What's Japanese Money Like?

The current exchange rate for U.S. dollars to Japanese yen is around 115. That is, $1 is worth about ¥115. So, to keep it simple, you can think of ¥1 as being not too much less than ¢1. It really works out pretty easy, as you can just knock off the last two digits on any prices and you'll be close enough to the dollar value. For example, if some sushi costs ¥2150 intially it looks like you are about to be very, very broke. But, if you guestimate the way I said, you can figure it will really be about $21. Let's see, ¥2150 plus the sales tax will be ¥2257.50. That divided by 115 equals $19.63. Close enough?

Now when it comes to the currency itself, think coins. There are ¥1 coins, which are close enough to a penny. ¥5 coins that are about a nickel. ¥10 coins that are about a dime. ¥50 coins that are about a half dollar. ¥100 coins that are about a dollar. And lastly, there are also ¥500 coins that are worth about 5 dollars. Bills start at ¥1,000, and there are ¥5,000 and ¥10,000 denominations, as well. There are no equivalents to a $1 or $5 bill. It's really very easy to get used to.