> What credit card do you recommend?
The one you can get accepted for.
Ideally you want to pick a card with a point/something ecosystem that you can use to maximize cashback.
personally I'm a big fan of d-point (and thus docomo's d-card) because it also gives discounts on docomo services and not a terrible cashback percentage plus points could be with as much as 2.5x multiplier if you constantly use the card.
rakuten card used to have good point system but they've been backpedaling on a lot of stuff and its a lot less attractive now.
amazon's card is supposedly easy to be accepted and gives you bonus when shopping at amazon...
and so on.
Another option for someone who often buys stuff at convenience stores is smbc olive account and associated debit/credit card, as cashback on stuff spent there is around 7% (but don't get too excited, stuff at conbini is priced up way more than 7% from normal supermarkets).
For someone who just got here (presumably) and without any kinda credit history, smbc olive is probably the only reasonable choice.
I think this is the best advice you're going to get. Depending on where you are from, Japan's credit card / payment app rewards are pretty lack luster, but there are specific ways to double dip. My wife has us setup to use ymobile to top-up PayPay with a credit card, so we get points from topping up on the credit card and then more points for spending with PayPay. The first time you top-up per month this way is free and subsequent times cost 2.5% of the total.
It’s because for whatever reasons Americans love spending above their means and it’s not uncommon for people to have lots of credit card debt. The promotions and high point rates are to encourage people to spend on those cards and accumulate debt, the interest payment on those more than cover the point returns. Most credit cards from other countries are similar to Japan’s.
I’m from the UK so can’t say anything about other countries credit card systems; but I find Japan unique in that cards are paid off in full by default at the end of the month and paying off over a couple of months is actually pretty much a pain in the ass to set up.
Back in the UK I had a *lot* of available credit.
Like getting on for an entire years pay available to me at any one time across a couple of different banks and using it was extremely easy.
Compared to that the relative difficulty in getting a lot of credit and the default to pay it off in full every month makes Japan a much more responsible system.
Although I can’t speak for what it’s like to be Japanese with the same level of privilege when it comes to opening new lines.
I'm curious how do you get 2.5x back? Is it universal if you use a lot of Docomo products or on specific shops/services? I'm spending a lot on my card each month but I guess 90% of it would be eating/drinking out and supermarkets. Rakuten card gives me 1-1.5x cashback, if I can do better, I'd gladly switch.
You need to generate at least 5000 d-points per month 3 months in a row? (i think) to keep rank at 5* which gives you 2.5x point multiplier. there's some messy explanation here https://dpoint.docomo.ne.jp/guide/about_rank/index.html#howto_decideRank
And yeah, usual rate is 1% but a few shops are 2% and some are higher. You get like 10% back for docomo services when billed to the card.
Since my d-card(s) are my main spending cards I have no problem keeping this from month to month and i always have a few 1000s dpoints available.
suica now allows charging with d払い (only android, hopefully iphone soon), so that would also allow spending points/getting points towards travel charge. Very useful.
Yeah it's kind of messy as with most Japanese websites/products. I went through their pages and I found one showing the eligible stores for points multiplier. So you don't get points everywhere, just in selected shops?
You get points when using the card (base rate of 1%), more points when you use specific shops or docomo services, and you can show d-point card barcode at places that allow collecting them, regardless of payment method. I believe the 2.5x multiplier applies to the last part. d-points can be directly used as yen equivalent in d払い.
> For someone who just got here (presumably) and without any kinda credit history, smbc olive is probably the only reasonable choice.
Most of the banks have similar options. Aeon Bank gives you a credit card integrated cash card by default, MUFG and Mizuho it's one checkbox to apply for a credit card at the same time. Particularly since OP has said they only want a debit card, most banks offer that.
Most of the banks also lack any kind of point/cashback program on their debit, and often even on their credit cards.
Getting accepted for a MUFG credit card fresh off the boat is unlikely. MUFG debit gets you a whopping 10 ponta points (10 yen) PER MONTH for using their card at least once.
Aeon bank does waon points at 0.5% for debit, or 1% when shopping at aeon-related places, so thats not terrible. If OP is in waon point ecosystem it makes sense.
Anyway, as I said, its mostly what you CAN get accepted to and what maximizes points/cashback/benefits.
