Money in Japan
EagleEye
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I just spent two weeks in Japan and thought I would post some observations about the money there compared to here.
Right now the yen is right at par with the US cent, so a Y100 coin in Japan is worth $1 US. This made calculating prices super easy. A large beer cost between Y500 and Y800 in restaurants. The average meal was Y1500 to Y2500. There are vending machines everywhere and the bottles of water and juice was typically Y110 to Y150. I felt like all the prices I encountered were pretty much what I would pay with US dollars here .
The coins are as follows:
Y1 an aluminum coin valued at the US cent. It is basically worthless and the best use for them is to drop them in a donation bin. You only get them when the price is not divisible by 5 or 10, which is hardly ever.
Y5 is a copper coin which is perforated, about the size of a US cent. It is currently valued at 5 cents US. I found that it was a pain to get rid of them.
Y10 is a copper coin that is between the size of the nickel and quarter. These are useful in buying things in vending machines.
Y50 is a small copper-nickel coin with a perforation, a bit smaller than a nickel. It has a value in US money currently at 50 cents. I found these convenient to use.
Y100 is a medium-sized copper-nickel coin about the size of a US quarter and currently worth $1 US. These were highly desired and seemed to be the workhorse coin in circulation. Great for vending machines.
Y500 is a large copper-nickel coin slightly smaller than a US half dollar and worth $5 US. These were useful and I usually had one or two in my pocket. Also great for vending machines.
The paper money was found in denominations of Y1000 ($10 US), Y5000 ($50 US) and Y10000 ($100 US). They have a slightly plastic feel which I didn't like. I cashed in the Y10000 bills as I need them and they were never once held up to the light and examined like clerks do here in the US with $100 bills. I think it would appear disrespectful (as it does when they do it here).
Japan has a 5% VAT tax (soon to be 7%) which is not added onto the price as state sales taxes are here. The tax is built into the price. This made the Y1 coin virtually useless. All receipts were in Y10-denominated amounts. If you bought gas and had an odd amount, you would get some Y1 coins, but normally you won't.
I traveled to Kyoto, and by chance they were having their Gion Festival where they close the streets and have a party - Japanese style (no public drunkeness, lots of kimonos being worn, big floats that get carried around). It was like Mardi Gras, but with over 1 million people. Amazing.
Right now the yen is right at par with the US cent, so a Y100 coin in Japan is worth $1 US. This made calculating prices super easy. A large beer cost between Y500 and Y800 in restaurants. The average meal was Y1500 to Y2500. There are vending machines everywhere and the bottles of water and juice was typically Y110 to Y150. I felt like all the prices I encountered were pretty much what I would pay with US dollars here .
The coins are as follows:
Y1 an aluminum coin valued at the US cent. It is basically worthless and the best use for them is to drop them in a donation bin. You only get them when the price is not divisible by 5 or 10, which is hardly ever.
Y5 is a copper coin which is perforated, about the size of a US cent. It is currently valued at 5 cents US. I found that it was a pain to get rid of them.
Y10 is a copper coin that is between the size of the nickel and quarter. These are useful in buying things in vending machines.
Y50 is a small copper-nickel coin with a perforation, a bit smaller than a nickel. It has a value in US money currently at 50 cents. I found these convenient to use.
Y100 is a medium-sized copper-nickel coin about the size of a US quarter and currently worth $1 US. These were highly desired and seemed to be the workhorse coin in circulation. Great for vending machines.
Y500 is a large copper-nickel coin slightly smaller than a US half dollar and worth $5 US. These were useful and I usually had one or two in my pocket. Also great for vending machines.
The paper money was found in denominations of Y1000 ($10 US), Y5000 ($50 US) and Y10000 ($100 US). They have a slightly plastic feel which I didn't like. I cashed in the Y10000 bills as I need them and they were never once held up to the light and examined like clerks do here in the US with $100 bills. I think it would appear disrespectful (as it does when they do it here).
Japan has a 5% VAT tax (soon to be 7%) which is not added onto the price as state sales taxes are here. The tax is built into the price. This made the Y1 coin virtually useless. All receipts were in Y10-denominated amounts. If you bought gas and had an odd amount, you would get some Y1 coins, but normally you won't.
I traveled to Kyoto, and by chance they were having their Gion Festival where they close the streets and have a party - Japanese style (no public drunkeness, lots of kimonos being worn, big floats that get carried around). It was like Mardi Gras, but with over 1 million people. Amazing.
Rick Snow, Eagle Eye Rare Coins, Inc.Check out my new web site:
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Partner @Gold Hill Coin
There's also a Y2000 note, which is less common.
Authorized dealer for PCGS, PCGS Currency, NGC, NCS, PMG, CAC. Member of the PNG, ANA. Member dealer of CoinPlex and CCE/FACTS as "CH5"
aren't toomany left in circulation. The Japanese are much thriftier than Americans so attrition
is probably lower. Mintages could be modest (like the '71 50Y) but most were very high making
them unappealing to collectors. Some of the mint sets from the late'60'sand early '70's can go
for hundreds of dollars.
