Changing JPY to USD in Japan: the cheapest way, and what the rest cost you
The spread takes 0 JPY if you convert inside your account with Sony Bank, and 1,794.78 JPY at MUFG Bank's banknote desk.
Same money, same day — a 2,454.51 JPY difference for choosing how you pay rather than where.
Every figure is read from a bank's own published board, or derived from a margin it discloses — named in the evidence column, never inferred. We do not rank by any commercial relationship; the order below is the rate, and nothing else.
Which method costs least
This is the choice worth the most money, and the one most comparisons skip. Cash desks sit several points above card and transfer rates in every country we measure.
| Method | Cheapest here | Costs you | How we know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transfer / account conversion What the bank converts at when the money moves between accounts. |
Sony Bank | 0 JPY | read from sonybank.jp |
| Buy banknotes at a branch The bank's own banknote board — the widest spread of the three, everywhere we measure. |
MUFG Bank | 1,794.78 JPY | read from www.bk.mufg.jp |
Cash withdrawals at an ATM are left out on purpose: they carry a per-withdrawal fee we do not collect, so listing them beside the others would flatter them.
Every bank's transfers rate
If you have to use a branch anyway, this is the order to try them in — 3 banks, cheapest first. The dearest takes 1.3% more than the cheapest.
| Bank | Buys USD | Sells USD | Costs you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sony Bank own board | 157.3400 | 157.6400 | 0 JPY |
| Read from the board this bank publishes at sonybank.jp. | |||
| SMBC own board | 157.2000 | 159.2000 | 326.63 JPY |
| Read from the board this bank publishes at www.smbc.co.jp. | |||
| MUFG Bank own board | 157.7800 | 159.7800 | 688.45 JPY |
| Read from the board this bank publishes at www.bk.mufg.jp. | |||
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Rates are JPY per 1 USD; "costs you" is the part of your amount the spread absorbs, against 158.6800, the reference these banks price from. Collection began 2026-06-24. Indicative information for comparison, not financial advice. What each country's rates are officially anchored to is on the references page. Generated 2026-09-25.