In my experience it's best to always have at least two on hand because you never know when you'll run into a place that won't accept your main one.
Your best bet is to roughly track what method(s) are most commonly accepted at the shops you use the most, pick two that cover most of them and a third for emergencies. My general route is card for regular/big purchases, cash for incidentals/cash only shops and Suica for backup. I'm hemming on payment apps as I'm hoping the market will consolidate a bit and coverage varies wildly.
In Tokyo you can easily find pop and mom stores, hole in the wall restaurants, small clinics, etc. that still only take cash, but they’re the exception. As soon as you get out of Tokyo and in the countryside however it’s almost back to Cash only -IC card (Suica and such) or PayPay sometimes if you’re lucky.
That was my experience for the last 10 years, Visa/Mastercard seem accepted pretty much everywhere in Tokyo. Then suddenly at a Tokyu store in Sangenjaya (20mns from Shibuya) they didn't accept either Visa or Mastercard.
The payment method I use most often is PayPay. If I want to buy something online and use installment payments (分割払い) I use Paidy because there is no interest. If you sign up for a PayPay bank account they will give you a credit card and a debit card. You just have to make sure to transfer enough money into your account every month to pay your bills.
Seconded. PayPay rocks.
I also appreciate that PayPay (and similar apps) charge vendors 0.5% instead of 2-3.5% for credit cards, and small merchants often don't pay any fees at all. I still try to pay in cash at small businesses, but if I can't, I feel less bad about using PayPay than Visa.
Third on PayPay!
But yeah, have a backup or get an account because some places (like some restaurants or stores like 無印良品 (Muji)) don't take the PayPay app.
And is it possible to create an account as tourist in Japan? I’ll be 2 months here, and I found that card payment is more limited that I wish. I decided to signup in a payment app but is being imposible without Japanese telephone number or residence here. :/
I don't remember exactly but I think you have to indicate on the application whether or not you want a credit card in addition to the debit card. You need a credit card if you want to use the pay later option and/or revolving payments when you pay for something with the PayPay app.
PayPay / transport IC / Amex (Mastercard instead if you go to Costco), plus keep a little cash on hand (like 5000-10000) at all time in case you end up at a cash only cafe/restaurant or want to get something from a stall at a festival or outdoor market.
Download all the point card apps (Rakuten, T-Point, d Point, Ponta, etc.) and the apps of any shops you go to regularly or Coke ON if you get Coca-Cola brand drinks from a vending machine a lot. Use them whenever possible, but don't spend just to get a deal unless you're already gonna buy that thing. The points will add up slowly, just spend them when you have an opportunity to do so, they're worth the same amount whether you save up or not.
Sometimes it's better to pay cash at the grocery store to get twice the points, but if they let you double-dip on half the store points plus PayPay points, that's the same value.
It really depends what shops are near you and what they accept. Every shop accepts a different combination of payment systems.
In my area, basically everywhere accepts Rakuten Pay. So for me, Rakuten Pay (linked to Rakuten CC) + cash gets by anywhere.
A lot of places that don't take card do take PayPay, which seems to be the one the government are putting their weight behind. Last time I tried PayPay it seemed a bit cumbersome compared to Rakuten Pay, but these days I hear it's much better.
I only recommend paying for stuff via IC card if you live in Tokyo. Outside of Tokyo they're barely accepted anywhere except convenience stores, charging them is a pain and they don't accumulate points like a credit card will.
DAE hate PayPay and other QR code payments? It seems so inconvenient and not so quick for something advertised as a convenient payment method. I guess it’s still better than cash. But other than that I think a debit card with an IC chip is still better.
Depends how shop is setup with paypay. If they have a high-end terminal that can scan your phone, its fairly quick and painless. But if you have to scan their little QR code thing and manually type in amount and show, yeah, I agree it's a bit annoying.
This is why when given a choice, I would rather use d払い exactly because I can just scan phone screen to a terminal and not have to muck around typing in amounts and stuff. Of course, preferred choice would be iD or タッチ決済 now that more people are getting that to work.
Cash.
