Hiya everybody!

I will, in 10 short days, finally be departing for Japan. I'll be studying abroad for a year somewhere kinda close to Tokyo and I'm really looking forward to it.

I come here to humbly request some information from the vast pool of knowledge that is the RtK forum.

1.) I didn't receive the JASSO as I'd hoped, so now I'm having to be really tight on my cash. Part of this is getting the best conversion rate possible. How should I go about doing this? I'm thinking of withdrawing about ￥100,000 at first just to cover all the expenses I'll have up front (dorm rent, toiletries, bedding, food), and then trying to withdraw the rest in chunks as needed. I'm doing this because... I'm still kind of hoping the exchange rate will go up in my favor (going USD to Yen, here).

2.) Also, because I'm gonna be 倹約して暮らしてるing, what are some cool things to do around the 関東 area that are fairly cheap? I will be there from October to sometime in August of next year, so I want to see a lot.

3.) I'd also appreciate any tips on saving money on travel or... anything, really.

I patiently await your replies. Thanks!

-Seth

If you ever need to check the exchange rates I found that this site helps. http://www.xe.com/ucc/ It'll convert currency like dollars to yen or yen to dollars.

I have an account with Schwab Bank, which lets me use my ATM card to withdraw money from ATMs in Japan (or anywhere, as they reimburse you for any ATM fees at the end of the month). There is no conversion fee and they exchange directly at the rate.

kainzero Wrote:I have an account with Schwab Bank, which lets me use my ATM card to withdraw money from ATMs in Japan (or anywhere, as they reimburse you for any ATM fees at the end of the month). There is no conversion fee and they exchange directly at the rate.

This. I've posted about this in various threads around the internet and it seems as if people have still not caught on, even though Charles Schwab has been offering it for years. You have to set up a brokerage account with them, which is free, and with that you get an investors checking account which gives you what is essentially the best debit card there is.

Windows 7 and Vista have an exchange rate gadget that u should set up

Thanks for the replies so far, everybody!

I have been using XE for the exchange rate recently. It's great and always up to date. Thanks for the link, though!

Icecream, I'm studying for a dual Global Studies and International Relations major. I've been kindly filled in on the ticket by my Japanese friends and plan to take full advantage of it and the night buses

I'm not sure exactly how much time I'll be allowed to work each week, but I'm thinking of trying to find a バイト at an 英会話 or, perhaps, even some private students. I guess I'll have to wait and see. I've been working on 敬語 a bit lately, but as most of the materials that use it are a bit stale, I find it hard to focus on for more than a bit at a time.

I think I'll do just that (getting lost) in Tokyo sometime. I'm interested to see what 秋葉原 is really like and such. Can't wait

My bank account is a Suntrust bank and I have a Mastercard debit card. There's not a Schwab bank anywhere near where I live here now in the states, so I'm not so sure I will have time to travel and setup a new account or anything. Does anyone have any info about Suntrust or Mastercard?

I actually went ahead and got a good portion of my saved money out as yen in case I have debit card issues, but I hope I won't and the exchange rate will get a bit better before I have to start pulling more money. Such a terrible exchange rate right now...

I think the best rates I've seen are for cash. My credit cards now charge a transaction fee. You might want to check the policy on yours, but mine does give a very good rate for the exchange.