Did you notice dates and conditions?
Steve
There was a pizza shop in town run by an ex GI. He grates his own cheese daily and made the best cheese pizza I have ever had. I would stop by in the afternoon on my way to bar hop for a bite to eat, Y200 for a cheese pizza, Y150 for a Kirin beer. The exchange rate was Y360 to $1
mike
W.C. Fields
Looking for Top Pop Mercury Dime Varieties & High Grade Mercury Dime Toners.
Regarding the useless ¥1 and ¥5 ... Sounds very parallel indeed to our own. Would you agree that our pennies are "basically worthless" and should go the dodo way?
Amat Colligendo Focum
Top 10 • FOR SALE
I was with my family and we didn't go to the highest priced restaurants, but ate very well. The beer might have pushed the bill up a higher. Kyoto is a bit different from Tokyo, kind of like going to Baltimore compared to New York. Slightly different food, for instance they don't typically supply soy sauce in Kyoto, while in Tokyo, they soak everything in the stuff.
Regarding the useless ¥1 and ¥5 ... Sounds very parallel indeed to our own. Would you agree that our pennies are "basically worthless" and should go the dodo way?
I think as long as we have a sales tax added to the price at the cashier, we'll need a cent and 5 cent piece. If the Government authorized rounding to be a legal practice, the cent would disappear from circulation, or be a very rarely seen/used coin, just as the Y1 is now in Japan.
I enjoyed it and learned something too.
Well done.
"If I say something in the woods and my wife isn't there to hear it.....am I still wrong?"
My Washington Quarter Registry set...in progress
<< <i>What? No dead Emporers? Are these dated? What are the oldest pieces that " pop up", do they have our occasional wheatie? >>
It's spelled "Emperor" and the dates are right there on the reverse.
Authorized dealer for PCGS, PCGS Currency, NGC, NCS, PMG, CAC. Member of the PNG, ANA. Member dealer of CoinPlex and CCE/FACTS as "CH5"
<< <i>What? No dead Emporers? Are these dated? What are the oldest pieces that " pop up", do they have our occasional wheatie? >>
Most of these coin types date to the late 50s through 60s, so I think that's about the oldest you will get - except the 500 yen, which I think was introduced in the late 80s or 90s.
Coin's for sale/trade.
Tom Pilitowski
US Rare Coin Investments
800-624-1870
I know because when I was a devious kid I used to buy them from junk boxes for a
dime each or 15 for a buck and feed my Pinball addiction
You mention there about the size inbetween a quarter and nickel, did they resize
them after 1989??
Steve
Interesting that you don't tip in Japan. Restaurant servers are paid full wages.
<< <i>
<< <i>What? No dead Emporers? Are these dated? What are the oldest pieces that " pop up", do they have our occasional wheatie? >>
It's spelled "Emperor" and the dates are right there on the reverse. >>
And they're specified as the current emperor's era and his regnal year, so dead emperors would be confusing.
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
<< <i>On the Y10's, I recall the ones between 1959 and 1989 were the size of a US quarter
I know because when I was a devious kid I used to buy them from junk boxes for a
dime each or 15 for a buck and feed my Pinball addiction
I hear they also worked in toll booths.
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
<< <i>I think as long as we have a sales tax added to the price at the cashier, we'll need a cent and 5 cent piece. If the Government authorized rounding to be a legal practice, the cent would disappear from circulation, or be a very rarely seen/used coin, just as the Y1 is now in Japan. >>
re: Sales tax, plenty of businesses build the taxes into their price (rounding up I'm sure). And since gov and fed taxes are paid electronically these days (or by check but not cash), I don't think Sales tax is holding us back. Also, some states don't have any sales tax at all.
Amat Colligendo Focum
Top 10 • FOR SALE
<< <i>I never went to Japan even when I lived in SE Asia. Threads like yours remind me of that blunder , sounds like a great trip
It is an amazing country - I was there rather unexpectedly back in 2006 and absolutely loved it, the food was awesome and people were amazingly respectful. I wish people here had manners like they do in Japan.
Regarding the coins - I never saw 1 or 5 yen coins in change, everything seems to have been done in multiples of 10 yen. I did managed to save a couple of the 500 yen coins from circulation - probably the most recent higher value coin I have used in commerce.
<< <i>
<< <i>On the Y10's, I recall the ones between 1959 and 1989 were the size of a US quarter
I know because when I was a devious kid I used to buy them from junk boxes for a
dime each or 15 for a buck and feed my Pinball addiction
I hear they also worked in toll booths. >>
They also worked in bus fare boxes - because I also bought them from junk boxes and used them for bus fare to get to school.