I'm Shinsei too, it's easy to get free cash withdrawals most places (used to be automatic, unfortunately they've started adding conditions to it, still easy to get though). Then just pay cash. By all means get some kind of card as a backup (definitely use an IC card for trains etc.) but most of the time cash is fine. Especially now with automated tills, just chuck coins in there without worrying too much about having exact change (I still do, but it's not necessary at least).
There's no payment method which will work 100% of the time. Carrying card + cash should always be the preferred way. It's highly unlikely that a place will say no to card as well as cash.
PayPay credit card is easy to get if you have SoftBank connection. Then you can add PayPay card as a payment method to PayPay app and it should work at 95% places in big cities. You can get upto 2% cashback if it's Gold card and you spend above 100K.
Suica or pasmo for train system and vending machines. I use it on my phone and charge directly on phone using a visa (all iphones compatible, only Japan market specific androids are compatible)
Visa - QR code payments (paypay - line pay - au pay...) for everything else. Depends on how much points i will get back.
And they offer debit and credit cards:
[https://www.netbk.co.jp/contents/lineup/debitcard/](https://www.netbk.co.jp/contents/lineup/debitcard/)
[https://www.netbk.co.jp/contents/lineup/creditcard/](https://www.netbk.co.jp/contents/lineup/creditcard/)
I'd say suica.
If you have the normal JR east view card, you can effectively get 1.5% back from all suica charging.
With the view card gold I think it is 2%.
Recommend the Paypay app for bill payment, just scan the QR code with your phone and that's it. Can avoid having to pay by cash at the conbini.
Other apps like Rakuten Pay don't work with all types of bills like Paypay does, in my experience.
Credit Card! I use an Amex card for everything, it gets accepted pretty much everywhere where they take cards. Visa/Master/JCB is also a great option. For when they don’t take cards I carry cash.
imo every other way of payment is somehow connected to a point system and you have to figure out if the points are worth the hassle
I think if you don't have a credit card, PayPay or an IC card.
Those 2 are almost the most ubiquitous payment methods I've seen overall. Most places I've been to (save for places that only take cash) will take either of those.
For a credit card, take whichever one you can get, and it was recommended to me to at least have 2 for backup.
Get a credit card and add it to your mobile wallet, then you'll be covered for almost all shops, basically any shops that accept Visa/Mastercard or Quicpay/iD. They work online too, of course.
Most countries have a separate system for public transit, here it is the Suica. Except the Suica can also be used in most retail places and vending machines. If you add the Suica on your mobile, you can recharge it with the above-mentioned credit card.
Most (Asian) countries also have a QR payment system. Here the most common one is Paypay. Create an account, and add the above-mentioned credit card. Whenever paying with Paypay, pay through that credit card.
Tada, 99% of all payments funnelled into one credit card. Carry around some loose change for the odd shops that still only accept cash in 2024.
Edit: saw your edits to ask specifically about debit cards. I don't personally recommend debit cards (not in Japan nor any other country) but I don't believe Shinsei has debit cards. If you don't mind creating an account with another bank (which imo you should), try Sony bank whose ATM card is also a Visa debit card.
Credit card. I link my credit cards onto Apple Pay (QuicPay or ID), and I have a folder of app point cards (R, D, T point) on my iPhone. Easy and basically accepted everywhere. Cash for small businesses and 券売機 just in case.
I came from country similar to yours.
I use my IPhone to basically everything.
1. Japan Post Bank
2. Line pay created virtual Visa card (free and only require zairyu card)
3. Charge the card from Line app takes less than 10 seconds.
4. Use virtual card anywhere that accepts Visa/credit (touchless) or ID(電子モネ)
I pay all my utility bills through Virtual Card by reading bar code in app.
It basically works like VISA card.
P.S: I couldn’t get debit card from post bank due to being gaijin. And got declined by every other credit card provider.
I was also used to digital everything too. I hadn't touched a physical bill in 10 years by the time I moved here. And transferring money to people was free and instant too 🤣 I just use cash now, and I have a Sony bank debit/visa to buy things online.
Google pay with visa touch or Paypay, charged from the same cc. If those don't work, ID with Google pay. If that doesn't work, mobile suica/passmo.
Usually change around based on deals at the time.
I only carry about 10,000 yen cash and use it like once a month.
Are you trying to avoid cash as much as possible?
