Today’s article will deal with a necessity for staying in Japan: money. More specific, the Japanese yen. The topic of money surely isn’t the most attractive thing you could talk about regarding the topic of Japan but if you plan to travel or stay in Japan, you should know about the country’s currency. In the following, we will give you an introduction to Japanese money. 

The yen is the third most traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the United States dollar and the euro. It was first introduced in the Meiji restauration as a way to modernize the country through a singular currency. Before the yen’s introduction, different emperors of Japan used different currencies which made it hard to convert and preserve the value of money. The word Yen, which is spelled “en” (円), means “round”, referring to coins. Before the introduction of bills, there were coins for bigger amounts of worth as well. A useful thing to keep in mind is that 1 dollar = roughly a 100 yen. Of course that exchange rate changes all the time so it’s better to check on a regular basis. 
First of all, Japanese money comes in large scales, which means that smaller amounts have more zeros, compared to a western currency like the dollar or euro. If you’ve never been to Japan before it may not seem like real money to you and you’re more likely to let it pass through your hands more quickly, it’s better to resist that temptation.

From the left, there is the aluminum one yen coin, which costs more to make than it’s worth, then the 5, 10, 50, 100, and 500 yen coins. Vending machines accept all coins except the ones and fives, as well as 1000 yen bills. 

Speaking of bills, there are 1000, 5000 and 10000 yen bills. There was a special edition 2000 yen bill as well but it was only printed for a short time and therefore it’s pretty rare and not in use on a daily basis. 
You’ll see and touch a lot of yen when visiting Japan, make sure to take a look at the bills as they feature beautiful designs and people that shapes Japan’s cultural identity, we will post an article on that matter in the near future as well. Happy spending!