Cash, cards, payments, and money-related tips for traveling in Japan.
Money & cash · 2026 edition Japanese bank branches keep banking-business hours that surprise foreign visitors — weekdays only, 9 to 3 in many cases, locked tight on national holidays, and shut for almost a week at New Year. The…
Field notes, weekly
One email a week. The Japan worth planning around.
Nearly every image on Hidden Japan Gems was photographed by me on a Sony α7 across five years of walking Japan; a few licensed photos fill the gaps. Please don't re-use my photos without permission — reach out if you'd like to.
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