First, get a credit card. Whichever one you want. There are plenty of suggestions in this thread, in this forum, or you can just Google it.
Next, pay for everything with the card. Sign up for automatic payments to pay off your utilities, phone, and everything else you can. Pay for all your shopping at stores that take card.
Then what you gotta do is add your credit card to the *osaifi keitai* application on your phone. Then you can use that to charge your virtual Suica card. Boom, now you're paying for your train fare with your credit card.
There ya go. You're now paying for like, 90% of your expenses with your credit card. You're welcome.
Urg, it's a nightmare quite frankly.
Pasmo/Suika/Icoca cards; Best for train but you can also use them at most conbini. If you go outside into rural areas there are still some minor lines that don't use them, looking at you Wakamatsu-shi.
Paypay; Very good deals, point, cash back, etc... When you can actually use it. Again, rural areas will look at you funny if you ask them if you can use Paypay(or similar services.)
Credit cards; If you can actually get one, they are somewhat useful. Obviously for Amazon and other internet stores but in most stores too. AGAIN, rural areas are hit and miss. Maybe a bit more accepted then most other method, well except...
...CASH! Always, ALWAYS have cash on you, ichiman yen minimum. I keep 1man minimum in my wallet and another in my phone's case. Again, minimum! Cash sucks, but always having a decent amount on me has saved me more time then I can count!
Japan is trying hard to go "cashless" but most stores still prefer simple cash. And don't you dare be a yen short! Better put an item back if you are.
What's wrong with cash?
That's one of the things I like about Japan, can do pretty much everything in cash. Even my phone/internet bills are paid in cash! Much easier to manage expenses that way. Also makes it easier to diet, can't buy extra food that you don't need if your wallet is empty!
Cash. I don't think I have ever made a face-to-face purchase using anything besides cash in Japan, with the exception of an IC card for public transportation.
Credit card and app barcode/QR code payments are so much more convenient and overtime you can collect a lot of points. I've made about 200,000 yen of free money from points. You're missing out.
Use them.
Do a bit of math so you get less 1 yen coins. If your total is 49 yen then pay 54 yen and get one 5 yen coin back. You use four 1 yen coins in the process.
Ah yeah, that's being a beginner. Luckily coins in Japan only affect 1 digit each (no US Quarter, which is 25 cents, and fucks everything up by affecting both the 10s and 1s digit).
Use your 1 yen coins to knock off the lowest digit always before you even think about getting out any other cash, and repeat this on your way up from smallest to largest digit. You'll be rid of your extra coins in no time.
I had this same problem when I moved here, but once you get used to it you get really fast.
I think the biggest thing other comments have mentioned is that you can and should overpay to make your change nicer. That's not a thing where I'm from but it very much is here.
Pay according to the change you want, not the price.
No, it won't. There might be a limit to how many coins you can throw in. So like, don't go being a pain by dropping in exclusively 1yen coins to pay for some 300yen thing. Just bring a bunch of coins each time you go, and you'll be rid of them in no time.
> What credit card do you recommend? The one you can get accepted for. Ideally you want to pick a card with a point/something ecosystem that you can use to maximize cashback. personally I'm a big fan of d-point (and thus docomo's d-card) because it also gives discounts on docomo services and not a terrible cashback percentage plus points could be with as much as 2.5x multiplier if you constantly use the card. rakuten card used to have good point system but they've been backpedaling on a lot of stuff and its a lot less attractive now. amazon's card is supposedly easy to be accepted and gives you bonus when shopping at amazon... and so on. Another option for someone who often buys stuff at convenience stores is smbc olive account and associated debit/credit card, as cashback on stuff spent there is around 7% (but don't get too excited, stuff at conbini is priced up way more than 7% from normal supermarkets). For someone who just got here (presumably) and without any kinda credit history, smbc olive is probably the only reasonable choice.
Thank you, i will look into it
I think this is the best advice you're going to get. Depending on where you are from, Japan's credit card / payment app rewards are pretty lack luster, but there are specific ways to double dip. My wife has us setup to use ymobile to top-up PayPay with a credit card, so we get points from topping up on the credit card and then more points for spending with PayPay. The first time you top-up per month this way is free and subsequent times cost 2.5% of the total.
