigger
branches of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ ( W bk.mufg.jp
/english) and SMBC (Sumitomo Mitsubishi
Banking Corporation; W www.smbcgroup.com)
are your best bet. The post o ce handles cash
and travellers' cheques in six major currencies,
including American, Canadian and Australian
dollars, sterling and euros; the most widely
accepted brands of cheque are American Express,
Visa, Thomas Cook and MasterCard. There's little
variation in rates between banks and the post
Money
The Japanese currency is the yen ( en in Japanese).
Notes are available in denominations of ¥1000,
¥2000, ¥5000 and ¥10,000, while coins come in
values of ¥1, ¥5, ¥10, ¥50, ¥100 and ¥500. Apart from
the ¥5 piece, a copper-coloured coin with a hole in
the centre, all other notes and coins indicate their
value in Western numerals. For current exchange
rates see W xe.com.
Though credit and debit cards are far more
widely accepted than they were a few years ago,
Japan is still very much a cash society. The most
 
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