Just the Beginning: Okane (Money)

So money is pretty different here in Japan. I mean, obviously they don't use the U.S. dollar here, but in other ways. For instance, most stores and restaurants only take cash, which is kind of inconvenient. Thankfully the crime rate is pretty low where I am. Apparently the only thing we really have to worry about in this area is grade schoolers shoplifting. Some stores do accept credit cards, but you have to really search for them. Major department stores and most grocery stores do accept them, but not all. Not to mention the Japanese don't have checks or checking accounts.

However it is pretty cool that you can pay your insurance bills at any convenience store.

So here are the coins and bills that I use everyday now:

Here is the front and back (respectively) of the 1 yen coin. Today it's roughly worth 0.009 U.S. dollars, in other words, less than a penny.

And here is the front and back of the 5 yen coin. Both the 1 and 5 yen coins cannot be used at most vending machines, which is really quite annoying because they start to pile up after awhile.

Here is the front and back of the 10 yen coin. This is the smallest coin that most vending machines accept.

And the front and back of the 50 yen coin.

And the front and back of the 100 yen coin, which is worth a little bit less than 1 U.S. dollar.

And the front and back of the 500 yen coin. This is sooo convenient!

And we'll start with the bills. This is the front and back of the 1,000 yen bill, the smallest bill that they have.

Here is the front and back of the 2,000 yen bill. This bill is actually really rare and they're not in print anymore. I don't think you can use these at vending machines....