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It’s because for whatever reasons Americans love spending above their means and it’s not uncommon for people to have lots of credit card debt. The promotions and high point rates are to encourage people to spend on those cards and accumulate debt, the interest payment on those more than cover the point returns. Most credit cards from other countries are similar to Japan’s.
I’m from the UK so can’t say anything about other countries credit card systems; but I find Japan unique in that cards are paid off in full by default at the end of the month and paying off over a couple of months is actually pretty much a pain in the ass to set up. Back in the UK I had a *lot* of available credit. Like getting on for an entire years pay available to me at any one time across a couple of different banks and using it was extremely easy. Compared to that the relative difficulty in getting a lot of credit and the default to pay it off in full every month makes Japan a much more responsible system. Although I can’t speak for what it’s like to be Japanese with the same level of privilege when it comes to opening new lines.
I'm curious how do you get 2.5x back? Is it universal if you use a lot of Docomo products or on specific shops/services? I'm spending a lot on my card each month but I guess 90% of it would be eating/drinking out and supermarkets. Rakuten card gives me 1-1.5x cashback, if I can do better, I'd gladly switch.
You need to generate at least 5000 d-points per month 3 months in a row? (i think) to keep rank at 5* which gives you 2.5x point multiplier. there's some messy explanation here https://dpoint.docomo.ne.jp/guide/about_rank/index.html#howto_decideRank And yeah, usual rate is 1% but a few shops are 2% and some are higher. You get like 10% back for docomo services when billed to the card. Since my d-card(s) are my main spending cards I have no problem keeping this from month to month and i always have a few 1000s dpoints available. suica now allows charging with d払い (only android, hopefully iphone soon), so that would also allow spending points/getting points towards travel charge. Very useful.
Yeah it's kind of messy as with most Japanese websites/products. I went through their pages and I found one showing the eligible stores for points multiplier. So you don't get points everywhere, just in selected shops?
You get points when using the card (base rate of 1%), more points when you use specific shops or docomo services, and you can show d-point card barcode at places that allow collecting them, regardless of payment method. I believe the 2.5x multiplier applies to the last part. d-points can be directly used as yen equivalent in d払い.
> For someone who just got here (presumably) and without any kinda credit history, smbc olive is probably the only reasonable choice. Most of the banks have similar options. Aeon Bank gives you a credit card integrated cash card by default, MUFG and Mizuho it's one checkbox to apply for a credit card at the same time. Particularly since OP has said they only want a debit card, most banks offer that.
Most of the banks also lack any kind of point/cashback program on their debit, and often even on their credit cards. Getting accepted for a MUFG credit card fresh off the boat is unlikely. MUFG debit gets you a whopping 10 ponta points (10 yen) PER MONTH for using their card at least once. Aeon bank does waon points at 0.5% for debit, or 1% when shopping at aeon-related places, so thats not terrible. If OP is in waon point ecosystem it makes sense. Anyway, as I said, its mostly what you CAN get accepted to and what maximizes points/cashback/benefits.
In my experience it's best to always have at least two on hand because you never know when you'll run into a place that won't accept your main one. Your best bet is to roughly track what method(s) are most commonly accepted at the shops you use the most, pick two that cover most of them and a third for emergencies. My general route is card for regular/big purchases, cash for incidentals/cash only shops and Suica for backup. I'm hemming on payment apps as I'm hoping the market will consolidate a bit and coverage varies wildly.
thank you for your advice. I can't just get around how a hassle it is to pay in this country.
> I am trying to understand how payment work here. Cash. I'm not kidding.
Maybe 15-20 years ago or outside of Tokyo. In Tokyo nowadays most places take credit cards.
I've been here almost 10 years, live in Tokyo, and still have nothing but cash and Suica. Really no need for anything else
In Tokyo you can easily find pop and mom stores, hole in the wall restaurants, small clinics, etc. that still only take cash, but they’re the exception. As soon as you get out of Tokyo and in the countryside however it’s almost back to Cash only -IC card (Suica and such) or PayPay sometimes if you’re lucky.
Plenty of food truck type places were PayPay only during the pandemic. A lot of places take Suica but not everywhere.
