Japanese ATMs
For reasons unknown, Japan’s automatic teller machines (those things that dispense cash, remember?) are, as a general rule, NOT operational 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. They tend to have operating hours more like from 7am to 7pm.
I’ve heard that the reason is because there are no staff available to help you outside those hours. But that doesn’t make sense for the lone ATM next to my train station, 3 kilometres from the nearest branch of it’s bank.
Many convenience stores have 24-hour ATMs but they probably don’t accept international cards and all the instructions are in Japanese. All post offices in Japan are required by law to accept international ATM cards but the opening hours are restrictive again. Citibank ATMs are usually international-card-friendly too.
All these reasons are probably why it is considered perfectly normal to carry large amounts of cash on you. Crime, thankfully, is quite low in Japan, so it’s fairly safe to do so.
If you are ever in Japan over the New Year or Golden Week holiday period, make sure you withdraw huge amounts of cash before and keep it handy. Because there will be no way that you can get money out of your bank accounts. It’s all very strange for such a technologically advanced country as Japan, but it’s just one of the quirks that we gaijin shake our heads at and say “Only in Japan”.
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November 7th, 2005 at 5:11 pm
I have a shinsei bank card, and i can use it in always-open 7-11 conbinis. Not all 7-11s have these ATMs though.
November 7th, 2005 at 5:13 pm
and there’s no charges to use 7/11 atms with your Shinsei bank card. Well, actually, you will be charged about a hundred yen, but Shinsei will cover that cost in the next month by depositing the charged amount into your account.
November 7th, 2005 at 5:22 pm
Many people in Japan a bank account in more than one bank. You need to pay your rent at your landlord’s bank (otherwise you pay an extra charge), your boss wants you to have an account in their bank (otherwise they have to pay an extra charge), and Citibank is the only large bank that accepts International Visa and Mastercard.
If it wasn’t for Citibank who introduced the 24h ATM, Japanese bank would still consider normal to not offer that as an option. Moreover, Citibank introduced the fact that withdrawing money in an ATM is free. Other bank still charged a fee for that (just like combini do, but it is more understandable since they are not the bank themselves).
Many Japanese banks 24h ATMs still have a few operations blocked at night and on week ends. You can get money, but you cannot pay “furikomi” bank transfers for example.
Only in Japan… ;)
November 15th, 2005 at 9:02 am
In Aomori and most inaka places ALL ATMs are only open during the day. There’s no Citybank out here.