Japanese Currency – The Yen

The unit of Japanese currency is the Yen. Coins are available in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 50, 100 and 500 yen and bank notes in denominations of 1,000, 2,000 (rarely seen), 5,000 and 10,000 yen.

The conversion rate for the past few weeks has ranged from 100 to 114. What does this mean? It means that for every one U.S. dollar exchanged you will receive between 100 and 114 yen. That means that Y10,000 is the equivalent of about $93-100 USD. With numbers like those everything looks expensive in Japan!

Imagine telling your friends in the United States that you paid a thousand Yen for lunch. That sure sounds like a lot but it is actually only about $9.25 – 10 USD and is a common price for a set lunch in Tokyo which includes a drink. It’s definitely not as expensive as it sounds.

Photo Credit: Personal Collection