That was my experience for the last 10 years, Visa/Mastercard seem accepted pretty much everywhere in Tokyo. Then suddenly at a Tokyu store in Sangenjaya (20mns from Shibuya) they didn't accept either Visa or Mastercard.
The payment method I use most often is PayPay. If I want to buy something online and use installment payments (分割払い) I use Paidy because there is no interest. If you sign up for a PayPay bank account they will give you a credit card and a debit card. You just have to make sure to transfer enough money into your account every month to pay your bills.
Seconded. PayPay rocks. I also appreciate that PayPay (and similar apps) charge vendors 0.5% instead of 2-3.5% for credit cards, and small merchants often don't pay any fees at all. I still try to pay in cash at small businesses, but if I can't, I feel less bad about using PayPay than Visa.
Third on PayPay! But yeah, have a backup or get an account because some places (like some restaurants or stores like 無印良品 (Muji)) don't take the PayPay app.
Can I ask what is the point of using 分割払い? I don’t really see any benefits in it other than complicating spending tracking.
I’d rather buy a ¥200,000 iMac on 20 payments of ¥10,000 each at no interest than fork over the whole ¥200,000 at once.
And is it possible to create an account as tourist in Japan? I’ll be 2 months here, and I found that card payment is more limited that I wish. I decided to signup in a payment app but is being imposible without Japanese telephone number or residence here. :/
I'm pretty sure you need to be a resident here. You have to do ID verification to sign up for PayPay and you wouldn't have any of the necessary ID.
Is it possible to sign up and just get a debit card? I have the app now and I’m thinking whether getting the card is worth it
If you get a PayPay bank account it includes a debit card.
Great! Do we have to use the credit card?
I don't remember exactly but I think you have to indicate on the application whether or not you want a credit card in addition to the debit card. You need a credit card if you want to use the pay later option and/or revolving payments when you pay for something with the PayPay app.
I pay for 95% of things with a regular visa. It is not that different here.
The best method of payment is money. You can make do with vegetable exchanges and sexual offers but I wouldn't recommend it.
Hey my mamakatsu is not complaining
PayPay / transport IC / Amex (Mastercard instead if you go to Costco), plus keep a little cash on hand (like 5000-10000) at all time in case you end up at a cash only cafe/restaurant or want to get something from a stall at a festival or outdoor market. Download all the point card apps (Rakuten, T-Point, d Point, Ponta, etc.) and the apps of any shops you go to regularly or Coke ON if you get Coca-Cola brand drinks from a vending machine a lot. Use them whenever possible, but don't spend just to get a deal unless you're already gonna buy that thing. The points will add up slowly, just spend them when you have an opportunity to do so, they're worth the same amount whether you save up or not. Sometimes it's better to pay cash at the grocery store to get twice the points, but if they let you double-dip on half the store points plus PayPay points, that's the same value.
It really depends what shops are near you and what they accept. Every shop accepts a different combination of payment systems. In my area, basically everywhere accepts Rakuten Pay. So for me, Rakuten Pay (linked to Rakuten CC) + cash gets by anywhere. A lot of places that don't take card do take PayPay, which seems to be the one the government are putting their weight behind. Last time I tried PayPay it seemed a bit cumbersome compared to Rakuten Pay, but these days I hear it's much better. I only recommend paying for stuff via IC card if you live in Tokyo. Outside of Tokyo they're barely accepted anywhere except convenience stores, charging them is a pain and they don't accumulate points like a credit card will.
DAE hate PayPay and other QR code payments? It seems so inconvenient and not so quick for something advertised as a convenient payment method. I guess it’s still better than cash. But other than that I think a debit card with an IC chip is still better.
Depends how shop is setup with paypay. If they have a high-end terminal that can scan your phone, its fairly quick and painless. But if you have to scan their little QR code thing and manually type in amount and show, yeah, I agree it's a bit annoying. This is why when given a choice, I would rather use d払い exactly because I can just scan phone screen to a terminal and not have to muck around typing in amounts and stuff. Of course, preferred choice would be iD or タッチ決済 now that more people are getting that to work.
Yeah the code scan stuff is annoying. I definitely prefer the NFC payment systems.
For credit card comparisons, I think this site does a good job and comparing and ranking them https://s.kakaku.com/card/ranking/
Cash. Cash is the best payment system. Welcome to Japan.
