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My personal Japan Trip Lifehack was to dump all the coins into the nearest transit card charge machine. The PASMO machines are the most flexible, there's a butt

My personal Japan Trip Lifehack was to dump all the coins into the nearest transit card charge machine. The PASMO machines are the most flexible, there's a button for "charge in 10 yen increments", and the only thing those don't take are 1 and 5 yen coins. Suica and Hayakaken[0] machines were a bit pickier, you had to have at least 100 yen of change. Whatever the heck they used in Osaka was the pickiest - it was either 500 yen increments or it didn't take small coins, I don't remember which, but I remember having to hold all my change until I got back to Tokyo. [0] 7.8 Too Much Water - IGN

resolutebat 3y ago
My personal Japan Trip Lifehack is to pay for all the small awkwardly numbered purchases (kombinis, supermarkets, fast food etc) with your Suica/Pasmo. This eliminates virtually all Y1/5 coins, since "proper" restaurants, transport, attractions etc universally round up their prices to the nearest 10 or even 100 yen. I do regret Japan rolling back their previous requirement to have all prices tax-included, since now many budget places do the US thing of advertising nice round numbers but adding the tax on top.
- Scoundreller 3y ago
  > Japan rolling back their previous requirement to have all prices tax-included what was their reasoning?
  - astrange 3y ago
    They increased consumption tax but made it conditional in some way I don't understand, so that taking items out of a convenience store was taxed more than eating inside it. So there wasn't a single tax inclusive price anymore.
    - fomine3 3y ago
      It's opposite. Eat-in is considered to be a restaurant, so it's not eligible for reduced tax rate. 8% vs 10% reduced tax rate is stupid.
andreareina 3y ago
> Whatever the heck they used in Osaka ICOCA? Never had too many issues with coins in Japan (I did leave before the new coins though), and I had a tendency to try to spend my coins so never really accumulated enough that they were becoming a pain.

resolutebat 3y ago

My personal Japan Trip Lifehack is to pay for all the small awkwardly numbered purchases (kombinis, supermarkets, fast food etc) with your Suica/Pasmo. This eliminates virtually all Y1/5 coins, since "proper" restaurants, transport, attractions etc universally round up their prices to the nearest 10 or even 100 yen. I do regret Japan rolling back their previous requirement to have all prices tax-included, since now many budget places do the US thing of advertising nice round numbers but adding the tax on top.

Scoundreller 3y ago
> Japan rolling back their previous requirement to have all prices tax-included what was their reasoning?
- astrange 3y ago
  They increased consumption tax but made it conditional in some way I don't understand, so that taking items out of a convenience store was taxed more than eating inside it. So there wasn't a single tax inclusive price anymore.
  - fomine3 3y ago
    It's opposite. Eat-in is considered to be a restaurant, so it's not eligible for reduced tax rate. 8% vs 10% reduced tax rate is stupid.

andreareina 3y ago

> Whatever the heck they used in Osaka ICOCA? Never had too many issues with coins in Japan (I did leave before the new coins though), and I had a tendency to try to spend my coins so never really accumulated enough that they were becoming a pain.