Guide · Akihabara

Part of: Do You Need Cash in Japan? (2026)

Which ATMs in Japan Accept Foreign Cards? The Two That Always Work

Use a 7-Bank ATM inside a 7-Eleven, or a Japan Post Bank ATM at a post office or FamilyMart. Most ATMs attached to ordinary Japanese banks will reject an overseas-issued card outright, which is why visitors standing in front of a bank machine conclude their card is broken. It is not — it is the wrong machine.

Japan still runs on cash more than visitors expect, so knowing where the two working networks are is a practical necessity rather than a detail. Both are everywhere, both operate in English, and between them they cover almost every card brand in circulation.

Which cards actually work?

7-Bank ATMs officially accept VISA, PLUS, Mastercard, Maestro, Cirrus, UnionPay, American Express, JCB, DISCOVER and Diners Club. Japan Post Bank ATMs accept VISA, PLUS, Mastercard, Maestro, Cirrus, JCB, China UnionPay and DISCOVER. Seven Bank adds one caveat worth repeating: "Some cards with these marks may not be accepted."

If your card carries Amex or Diners Club, 7-Bank is the one to look for — those two are not on Japan Post Bank's list. For everything else, whichever you pass first will do.

Where do you find them?

Inside 7-Eleven, which Seven Bank puts at over 28,000 locations nationwide, plus airports, major stations and department stores. Japan Post Bank machines sit in post offices, its own branches, and FamilyMart stores. In any Japanese city you are rarely more than a few minutes' walk from one of the two.

This is the part that makes the system workable: you are not hunting for a bank, you are walking into a convenience store you were going to visit anyway. The ATM is usually near the entrance or the magazine rack, and the screen has an English option on the first touch.

Convenience stores are also where most of your small purchases will happen, and they have their own small etiquette — the tray for money, the bag question, the warm-drinks cabinet — covered in convenience store etiquette.

What can these machines do, and not do?

Cash withdrawal, reliably. Japan Post Bank states plainly that balance inquiry is not available for overseas cards, and its single-transaction withdrawal limit is 50,000 yen. Neither network is a substitute for your own bank's app: check your balance before you travel, not at the machine.

The 50,000-yen cap per transaction is not a daily cap — you can usually run a second withdrawal — but it does mean a large cash need takes more than one press of the button. Your own bank's daily limit and any transaction charge still apply on top, and those are set by your bank, not by the Japanese machine.

Fees, exchange rates and daily limits all vary by issuer and change over time, so nothing useful can be printed here. Ask your bank before you fly, which takes one message and removes the only genuinely unpleasant surprise in this process.

When are they open?

Japan Post Bank ATMs in post offices run 7:00–23:00 on weekdays and 7:00–21:00 at weekends and on holidays, while its FamilyMart machines run 0:05–23:55, and Japan Post notes that "some ATMs may not be accessible depending on location." Seven Bank's machines in 7-Eleven stores let you withdraw "day or night."

The practical reading: if it is the middle of the night, look for a 7-Eleven. If it is the middle of the day, take whichever you reach first.

How much cash do you actually need?

Less than five years ago and more than you would carry at home. Cards and IC-card tapping now cover trains, convenience stores, chain restaurants and most large shops. Cash still rules at small independent restaurants, older shops, shrines, some ticket machines, and market stalls — which is to say, exactly the places a good day out takes you.

The habit that works is topping up rather than stockpiling: withdraw a moderate amount, spend it, withdraw again. Since a 7-Eleven is never far away, there is no reason to carry a week's spending in your pocket. For which situations still refuse cards altogether, cash or card in Japan goes through them one by one.

A transit IC card absorbs most small payments on its own, and setting it up before you land is the other five-minute job worth doing — see Suica on your iPhone. The one place coins still matter is older station lockers, some of which take nothing else; luggage storage in Akihabara covers which ones have moved to IC cards.

What if the machine rejects your card?

Try the other network before assuming the card is the problem. A card refused by a Japan Post Bank machine may work at 7-Bank and vice versa, because their accepted-brand lists are not identical. If both refuse it, the cause is usually your bank's overseas block rather than anything Japanese.

Three things to check, in order:

• Did you tell your bank you were travelling? Many issuers still freeze a card on a first foreign withdrawal.
• Are you using the right card? Some travel cards are issued on a network the machine does not list. The brand marks on the back of the card are what matters.
• Is it a debit or a credit card? A credit card withdrawal is a cash advance, and some issuers block that entirely.

A bank counter is not the fix here. Staff at a Japanese bank cannot troubleshoot an overseas issuer's block, so the useful call is to your own bank.

Should you exchange money instead?

Usually not at the airport counter, and usually not for large amounts. Withdrawing from an ATM as you go is simpler and keeps you from carrying more cash than you need. The exception is arriving late at night with no working card, which is the one scenario where having a small amount of yen in your pocket in advance genuinely saves you.

There is no tipping anywhere in Japan, so your cash needs are lower than a comparable trip elsewhere — the full explanation, including what to do when a tip is refused, is in no tipping in Japan.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use my normal debit card in Japan? If it carries VISA/PLUS, Mastercard/Maestro/Cirrus, JCB, UnionPay, DISCOVER — and, at 7-Bank, Amex or Diners Club — then yes, at the two networks above. Seven Bank notes that some cards bearing those marks may still be declined.

Are the ATMs in English? Yes. Both networks offer English on screen, and the option appears on the first screen rather than buried in a menu.

How much can I take out at once? Japan Post Bank states a single-transaction limit of 50,000 yen. Your own bank's daily limit applies separately and is usually the tighter of the two.

Can I check my balance? Not at a Japan Post Bank ATM — it says explicitly that balance inquiry is not available for overseas cards. Use your bank's app.

Do convenience store ATMs charge a fee? Charges depend on the operator and your issuer and change over time, so ask your bank before you travel rather than trusting a number printed on a travel blog.

Is it safe to use an ATM at night? Yes. Convenience-store machines are inside a staffed, brightly lit shop, and Japan's street safety is one of the things visitors comment on most.

I am spending a day in Akihabara — will I need cash? Some. Large electronics and anime chains take cards, and the small second-hand shops, gachapon machines and older eateries often do not. Things to do in Akihabara covers the ground, and a guided walk means someone else is watching which shop takes what.

The two-minute version

Look for 7-Eleven or a post office. Tell your bank before you fly. Withdraw moderate amounts and top up as you go.

About the author. I am Yuuki, a Japanese teacher and Akihabara anime tour guide based in Tokyo. I run private anime tours in Akihabara, rated 4.96★ on Airbnb across 171 reviews, and "where do I get cash" is one of the two questions every guest asks before arriving. I also teach Japanese one-on-one online as an italki Top 1% teacher, 5.0★ across 358 reviews.

Yuuki guides private anime tours in Akihabara — see the tour — and teaches Japanese online at animesenseijp.com.

Sources: Seven Bank, International Cards, for the accepted brand list, the note that some cards may not be accepted, the 28,000+ 7-Eleven ATM figure and day-or-night availability. Japan Post Bank, International ATM Service, for its accepted brands, the 50,000 yen single-transaction limit, the statement that balance inquiry is not available, and ATM operating hours. Fees and exchange rates are not listed here because they are set by your own issuer and change; ask your bank.