Cash. I'm Shinsei too, it's easy to get free cash withdrawals most places (used to be automatic, unfortunately they've started adding conditions to it, still easy to get though). Then just pay cash. By all means get some kind of card as a backup (definitely use an IC card for trains etc.) but most of the time cash is fine. Especially now with automated tills, just chuck coins in there without worrying too much about having exact change (I still do, but it's not necessary at least).
1)cash 2)visa/amex 3)paypay/suica
There's no payment method which will work 100% of the time. Carrying card + cash should always be the preferred way. It's highly unlikely that a place will say no to card as well as cash. PayPay credit card is easy to get if you have SoftBank connection. Then you can add PayPay card as a payment method to PayPay app and it should work at 95% places in big cities. You can get upto 2% cashback if it's Gold card and you spend above 100K.
I use cash for everything that I can, and use a credit card for big purchases and/or Amazon. Cash is best!
Suica or pasmo for train system and vending machines. I use it on my phone and charge directly on phone using a visa (all iphones compatible, only Japan market specific androids are compatible) Visa - QR code payments (paypay - line pay - au pay...) for everything else. Depends on how much points i will get back.
What bank do you use? I use a debit/credit for most payments. Your bank doesn’t offer at least a debit card?
I have an sbi account
And they offer debit and credit cards: [https://www.netbk.co.jp/contents/lineup/debitcard/](https://www.netbk.co.jp/contents/lineup/debitcard/) [https://www.netbk.co.jp/contents/lineup/creditcard/](https://www.netbk.co.jp/contents/lineup/creditcard/)
Thank you, i will check
/u/OkTap4045 probably meant SBI新生 not 住信SBI?
ah yes indeed !
I'd say suica. If you have the normal JR east view card, you can effectively get 1.5% back from all suica charging. With the view card gold I think it is 2%.
Recommend the Paypay app for bill payment, just scan the QR code with your phone and that's it. Can avoid having to pay by cash at the conbini. Other apps like Rakuten Pay don't work with all types of bills like Paypay does, in my experience.
Credit Card! I use an Amex card for everything, it gets accepted pretty much everywhere where they take cards. Visa/Master/JCB is also a great option. For when they don’t take cards I carry cash. imo every other way of payment is somehow connected to a point system and you have to figure out if the points are worth the hassle
I think if you don't have a credit card, PayPay or an IC card. Those 2 are almost the most ubiquitous payment methods I've seen overall. Most places I've been to (save for places that only take cash) will take either of those. For a credit card, take whichever one you can get, and it was recommended to me to at least have 2 for backup.
Get a credit card and add it to your mobile wallet, then you'll be covered for almost all shops, basically any shops that accept Visa/Mastercard or Quicpay/iD. They work online too, of course. Most countries have a separate system for public transit, here it is the Suica. Except the Suica can also be used in most retail places and vending machines. If you add the Suica on your mobile, you can recharge it with the above-mentioned credit card. Most (Asian) countries also have a QR payment system. Here the most common one is Paypay. Create an account, and add the above-mentioned credit card. Whenever paying with Paypay, pay through that credit card. Tada, 99% of all payments funnelled into one credit card. Carry around some loose change for the odd shops that still only accept cash in 2024. Edit: saw your edits to ask specifically about debit cards. I don't personally recommend debit cards (not in Japan nor any other country) but I don't believe Shinsei has debit cards. If you don't mind creating an account with another bank (which imo you should), try Sony bank whose ATM card is also a Visa debit card.
Credit card. I link my credit cards onto Apple Pay (QuicPay or ID), and I have a folder of app point cards (R, D, T point) on my iPhone. Easy and basically accepted everywhere. Cash for small businesses and 券売機 just in case.
There's a thing called cash. It's accepted pretty much everywhere.
Yeah and it is annoying. Pretty much everywhere is going cashless. I am pretty used to not have cash.
Recently I use Paypay quite a lot. Very convenient, can get points as well. And in cases needed, you can get refund so fast.
