Get cash from a machine that will actually take your card
Japan is far more card-friendly than its reputation, but small restaurants, shrines, markets, older ryokan and every coin locker still want cash. The trap isn't finding an ATM — it's finding one that accepts a foreign card.
A rejected card at 11pm with no yen in your pocket is a genuinely bad evening. Learn the two logos now and you will never be stuck.
What to do
Go to 7-Eleven, not a bank
The Seven Bank ATM inside every 7-Eleven takes foreign Visa, Mastercard, Maestro, Cirrus, UnionPay, Amex and JCB, runs 24 hours, and has an English menu.
Japan Post is the rural backup
Where there's no 7-Eleven there's a post office. Japan Post (ゆうちょ) ATMs also take overseas cards — look for the international card logos on the machine.
Switch the screen to English first
There's an English button on the first screen. Do it before you insert the card, not after.
Refuse the currency conversion
If it offers to charge you in your home currency, say no and choose yen. Your own bank's exchange rate is almost always better than the machine's.
Say this
お金をおろしたいです
okane wo oroshitai desu
I’d like to withdraw money.
Watch out for
A bank branch is the wrong instinct
Ordinary Japanese bank ATMs mostly serve domestic cards only, and many switch off in the evening and on Sundays.
Two fees, not one
Seven Bank charges its own withdrawal fee (around ¥110) and your home bank adds its own. Fewer, larger withdrawals cost less than many small ones.
Tell your bank you’re travelling
A first withdrawal in Japan is a classic fraud trigger. A travel notice before you fly prevents a hard block.
Lawson and FamilyMart also work now
Newer Lawson Bank machines take overseas cards, and FamilyMart has been rolling out its own Seven Bank-serviced ATM since June 2026.
Where this comes from
Last checked 2026-07-29. Fees and per-transaction limits depend on your own card issuer as much as on the machine.