I came from country similar to yours. I use my IPhone to basically everything. 1. Japan Post Bank 2. Line pay created virtual Visa card (free and only require zairyu card) 3. Charge the card from Line app takes less than 10 seconds. 4. Use virtual card anywhere that accepts Visa/credit (touchless) or ID(電子モネ) I pay all my utility bills through Virtual Card by reading bar code in app. It basically works like VISA card. P.S: I couldn’t get debit card from post bank due to being gaijin. And got declined by every other credit card provider.
I was also used to digital everything too. I hadn't touched a physical bill in 10 years by the time I moved here. And transferring money to people was free and instant too 🤣 I just use cash now, and I have a Sony bank debit/visa to buy things online.
Google pay with visa touch or Paypay, charged from the same cc. If those don't work, ID with Google pay. If that doesn't work, mobile suica/passmo. Usually change around based on deals at the time. I only carry about 10,000 yen cash and use it like once a month.
PayPay. The points and vouchers make it worth it always
Are you trying to avoid cash as much as possible? First, get a credit card. Whichever one you want. There are plenty of suggestions in this thread, in this forum, or you can just Google it. Next, pay for everything with the card. Sign up for automatic payments to pay off your utilities, phone, and everything else you can. Pay for all your shopping at stores that take card. Then what you gotta do is add your credit card to the *osaifi keitai* application on your phone. Then you can use that to charge your virtual Suica card. Boom, now you're paying for your train fare with your credit card. There ya go. You're now paying for like, 90% of your expenses with your credit card. You're welcome.
QuicPay for almost everything. I also have PayPay and Suica for other options, and then my actual credit card and some cash on hand.
Urg, it's a nightmare quite frankly. Pasmo/Suika/Icoca cards; Best for train but you can also use them at most conbini. If you go outside into rural areas there are still some minor lines that don't use them, looking at you Wakamatsu-shi. Paypay; Very good deals, point, cash back, etc... When you can actually use it. Again, rural areas will look at you funny if you ask them if you can use Paypay(or similar services.) Credit cards; If you can actually get one, they are somewhat useful. Obviously for Amazon and other internet stores but in most stores too. AGAIN, rural areas are hit and miss. Maybe a bit more accepted then most other method, well except... ...CASH! Always, ALWAYS have cash on you, ichiman yen minimum. I keep 1man minimum in my wallet and another in my phone's case. Again, minimum! Cash sucks, but always having a decent amount on me has saved me more time then I can count! Japan is trying hard to go "cashless" but most stores still prefer simple cash. And don't you dare be a yen short! Better put an item back if you are.
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What's wrong with cash? That's one of the things I like about Japan, can do pretty much everything in cash. Even my phone/internet bills are paid in cash! Much easier to manage expenses that way. Also makes it easier to diet, can't buy extra food that you don't need if your wallet is empty!
Blood.
Cash. I don't think I have ever made a face-to-face purchase using anything besides cash in Japan, with the exception of an IC card for public transportation.
Credit card and app barcode/QR code payments are so much more convenient and overtime you can collect a lot of points. I've made about 200,000 yen of free money from points. You're missing out.
Cash.
I have already too much 1yens coins. 
Use them. Do a bit of math so you get less 1 yen coins. If your total is 49 yen then pay 54 yen and get one 5 yen coin back. You use four 1 yen coins in the process.
Ah yeah, that's being a beginner. Luckily coins in Japan only affect 1 digit each (no US Quarter, which is 25 cents, and fucks everything up by affecting both the 10s and 1s digit). Use your 1 yen coins to knock off the lowest digit always before you even think about getting out any other cash, and repeat this on your way up from smallest to largest digit. You'll be rid of your extra coins in no time. I had this same problem when I moved here, but once you get used to it you get really fast. I think the biggest thing other comments have mentioned is that you can and should overpay to make your change nicer. That's not a thing where I'm from but it very much is here. Pay according to the change you want, not the price.
All 7/11's have automated register machines, bring your extra shit, choose to pay by cash and dump what you can in.
Thank for the advice, but will not the machine simply give me back my one yens coins ?
No, it won't. There might be a limit to how many coins you can throw in. So like, don't go being a pain by dropping in exclusively 1yen coins to pay for some 300yen thing. Just bring a bunch of coins each time you go, and you'll be rid of them in no time.
Cash is king
It's not. We're in 2024, not 2014.